I have just spent a few minutes watching Jessica bash her way up wind, back south to the Sydney heads, having allowed herself to be carried past Sydney, in the night. Poor Kid, & she is not used to having to bash to windward during the trip she has done.

The east coast current must have let her down, as it should have stopped her getting so far north. Sydney would be one of the worst places to do it, too. All that shipping to watch for, so little rest. She's probably exhausted, & working only on adreline.

It is bad enough having to stand off your destination all night, when the palce is too dangerous to enter in the dark, but Jessica has done it to fit in with a welcome home bash, much harder to do. I have been feeling sorry for her, sailing so slowly up the coast, in rough weather, for days, to fit in with the reception. A yacht is much more uncomfortable doing that, than sailing faster.

I am so pleased for her, that she has overcome all the criticism aimed at her, & her family. I hope these people think of her, next time they want to stop a real person, doing what they want. After all, we can't all be wimps.

Hasbeen,you have missed the most important detail of this adventure.Kevin Rudd proclaimed Jessica as a hero to be idolised.Jessica rebuked him,saying that she was no hero and ordinary folk can achieve her success.

Kevin Rudd is an illusionist,clinging to the last bastions of Labor hypocracy.

She initially made it is far as the Gold Coast, before she made a basic error and hit a freighter. It really looked like she had bitten off more than she could chew. Sometimes adults need to say "no." If she had ended up in deep trouble, somewhere near Antarctica, would we still be so critical of those who attempted to stop her?

Hasbeen

Big seas and winds at the end, as if she needed any reminder of how tough solo can be.

Full credit to her and I wish her every success for the future. I am really looking forward to some stories when she has recovered and the book.

I was very concerned when she set sail and would rather she had tried a shorter voyage. As one who was fearful that things could have gone against her more because of her youth, I am even more impressed by her skills, courage, judgement, perseverance and humility. She knew her own ability and backed herself - a very big call for a sixteen year old. Rudd was right, she is a heroine, but she is far too modest to admit that.

Sparkman and Stevens, fantastic!

Benk, for some people it is better to be lost at sea, [or in some other way], than to spend their entire life knowimg the could have done it, & wishing they had. Anyone else, enforcing their will on these people is just being selfish.

One thing so many don't understand is that people like Jussica are not being brave. The thing they want to do is not frightening to them. You don't go skydiving, racing cars or motor bikes, climbing mountains, or sailing around the world, because you want to concur fear, there is no fear involved. When you are involved in a "dangerous" sport, many of the people you know are also involved in that sport. To you, & them, it's nothing special.

So many are frightened of what they don't know. The kid riding a horse at pony club, or a motor bike, in the forrest is in more danger, than a long distance sailor.

I caught a little of Jessica's speach on the news. She really is a very mature young lady, isn't she? I wonder how much of that she owes to this trip, or if she was like that before going. If she was, no wonder her family trusted her to go sailing, even if it was a long trip. I don't think we need to wish her good luck, that young lady will make her own "luck", with no help required. Great stuff.

Dear HB,

I, like Cornflower, and many other people, was
quite unsure of Jessica's trip at the beginning,
I must confess. I too thought she was too young
to make such a journey on her own. However,
she was a very determined young lady, and she
followed her dream, and survived. Proving I guess
that we need to dream; souring imagination is the
glue that keeps our soul from shattering under the
impact of a prosaic world. She put her dream into
reality, and made it work.

She dreamt the impossible dream and started sailing
towards it. It couldn't have been easy. But it's
what's called "experience" and it's very, very, valuable
in life, because what she's learned from it is probably
that we are more afraid of what "might" happen than
what "did" happen. Most successful ourcomes are achieved
by calling a series of coventional bluffs.

All we can now say to her is - "Bravo!"
She deserves all the accolades and I'm looking forward
to seeing her interview on "60 Minutes" Sunday evening.
Her parents must be very proud of their daughter, as
we all are!

Hasbeen, after reading Jessica's blogs every two nights since November my opinion is that Jessica already unwittingly disclosed aspects of her disposition when she first set sail in her blogs. She is down to earth, modest, well grounded and possesses a realistic honest view in relation to her passions, dreams and living those out. Jessica precisely stated the reasons behind her around the world voyage prior to setting sail.

One thing I believed from Jessica's outset was that [overall] she would be a heck of a lot safer away from land, people and roads, than she would be out at sea [if away from pirates]. Sailing boat hazards down on the list as opposed to day to day living in heavily populated cities.

On the other hand, the greatest risks sailing in through storms around WA and Hobart a few weeks ago and Cape Horn were Jessica's major concerns. Lightning, stormy weather and heavy seas could have cracked her yacht in half during dumping, sails broken beyond repair, the motor and generators beyond repairs,as we all would know, any number of things could have taken Jessica's life; mould and rust causing illness and corroded food supplies, significant injuries. Illness is the main factor that caused the first Australian sailing around the world to dock earlier during his first trip.

This girl has listened and taken on board [excuse the pun] every little piece of advice given from the other two 'around the world Sailors'; more importantly Jessica channelled that advice and her energies into action out there, and learned hands on absolutely every thing there is to know about sailing and engineering from her team along the way. Bits and pieces from sailing with her father and family gave her a head start.

The over-riding factor though: Jessica possesses a rare combination of attributes in one so young, such as a factual, yet positive attitude, motivation, determination, COMMON SENSE and intelligence would be the reason I believe beautiful Jessica Watson returned safely.

What a credit she is to herself. It all comes from within herself.

I just had the best time watching her homecoming.

Keen to read her book.

One of the bits I liked especially was when she said how she felt about leaving the Pink Lady to take her first step ashore. I'd noticed how she glanced back over her shoulder at the boat as she stepped up away from it.

She said that it felt strange because she wanted the family hugs so badly; but then had to leave the Pink Lady after spending 7 months doing all that she could to stay on board.

I admire her parents. I think I would have been doing everything I could to discourage any of mine at 16 from undertaking such a whopping big adventure. I thought I was outstanding in having confidence in one of my daughters to travel to, live and work in the US alone at 18.

I think the sponsors too have earned some recognition. An example of one of the better ways that capitalism works for us

Hasbeen

My understanding of Jessica's journey would've been so much poorer without your knowledge of sailing.

I flips me pony-tail - don't have a hat.

How about I bow deeply, as well? You and I have our disagreements, and no doubt we will cross swords again. I want you to know I am honoured to argue with you, mate, you are indeed a good soul - for your insight and support of Jessica from the moment she started her voyage.

And Jessica?

YES, SHE CAN!

http://sailboats.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/jessica-watson.jpg

I like this photo - it is of a sailor and not just a gorgeous 16 year old girl.

Hasbeen

"Anyone else, enforcing their will on these people is just being selfish."

Hasbeen, you are unbelievably naive if you think that Jessica's decision to sail occurred in some sort of vaccum, completely unaffected by external influences. All of those people now showering her with adulation are an external influence. Money is an influence and according to some media reports, she will probably become a millionare because of her experience. The culture that created all of us is an influence. In our culture it is safest to tell young women "all they need is self-belief and they can do anything".

Don't pretend adults who set limits are selfishly imposing their will on others, but encouraging people to do things isn't imposing your will.

Benk, you missed my point.

I was criticising those who were trying to have her stopped. Those calling for government action to stop her were the worst. What business it was of theirs I don't know, but they wanted her stopped.

It is reasonable for those with no knowledge of sailing, or the sea to be worried for her, but they only try to stop her to please their own ideas, & that is selfish. It is also the attitude which is making Oz a nanny state, full of wimps.

I have done many things which others consider dangerous, but I was worried when my son wanted to ride dirt bikes. You see, I think they are dangerous. I built a track, with jumps, as small as I could get away with, in our bottom paddock, where we could pick him up, & take him to hospital when he fell off.

I endured the doctors questioning when he wondered if the damage was from a bike fall, or parental abuse, & thanked heaven when other interests took his fancy, but I would never have stopped him.

benk,
Must disagree with your first post. On her sea trials from Qld to Sydney Jess did not hit a tanker, a bulk carrier struck her. I am given to understand that at sea, power is supposed to give way to sail. The ships crew were aware of the yachts presence some 26 minutes before and did nothing to avoid her. An experienced mariner I have spoken to gave his opinion that many foreign crews are poorly trained. An example is the bulk carrrier that struck the Great Barrier Reef.

I firstly was aprehenxive about the quest. But when i learned more about the knowledge and experience that Jessica had I became more confident, but still concerned at times.

Jessica has a yacht masters certificate, done a marine diesel course, a radio operators course, a Sea and Safety course and a first aid course. She has crewed a yacht sailing to some Antartic islands, has crewed yachts being delivered to barious places, skippered a yacht to NZ and return. She teaches kids basic sailing and was extensively involved in the thorough preparation of this boat which was loaned to her. She also had to convince her sponsors of her ability.

Her quest has been well planned and her training for years to undertake the venture. This with her sailing ability, guts and determination is what made it successful.

I salute Jessica and trust that fortune smiles upon her in future.

Hasbeen, "I was criticising those who were trying to have her stopped. Those calling for government action to stop her were the worst. What business it was of theirs I don't know, but they wanted her stopped."

It is not the time to be going back to the past. It is a time to celebrate her homecoming safe.

However, for a man who says he has the sea in his blood it should be quite obvious why others might object to what always was a risky proposition:

first, her safety and solo circumnavigation has high risks and anyone reading the cruising logs online can easily verify that;

secondly, the frequency and cost of rescues of people taking ill-advised risks. Karin Thorndike (Amelia), a woman much more mature than Jessica nearly died and was rescued by the navy. She later continued her voyage taking two years to be the first American woman to sail solo around the world (1998). I think that seven women have solo circumnavigated, including Jessica;

thirdly, we like others have towed or otherwise rescued numerous boats over the years, none of whom realised that Murphy's Law always applies at sea and with changes in the elements a minor fault can put lives at risk;

finally, what goes wrong for the (unnecessary) risk takers can and often does bring in a whole new set of nanny regulations for the rest of us. There are many examples on land, in the air and at sea where that has happened and those who enthusiastically cheer the risk taker on are those who demand to know why government didn't act when things go wrong. However, referring to inland and open water, have you happened to notice the police presence that has grown exponentially over the past decade and the increased regulations?

The critics were and remain seasoned sailors and the maritime regulator. Of course people are welcome to risk themselves, but would most do it without the air/sea rescue safety line?

Jessica did well and she was lucky. May others even younger not follow.

Dear Hasbeen,

I watched the 60 minutes interview with
Jessica last night and my heart went out
to her. What a brave determined young
girl she is - and I wish her All The
Best for her future.

However, I must admit that Cornflower is
a voice of reason. There are so many
"what ifs..." that could have happened.
When they showed those skyscraper type
waves - and storms at sea - you realize
just how fortunate Jess was to have made
it back safely.

Accolades to her, but I have to ask myself
if she had been my daughter would I have
agreed with the trip? I'd have to be honest
and say, "No! I would Not!"

Ah, but would you have stopped her, Foxy?

>>if she had been my daughter would I have agreed with the trip? I'd have to be honest and say, "No! I would Not!"<<

Setting boundaries is not always an exact science, as you would well be aware.

I take my hat off to the young girl .. and her magnificent achievement ...

but ...

I can't help feeling the whole 'late arrival was staged to maximise TV exposure and allow crowds to gather around the harbour ...

I am no media / PR boffin .. but an extra 3 hours of TV exposure can't have harmed the advertising revenue of any of the TV channels ... even if Kevin and Kristina had to wait ...

I had to endure a year of B Sc, [engineering] before my mother would agree to sign my application for Royal Australian Navy flying training.

I love engineering, but that love was almost killed, when what I wanted, more than life, was to be a navy fighter pilot.

After a year she relented, & I got my dream. Later an accident rendered me medically unfit for defence force flying, & I went back to uni, paing my own way this time, with no scholarship. It was 4 or 5 years before I stopped gazing up longingly up at every aircraft that flew over, but I'd had that experience to help resist the frustration. Without it I probably would have failed engineering.

I don't know who are the lucky ones, those who desperately want to do something, or those lives are not driven by such unreasonable passions, but if you haven't experienced it, it's hard to understand.

I have raced cars, & yachts, sailed the Pacific, & bread & ridden show jumpers. I loved all these things, but none were like the desire to fly carrier based aircraft. Irrational? yes. Resistable no.

As a parent I can understand the desire to protect our kids, but we must resist. Stopping them is like cutting the wings off butterflies. It will protect them from flying into the path of a speeding car, but they wont find a mate, & there will be no more butterflys.

I think you'll find the entire "arrival" was staged, traveloz, she seemed to me to be dawdling all the way up the coast in order to arrive on Saturday - but hey, I'm no sailor.

From the little I've seen, she is a pretty level-headed lass. She will need to be. It won't be the book, or the motivational circuit, or the Order of Australia (or whatever) that gets to her. It will be the "celebrity" driven magazines, who will no doubt be taking a prurient interest in the minutiae of her daily life for many months to come.

That is going to be tough.

Dear Pericles,

You ask:

"Ah, but would you have stopped her, Foxy?"
I think so. Because she's a minor.
And, couldn't do what she wanted until she's
eighteen.

Dear Hasbeen,

I agree with you that letting go is a most important
first step: letting go, and having faith that the
lessons learned will be remembered. It's not easy,
but it is necessary, unless you want to be a parent
who has to be "dealt with" instead of a parent
your children come to for advice. However, you do
need to set certain boundaries. And for me with
Jessica - her age - would have been one of the
boundaries that would have played a major part in
any decision that I would have made.

I don't think that she would have been deprived of
anything if she would have made that journey a
few years later.

Anyway, as I said - I'm happy that she arrived home
safely - and I wish her All The Best!

Pericles,
Yes Jessica was dawdling coming up the coast, until the Saturday morning when she was further out and north of her ideal position. This was caused by the bad weather.

Following her blog daily it was obvious that there was a lot of presure on her and the team to set a date. People wanted to make travel arrangements and authorities also wanted a date so their arrangements could be made, and no doubt the media wanted to plan for the event also. A date was set that Jess could easily meet. Jessica said on her blog she could get there earlier, and I suspect several days earlier, but she said there would be a lot of peoples plans upset if she did that. As she would have been anxious to see her parents, etc. I think it was quite considerate of her to delay.

The delay on the day was unexpected due to conditions and she really was battling against the conditions. She did apologise for her lateness.

Foxy,
On the safety thing, Jessica said it is safer in the deep water than closer near land because the swells, although larger, are more rounded and further apart. When the big swells reach shallow water they change to steeper and closer and the danger is that the boat can fall off the top. That is why Bass Strait was avoided, it is shallow and she would have no sleep for maybe 48 hours or so, until through.

On the parents letting her do it. Tough question. Jess is very determined and planned this for years, so rather than her doing it anyway, better to give support and ensure the planning and preparation were thorough. Still risks but the risks were reduced as far as possible.

Dear Banjo,

Thanks for explaining things to me.

I admit I know nothing about sailing,
except for the hazards as seen on TV
and in movies. And, as you point out
Jessica would have been as prepared
as she could possibly be.

We can all be grateful that she made it
back safely. I'm looking forward to her
book.

Foxy, the long distance sailor, & the weekend sailor are two different breeds, & the serious racer comes into yet another group.

The weekend sailor doesn't like getting too far from land. One of my mates was a saturday sailor, & a good one. He occasionally took a trip to Brokem Bay, 16 miles from Sydney, & even Port Stevens, about 70 miles.

He used to stay closs in shore. As he put it, he was not the best swimmer, so he reckoned that when he couldn't hear the dogs barking, he was too far out.

The long distance sailor, on the other hand fears the land. They are usually sailing with a wind controlled self steering sysyem. I would usually only actually steer my yacht for about ten miles in a thousand mile passage.

Now you have to sleep. If the wind changes while you are asleep, the boat will follow the wind, & sail off somewhere other than you planed.

If you allow for your alarm to fail, you could sleep for 8 hours, & if your boat sails at 7 knots, you could cover over 50 nautical miles in that time. A bad wind shift could have you crashing into any land within 50 miles of you, while you sleep.

To allow your self a safty margin, you don't really want to be within 75 miles of any land if you plan a rest. Jessica probably had trained, her self to sleep for not more than 3 hours, & as she was going slowly, to fit her timetable, she would have felt reasonably safe at about 15 to 20 miles off shore. That would be why she was late in to sydney.

Continued

Foxy,
My experience with sailing is absolutely none. I have simply passed on what I have picked up from people like Hasbeen, others and reading Jessica's blog. Am sure Hasbeen could explain it far better than me.

I also saw where Jessica's mum said she originally hoped that Jess would find other interests, which is understandable. But she also said "what if Jess decided to do it without our support".

However, Jessica persisted and gained the experience and the ability.

Not easy being a parent. Wonder how the parents of Wayne Gardner or Casey Stoner felt about their younsters racing. That is really scary to me.

As far as outstanding feats go, I put Jessica's quest I the same class as Cliff Young, who at 61 won the Sydney to Melbourne run, truely remarkable.

A mate of mine tells the story of his first trip from Sydney yo the reef. This was in the early 70s, when we ordinary folk did not have sat nav.

The first evening out he laid a safe course up the coast. It was getting dark as he set the self steering, a bit nervous, he actually set a course an extra 10 degrees more shore, for saftey.

A little later, his wife took her first night watch, & being a little, [well a lot actually], nervous herself, adjusted the course another 10 degrees off shore. Later in the night they got worried when they had not sighted a light house they had expected, & asjusted the course another 10 degrees off shore.

At first light they could not find Australia. They turned almost due west, looking for the place. It was after 1.00 PM before it came into view, & after 3.00 pm before they were close enough to figured out what part of Oz they had found.

Would you believe, they were just 15 miles north, in 21 hours, from where night had fallen. Many, frightened of running into the place in the dark, have done the same thing. In those days we were always worried what an unknown current could do to you, in the dark.

Once on a trip from the Solomons to Cairns, in rather rough seas, I had a fright. I had laid a course to pass 15 miles north of a couple of reefs out in the middle of the Coral sea. At near midnight, the very rough sea suddenly smoothed considerably.

As the reefs were each only about 10 miles wide, with a couple of miles between them, I could not believe they would smooth the sea so far out. I turned north, away from them, & ran like a scared rabbit, for sea room.

I turned back on course 20 miles north of that point. I was 20 miles north of my set course, when I got a sight next morning, but I never cut anything that close again.

Sorry, missed an important word.

When setting his course the first night "he actually set a course an extra 10 degrees more OFF shore for safety".

Fair enough the girl did something that beats the hell out of screaming at a pop concert but hey, the Prime Minister & tens of thousands of spectators ? That's way over the top !

The upside of the politicians present last Saturday was that it may perhaps stop young teenagers in their tracks to think about their own interests and hobbies other than revolving their lives around socialising every weekend to go out dancing, drinking, or sitting on facebook during most of their spare moments.

Totally inspirational for adults too in awe of such a feat!

Great to see a few mistakes made by the PM; one observed by myself, the other by my 19yr old captivated by Jessica's homecoming. The Premier and her speech content was delivered superbly, albeit Labor;

However, the BEST [and my favourite Journalist and Newsreader] person on stage apart from Jessica and her family, was Sandra Sully during her interview of Jessica. No condescending talk, interacted with Jessica respectfully, compassionately and knew instinctively how Jessica was feeling; chronic fatigue, nerves starting to pack in from sleep deprivation and faced at the same time with the huge population welcoming her home, the media, and trying to see her family at the same time in addition to stepping off her little home [of 7 months]!! Sandra always asks intelligent questions as a Journo; issues she knows the Public would be most interested to hear.

Are you looking at the political presence in terms of how many other Australian teenagers and people who perform magnificent feats go unrecognised and ignored by Politicians Individual? You do make a validated point, however with the way it all turned out on Saturday I think there were fantastic benefits as a result of the coverage and politicians' presence, in terms of young peoples lives touched by Jessica's trip and her return being acknowledged and applauded.

Dear Hasbeen and Banjo,

Thanks for sharing your stories - I could
never do anything even remotely like it.
I'm terrified of water having almost
drowned while water ski-ing a few years
back. I've been scared of water ever since.
However, I love the sea, the beach, sunsets,
feet in the sand, early morning walks - all
of it, as long as I'm on dry land.

And as you said, Jess trained for it, her
parents support would have been crucial
to her - and accolades to her for completing
it all successfully.