She hasn’t yet got her driver’s license, yet she’s sailed solo, unassisted, around the world (a mere 38 000 kilometres). Despite her protestations, Jessica Watson is not your average teenage girl, but she is a teenage girl whose great achievements will no doubt inspire many others to reach for that place well beyond average.
Speaking to a room full of friends, supporters and media, including The Biggest Loser’s Michelle Bridges, model Nikki Phillips, adventurers James Castrission and Justin Jones, Jessica was both humble and warm, and spoke with a soft yet impassioned voice about her love of sailing and the sea.
Inspired by fellow solo sailor Jesse Martin’s book Lionheart, Jessica had already set her sights on sailing solo around the world at the tender age of 11. According to Jessica, this was a journey that she was always going to make. She said, ‘If you want something bad enough, you can find a way.’ It was clear that she feels intensely at home on the waves, and not a week since she has returned, she is already missing life on the sea. ‘You didn’t see much of anything out there, but the most amazing thing was just watching the waves.’
Of course her journey was not all about wave watching. Jessica and her boat Ella’s Pink Lady faced ferocious seas and reported 10.4 metre waves, while enduring intense storms that persisted for up to 12 hours at a time. When asked what she was thinking as her boat tipped underneath her and she watched her mast kiss the sea, Jessica quipped, ‘You don’t think, you just hang on. But when you get through the storm it is just the most exhilarating feeling.’
Her smile only lapsed momentarily when the topic was raised of the public backlash against her parents’ choice to let her go on her dangerous voyage. Jessica was quick to plead that this was a calculated risk. She had, after all, been sailing since the tender age of 8, and if anyone was aware of her capabilities it was her family. As she put it, she’d been ‘hanging out with the experts, they knew what I was going to do and what the risks would be.’
Jessica admitted it was both frightening and dangerous out there. ‘There were really scary times, but the black skies and the waves’ didn’t faze nor deter her. She remarked, ‘This is normal to me.’ Where others would have raised questions about commitment, Jessica didn’t doubt her desire: ‘I could always answer myself when I thought, why am I doing this?’
She was well prepared for her journey and her parents’ support was a constant at her side. With a smile, she said that: ‘My mum prepared so much food that there was enough on board to go a second time.’ Her parents weren’t the only ones putting their support behind Jessica, with Australian cosmetics brand Ella Baché becoming her primary sponsor, providing the much needed backing required to make her dream a reality.
General Manager of Ella Baché, Pippa Hallas, recalled meeting Jessica at the Sydney Boat Show a few years earlier, hearing of her dream and jumping on board. ‘It’s been amazing to be on this journey from the start with Jessica. She embodies not only the true pioneering spirit of this nation but also of the Ella Baché brand.’ The brand chose to sponsor Jessica, and her boat Pink Lady then became known as Ella’s Pink Lady.
Ella Baché has had a history with pioneering women – Madame Baché herself and Edith Hallas, founded the brand in Australia. In 1990, Adrienne Cahalan was the first 18 Foot skiff female skipper to participate in the World championships – the skiff was sponsored by Ella Baché.
While many had their hesitations about someone so young taking on such challenging and unpredictable circumstances, her return has not only silenced her critics but has warmed many hearts. It is clear that Jessica Watson has a bright future. With the strength of character to correct the Prime Minister when he referred to her as a hero, and with the youthful charm to get away with it, Jessica has proven to be both capable and likeable.
Her feat has paved the way for many young people, but in particular, with reports of sailing clubs around the country being inundated with 11 year old girls wanting to follow in her footsteps, Jessica has clearly achieved a great deal both individually and for young girls everywhere – who now have a modest yet truly special role model to draw inspiration from.