Vanguard News Network Forum - View Single Post - 16-year-old White Australian girl returns to Sydney sailing solo around the world

Darius Appleby · May 15th, 2010

http://www.sail-world.com/Asia/pda.c...estTimeOut=180

Sail-World.com Sunday 16 May 2010

Jessica Watson and the image of a hardy sailor

Sun, 16 May 2010

She looks too slender to put on a winch, not strong enough to pull in a spinnaker, not old enough to put on the wheel, and too frail for an ocean journey.

If Jessica Watson walked down the wharf at any yacht club looking for a sail in a Saturday afternoon race, it's likely that most skippers would smile indulgently and tell her to come back next year.

The sixteen-year-old teenager has just destroyed forever the image of what makes a hardy sailor.

While the sailing fraternity have been overwhelmingly in admiration of her sailing skills, the non-sailing population of Australia were incredulous first at the very idea of what she planned, and flabbergasted when she actually carried it out. As she slowly picked off the southern capes that she had to pass to sail herself round the globe and back to Sydney, the wonder, and the attention grew.

When the tiny figure emerged from her 34ft boat on Sunday, hugged her parents and then began her long walk around Sydney's Opera House on her pink welcome mat to meet the Prime Minister, her slenderness – she's lost several kilos during the voyage – and simplicity were a stunning contrast against the lavishness of the welcome.

The small teenager who emerged from her seven months at sea to a hero's welcome has simply done what she announced she would do when she was fourteen, get into a sailing boat and sail herself around the world.

It's to be hoped, for the sake of Australia's sailing mothers, that there won't be dozens of fourteen-year-olds planning the same thing. There only needed to be one, to inspire a nation with the idea, as Jessica put it, that 'you don't have to be special, you just have to have a dream, and work hard to achieve it.'

Universal advice, the kind of advice that can make a nation great - from a slip of a girl who still doesn't look as though she could get a sail on a Saturday afternoon in a yacht club.

by Nancy Knudsen

http://www.sail-world.com/Asia/pda.c...estTimeOut=180

May 15th, 2010	#7
Darius Appleby Banned Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: high rainfall coastal strip of the White Continent nation Posts: 3,602	essica Watson and the image of a hardy sailor http://www.sail-world.com/Asia/pda.c...estTimeOut=180 Sail-World.com Sunday 16 May 2010 Jessica Watson and the image of a hardy sailor Sun, 16 May 2010 She looks too slender to put on a winch, not strong enough to pull in a spinnaker, not old enough to put on the wheel, and too frail for an ocean journey. If Jessica Watson walked down the wharf at any yacht club looking for a sail in a Saturday afternoon race, it's likely that most skippers would smile indulgently and tell her to come back next year. The sixteen-year-old teenager has just destroyed forever the image of what makes a hardy sailor. While the sailing fraternity have been overwhelmingly in admiration of her sailing skills, the non-sailing population of Australia were incredulous first at the very idea of what she planned, and flabbergasted when she actually carried it out. As she slowly picked off the southern capes that she had to pass to sail herself round the globe and back to Sydney, the wonder, and the attention grew. When the tiny figure emerged from her 34ft boat on Sunday, hugged her parents and then began her long walk around Sydney's Opera House on her pink welcome mat to meet the Prime Minister, her slenderness – she's lost several kilos during the voyage – and simplicity were a stunning contrast against the lavishness of the welcome. The small teenager who emerged from her seven months at sea to a hero's welcome has simply done what she announced she would do when she was fourteen, get into a sailing boat and sail herself around the world. It's to be hoped, for the sake of Australia's sailing mothers, that there won't be dozens of fourteen-year-olds planning the same thing. There only needed to be one, to inspire a nation with the idea, as Jessica put it, that 'you don't have to be special, you just have to have a dream, and work hard to achieve it.' Universal advice, the kind of advice that can make a nation great - from a slip of a girl who still doesn't look as though she could get a sail on a Saturday afternoon in a yacht club. by Nancy Knudsen http://www.sail-world.com/Asia/pda.c...estTimeOut=180 Last edited by Darius Appleby; May 27th, 2010 at 06:00 PM.