A sixteen year old teenager, Jessica Watson has finally made her dream come true by completing an around the world trip on a 30 foot ship called, Ella’s Pink Lady. This endeavor of Ms. Watson is incredibly special, as she went on a circumnavigation of the globe, all alone and without stopping at any of the harbors. She began her solo journey from the Sydney harbor in the month of October in 2009 and it took her seven months to complete this amazing feat, finally returning to Sydney harbor. With this accomplishment, Jessica Watson has secured her name as the youngest person to complete an around the world sail, unassisted and non-stop.
The around the world sail journey undertaken by Jessica Watson was in no manner a simple and fun ride. The entire trip consisted of perils and massive storms, during which the waves reached as high as 30 feet. The entire journey was comprised on 23,000 nautical miles and the trip took her to the north of the equator and then she chartered into the chopping and dangerous waters of Cape Horn in South America and Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Even with her incredible and danger marked journey, there are several critics who still choose to refute Ms. Watson’s world record. The main reason being that, the World Sailing Speed Record Council had set up the age to be officially inducted into the record books as 18 years.
Adding to the controversy, some of the more experienced and renowned sailors have argued that, the route taken by Jessica Watson for the world sail trip falls short of 2,000 miles for it to be compared to any other existing records.
Via Gadling
