Jessica Watson - A dream come true

At approximately 1500hrs (AEST) on Saturday 15th May 2010, Jessica Watson and Ella's Pink Lady came to a halt alongside the Man 'O Wars Steps at the Sydney Opera House, ending their epic voyage of adventure around the world which took them 210 days and 23,000nm to complete.

Upon disembarking her trusted vessel of the past 7 months, Jessica reported that although she was overjoyed to finally immerse herself in the loving embrace of her parents, she found it very difficult to let go of Ella's Pink Lady at the same time.

After celebrating her 17th birthday with family & close friends and indulging in some well deserved R&R in Manly, Jessica has graciously faced a lot of media attention and is currently in Brisbane on a "meet & greet" tour. She has the same engagement in Melbourne and is due there on 27th May.

It is reported that after her meet and greet tour, Jessica will sail Ella's Pink Lady back to QLD, after which she will work on finishing her documentary as well as her book "True Spirit" which is due to be launched in August. She will then do a "book launch" tour around the country which will hopefully include Perth.

By way of ending my "Voyage Art" experience I sincerely wish Jessica Watson and Ella's Pink Lady a long and peaceful life with an abundance of love, health and happiness.

So long and thanks for the inspiration.

Very sincerely yours...........samurai (Aunty Sam)

And to everyone who's supported me throughout this journey.......My sincere thanks for all your kind, inspirational words. I've enjoyed telling the story of Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady through this blog and was very humbled by all the comments I received.

Jessica Watson - Milestones under her belt

Jessica and Ella’s Pink Lady can be considered “soul sisters” as they reflect on their epic voyage around the world as being one with an abundance of adventures shared in almost seven months at sea together.


On 18th October 2009, 16 year old Jessica Watson from Buderim, Qld, Australia set off to live her childhood dream and ultimately fulfil her ambition to be the youngest to sail around the world alone, non-stop and unassisted.

Little did she know that in the process of following her dream she would accomplish so much more than the significant milestones that fall within the criteria of claiming such a title.

It is without doubt that Jessica has been an inspiration to so many people all over the world as she has captured their hearts and imaginations, all the while sharing the technical as well as the more intimate details of her daily life on board Ella’s Pink Lady through the regular entries to her blog.

Doubtless also that Jessica would not have accomplished all of these very impressive milestones, as depicted in the picture above, had she not been supported by her family as well as her incredible support team in the most loving, caring, responsible and professional manner.

As for the concept of “blogging”, it is indeed a cyber phenomenon that clearly demonstrates the willingness of the world masses to open their hearts to such an incredible story of a young lady conquering her fears and fulfilling a dream.

Congratulations Jessica!!! Happy belated 17th birthday and very best wishes for your future. I will never forget you. Lots of love.....samurai

Jessica Watson - Welcome home ladies!

Today, Saturday 15th May 2010, Jessica Watson and Ella’s Pink Lady sailed into Sydney Harbour and across the finish line ending their epic voyage of adventure to claim the title of “Youngest, solo, non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation” of the world..... Welcome home ladies!


The final month of Jessica’s and Ella’s Pink Lady’s voyage proved to be their most challenging as they left the Indian Ocean in their wake and sailed back into Australian waters below Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia. Their original plans to endeavour to sail a straight course to the bottom of Tasmania to round their fourth cape, South East Cape on the south eastern most point of Tasmania were averted several times as Mother Nature dictated less than ideal weather conditions.

Through a series of low pressure systems across the Great Australian Bight Jessica and Ella’s Pink Lady found themselves having to head further north towards the mainland on several occasions in order to avoid the low pressure cells to their south.

Once across the expanse of the Great Australian Bight and very near the western end of Bass Straight, Jessica and Ella’s Pink Lady experienced another two (more) knockdowns, totalling six knockdowns for their entire voyage around the world. They experienced their first four in succession shortly after they rounded Cape Horn on the southernmost point of South America.

And now, as Jessica and Ella’s Pink Lady sail into the pages of our history books, having endured extreme weather conditions, they reflect on their journey together with immense pride and an incredible sense of accomplishment.

Jessica Watson - EPL the Dancing Queen

As the momentum of excitement accelerates in anticipation of Jessica's homecoming, Ella's Pink Lady has infected people all over the world with a craze by dancing gracefully through the water as she sails her intrepid captain safely home.


Setting sail from Sydney on 18 October 2009 Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady have so far overcome every challenge that Mother Nature has thrown at them to achieve their goal.

Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady are expected to complete their epic voyage of adventure around the world, arriving back in Sydney on Saturday 15th May 2010. They need to cross the finish line at Sydney Heads to officially complete their voyage. They will then cruise down Sydney Harbour before docking at the Sydney Opera House.

Sydney Harbour organisers are anticipating that Jessica will cross the finish line at approximately 11:30am and arrive at the Sydney Opera House around 12.30pm, the first time she will have set foot on land in almost seven months.

Organisers are urging Sydneysiders to arrive early to secure the best vantage point and show Jessica a true hero’s welcome. Spectators are encouraged to line the shores or take to the waters of Sydney Harbour to help celebrate the remarkable achievements of this courageous teenager.

There are still an incredible number of people choosing to keep their heads buried in the sand about Jessica's achievements but as far as I'm concerned Jessica, at the age of 16, spent the best part of the last 7 months at sea sailing solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world.

Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady set sail from Sydney Harbour and crossed the equator into the northern hemisphere, passed all lines of longitude and rounded 4 southern capes namely Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Tasmania's South East Cape before ending their circumnavigation at the same port where they started, 3 days shy of Jessica's 17th birthday.

Jessica successfully achieved what she set out to do in fulfilling her ambition and ultimately realising her childhood dream! There is nothing any naysayer can say or do to diminish such an incredible accomplishment nor dampen her pride and sense of achievement.

Jessica Watson - Friends underway

With unfavourable weather conditions continuing for Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady well into the weekend, I was inspired to try and cheer them up a little with the help of all the friends and companions they had made along their way.


Two days ago Jessica headed north again to avoid a low pressure system to the south and deployed her drogue successfully to stall the boat while waiting out the storm. Unfortunately the lashing on the tiller came undone and consequently knocked Ella's Pink Lady down while Jessica had been catching up on some sleep. This was their second knockdown in the space of a week and their sixth in the 6+ months they have been out at sea. The four previous knockdowns happened in the Atlantic Ocean a few days after they rounded Cape Horn.

At dawn yesterday, 30th April 2010, Jessica reported that she'd winched the drogue back on board and said she was pleased to discover it was not as difficult a task as she'd anticipated. Since then Ella's Pink Lady had been underway once again and flying freely across the waves with only a little sail up.

Unfortunately the synopsis for the next few days is not very promising as another low pressure system heads their way and Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady will continue to endure strong winds and big seas over most of this weekend.

Overall, Jessica reported that she's feeling pretty drained after having endured such extreme conditions of late and adds that she is sporting a number of bruises and aching muscles. However, true to form she is well prepared and therefore has resigned herself to toughen up some more, deal with it and take it as it comes!