Samu, Monkey Mia's latest addition was born on 12 Dec '09 & is pictured here with mum Puk.

15 May 2010

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.

9 comments:

  1. WOW!!! Jesse's home and what a welcome.Well done Sam on your welcome home artwork.I see you have included Julie and Roger and weren't they glad to have their daughter back.The way they reached out to embrace her was magical and brought a tear to many eyes I'm sure.
    It was a fantasic day and one which we will all have lovely memories of.
    Thank you for your entertaining Blog and tribute to an amazing girl.
    Well done Sam and happy sailing adventures to you.
    Sally by the Bay

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  2. Hi Sam,

    Great finale for Jessica and EPL.

    You've done well these past months documenting each mile in this special way.

    BTW - enjoyed watching you, Collette, Janelle and granddaughter on TV. Great interview.

    Bill
    Georgia Guy

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  3. Sam - absolutely beautiful! You have been a STAR throughout and we have thoroughly enjoyed your beautiful work. Have a safe trip home to Perth and we look forward to some pics!
    Love, Fay from the Gold Coast

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  4. Hi Sam,

    Another happy, bright, colourful and memorable piece of your unique voyage art! ... Thank you!

    We saw you all on the TV ... well not quite ALL of you! lol SO glad you were able to obtain the VIP tickets and be right there amongst it all. Just fabulous!

    The weather looked lovely and the crowds and entire celebration was awesome to watch on the broadcast.
    What a special day it was and how fitting for our nation to salute and welcome Jessica home as we did.

    Thanks again Sam, for all your lovely work, it's greatly appreciated.

    Continue to have a great time in Sydney and safe travel home!

    Cheers ... Soldier's Mum xxx

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  5. Sam,

    What a nice “Welcome Home” tribute. That’s great that you included Jessica’s Mum, Dad and friends. Even though so many of us were half a world away, it was really a fun and exciting day for all of us. I can only imagine how all of you in Sydney were feeling. Seeing all of you on TV along with Tony’s model and Jim and Jacquie’s flag made us feel like all of the Jessaholics were well represented. Besides feeling so much pride for Jess I also felt extremely proud of all of you. Well done.

    Cheers,
    Mark

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  6. Hi Sam -- Wow! You have done it again in grand style! This is a lovely congratulatory tribute to Jessica's history-making achievement. Thanks heaps for marking her milestones with your beautiful clip art....they are treasures which I'm sure she will cherish always. (And I will always cherish my time with the jessaholics at her welcome home celebration!)

    All the best to you,
    Janell in Oklahoma, USA

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  7. Hey TV Star,
    That was really something wasn't it !
    Just Unbeleivable!

    Richard

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  8. Hi Aunty Sam,
    It was great to see your smiling face beamed 'live' as Jessica finished her dissing of the Prime Minister, lol. I thought it summed up a very successful and admirably representative bunch of Jessaholics.
    Oh, and good pic as well. Hoo Roo ☺☺☺

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  9. Soldier's Mum said...

    Hi Sam, as always, another terrific piece of work!

    I love how colourful your pictures are! So bright and detailed. And oh so spot on! :)

    Thanks again for allowing us to enjoy and appreciate what you do.

    Cheers ... Soldier's Mum xxx

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