Jessica Watson - Abeam Kangaroo Island

ANZAC Day, 25 April 2010 saw Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady abeam Kangaroo Island, albeit a long distance from the South Australian Coast. They are over halfway across the bottom of Australia, inching their way across and down under Tasmania before heading north towards Sydney.


Despite the day starting with a knockdown and huge seas, Jessica is in very good spirits after sailing through the night under just a storm jib in 35 knot winds with gusts of up to 40knots, describing the swells as "liquid mountains rolling past with tumbling white tops."

Jessica had quite a rude awakening as Ella's Pink Lady was knocked down and consequently dumped a whole lot of water on top of her captain as she lay asleep in her bunk. Fortunately EPL's mast only just touched the water before righting herself again and overall sustained no serious damage. However, the spread of bilge water throughout the cabin left a lot to be desired for Jessica and her scallywag crew.

The most unfortunate turn of events at this point in time is discovering that Jessica came within half an hour of recording the knockdown had she not diligently and responsibly turned her camera off as the weather turned seriously nasty. As I read that part of her post, I imagined all her loyal followers throughout the world reading the same passage and simultaneously exclaiming, "What a shame!" That would have made for some incredibly good footage indeed!

Having said that, I'll take a pass on any second chances and wish Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady a safe and enjoyable passage under Tasmania then north onto their homeward stretch.

Sail on home Jessica. Bring her on home Ella's Pink Lady. See you in Sydney.