Jessica Watson - Amsterdam and St Paul Islands

The weather stayed windy and squally with the sea building up to 5 meters as Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady approached Amsterdam Island so they ended up passing well clear to the north during the night of 23rd March 2010.


Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady have now been at sea for 158 days and have put almost 18,000nm in their wake since heading off from Sydney 5 months and 6 days ago. They are now over halfway across the Indian Ocean and one can almost sense real excitement building among all on-board and around the world as Ella's Pink Lady makes good progress towards Australia.

For the moment however, as much as Jessica was hoping to sail within sight of the islands of Amsterdam and St Paul, ultimately the weather dictated their impending course of events which saw her and Ella's Pink Lady focusing instead on the priority of dealing with increasing winds, icy rain and a building sea.

Jessica also reported that at one point the wind unexpectedly changed direction which caused Ella's Pink Lady to heal right over and head in the wrong direction which, after a quick gybe over, was back under control again. Personally, I prefer to fantasise that Ella's Pink Lady had sighted land at that point and healing over as she did was her attempt at a "Land Ho!" call to her captain.

Of course, whenever a boat heals over suddenly the way Ella's Pink Lady did, it can almost always be expected that something down below would fly across the cabin or be tossed around inside a locker somewhere....or at the very least, cause a hand-held vacuum packer to turn itself on! Whatever, it's sure to always cause momentary panic while searching for the culprit all the while imagining, as Jessica stated "all sorts of critical damage".

Such is a life afloat in a little pink boat across the vastness of the Indian Ocean... :-))

Jessica Watson - Queen Mary 2

Yesterday, 18th March 2010 marked Jessica's 5th month at sea since departing Sydney on 18th October 2009. While getting very close to being halfway over the Indian Ocean, Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady have just crossed the 17,250nm mark of their voyage.


To help celebrate her 5 month milestone, Jessica enjoyed a brief conversation via satellite phone with the Master of the Queen Mary 2, Captain Nick Bates. Whilst en-route to Mauritius, having left the Port of Fremantle, Western Australia a few days ago, the passengers and crew of the QM-2, most of whom are Australians, passed on their message of support to Jessica.

Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady are currently experiencing an uncomfortable 4-metre "leftover" swell after a gale that passed through yesterday with 40knot winds. Conditions have improved today however, but they are still rolling along on a 4-metre swell.

According to the EPL Team's current estimates, Jessica is hoping to pass under Cape Leeuwin in about three weeks time. From Cape Leeuwin they are expecting that Jessica would take a further month to reach Sydney.

Team EPL further stated that unfortunately for all the West Australian supporters hoping to catch a glimpse of Jessica as she passes under Cape Leewuin, she is expected to be sailing a long distance south of the Coast, making any visual contact impossible.

I'm sure many Western Australians will have a light on for you Jessica and will be there with you in spirit as you pass under our great state.

I'll leave a Tilley lamp burning for you on the shore at Cape Leeuwin.

Jessica Watson - Broken Head and the Book Title

While Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady are presently enjoying perfect conditions outside, sadly the state of affairs down below are less than perfect as Jessica continues her efforts to resolve the on-going saga of her broken head (toilet/dunny).


Jessica reported yesterday that. "The dunny (toilet/head) is giving me a bit of grief. Despite spending yesterday afternoon pulling off and replacing various pipes, it's still refusing to work, which really has me stumped as it's not exactly the most complicated or high-tech piece of equipment. Definitely not the most glamorous or pleasant job, but I can only keep trying!"

Meanwhile, the search for an appropriate book title has begun and Jessica has graciously requested suggestions from her extensive fan base of world-wide bloggers for "a title that really fits and we all like". Needless to say, her blogsite is well on it's way to a record breaking number of comments once again as ideas are pouring in thick and fast from very enthusiastic and loyal fans everywhere.

Addit: Last count as of 11th March - 1070 comments! That's 12 comments more than when Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady rounded Cape Horn and a total of 1058 congratulatory comments came pouring in from all corners of the globe.

My personal preferences are:

• Bring on the Empty Ocean (as in David Niven's auto-biography,
  "Bring on the Empty Horses")
• Sail of the Century

Today marks Jessica's and Ella's Pink Lady's 144th day at sea as they cross the 16,500nm mark of their circumnavigation.

Congratulations everyone on a job well done!

Jessica Watson - Homesick & Landsick

Jessica reported in her latest blog that she was feeling homesick and landsick, so I was inspired to create this picture in an effort to capture this moment in her voyage. While feeling homesick is perfectly normal, she has every reason to feel landsick for her homeland, Australia - A Sunburnt County.


As Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady progress across the Indian Ocean, they have been experiencing remarkable variables in weather conditions. They're now making good headway in a more easterly direction after previously having to alter course to head a little further north in order to avoid some low pressure cells to the south.

After reaching uncomfortably in a pretty big sea over the past 24-36hours, conditions have now abated and they are making slow but steady progress and enjoying the calm, sunny weather while catching up on the housekeeping and maintenance chores that are every sailors "routine" activities of daily living.

Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady are flying along east now and have just passed their 16,000nm mark. Exactly one week ago on the 28th February, they passed the 15,ooonm mark which means they covered 1,000nm in 7 days, averaging 142nm (+/-) per day. That is truly remarkable!

Congratulations!!! Sail on home Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady

Jessica Watson - Passing the 15,000nm mark

Jessica has just sailed past the 15,000nm mark of her solo circumnavigation to add another significant milestone under her belt.


Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady are currently sailing in light winds but, whilst the weather conditions on their patch of the Indian Ocean are calm at present, Jessica is very much aware of the potential challenges in this sector of her voyage of adventure around the globe.

Jessica is to be commended for the discipline she has demonstrated in carrying out all the running maintenance on board Ella's Pink Lady which she has executed with meticulous attention to detail, all the while enjoying every moment of what has become part of her daily routine.

We can all rest assured that Jessica is well prepared for any change in conditions out there and remains alert and focused as she realises how rapidly weather patterns can change in this region.

We wish her a smooth run across the Indian Ocean and that she manages to avoid the worst of any foreseeable weather predictions until her safe return home to Sydney.

Jessica Watson - Another milestone

Farewell Atlantic Ocean..... Hello Indian Ocean....... Jessica Watson and Ella's Pink Lady are well on their way home.


Today Jessica rounded the Cape of Good Hope under the African Continent to put another milestone under her belt and bring her closer to home.

The Cape of Good Hope is at Longitude 28deg_18E. After sailing a further 8deg_E (+/-) Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady crossed the "imaginary" line that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Indian Ocean. As is explained by Andrew on the Latest News section of Jessica's website, "The Indian Ocean is delineated from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20° east meridian running south from Cape Agulhas".

As Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady bid farewell to the Atlantic Ocean, they greet the Indian Ocean with excited but nervous anticipation. They are back in the roaring 40's and are presently enjoying very favourable weather conditions.

Jessica wrote in her latest post, "As a high pressure system passed over us, we've had perfect clear skies, warm sunshine, gentle seas, plenty of birds and the odd albatross for company". This is certainly a far cry from the roaring conditions she experienced after rounding Cape Horn, a distant memory ago.

Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady have now sailed over 14,750 nm and are expected to pass the 15,000 nm mark of their voyage later this week.

The next sector of this epic voyage will last more than 4,000 nm in a direct path to Western Australia.

Jessica Watson - Leftovers after 4 months

"The pile of leftovers normally include crackers, banana chips, dried peas and tinned beans"..... Jessica Watson on likes and dislikes about the contents of her food bags. The challenge for Jessica now is what to do with all these, if in fact she can bring herself to eating them, albeit well disguised.


After four months at sea, Jessica reported yesterday that it still feels like only yesterday she departed Sydney on her voyage of adventure around the globe. She has done exceptionally well in settling into daily life afloat and is currently enjoying some good sailing conditions and making excellent progress, running with 25knots of wind behind her.

Julie, Jess' mum had the enormous task of provisioning Ella's Pink Lady with all the food Jessica took with her to sustain her through an anticipated 8 month voyage. Julie did remarkably well in providing Jessica with a wide variety of foods and meant well in including what are now leftovers, it seems, but with a little imagination I'm sure Jess will make good use of some of them.

I personally can't think of a better recipe than to crush and mix all the ingredients together and incorporate the whole lot into a dough of bread, scones, muffins or whatever in an effort to disguise what Jessica finds so unpalatable about them. If nothing else, it's a good lesson in making the most of what we have inboard. I mean, we can't very well nip down to the corner deli now can we? :-))

Jessica Watson - East/West Hemis

Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady have now sailed across the Prime Meridian into the Eastern Hemisphere. They are approximately 800 nautical miles from rounding the Cape of Good Hope, another milestone which puts them that much closer to home.


Tomorrow, Thursday 18th February will be Jessica's and Ella's Pink Lady's 4th month at sea since departing Sydney on 18 October, 2009. Jessica is also expected to pass the 14,000 nautical mile mark of her solo circumnavigation.

After a few frustrating days without much wind, the conditions have improved for Jessica. The wind has picked up with gusts of up to 30 knots for most of yesterday and so Ella's Pink Lady has been flying along, peeling off the miles south then east on her way towards the Cape of Good Hope.

Congratulations Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady as well as all the EPL support team back home on a job well done!

Jessica Watson - Wall to Wall Blue

"Along with the flying fish I've been seeing quite a bit of plastic and rubbish floating past recently, it looks so out of place and ugly drifting by on the swell. So I've resolved to put a lot more effort into refusing plastic bags and using less plastic when I get home."...Jessica Watson.


Jessica posted the most beautiful picture of wall-to-wall blue the other day. Sadly, she also expressed her disgust at the amount of rubbish she has been sailing past lately and declared that she will be more mindful of her use of plastic when she gets home.

I hope all those who read Jessica's post and also take the time to visit me here will be inspired to think about how they can contribute to the conservation of our planet.

Every little bit helps and, at the end of the day, it starts with the choices that we make.

Who knows, maybe some day in the future we may even see mermaids again. Some may even surface to share pampering sessions with the Jessica Watsons of the future. :-))

Jessica Watson - Protect our Oceans

Jessica has revealed yet another of her very endearing qualities. Whether she realised it or not, as she penned her latest post, she is in a position of advocacy and has sent out a strong message on the importance of thinking before throwing in order to protect our oceans.


Most of our waste today is comprised of plastic. Made from petroleum, plastic is a material that our planet cannot digest. Every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists, except for a small amount that has been incinerated, releasing toxic chemicals.

In the ocean, plastic waste accumulates in swirling seas of debris. Plastic to sea life ratios now stand at 6:1. Birds and mammals are dying of starvation and dehydration with bellies full of plastics. Fish are ingesting toxins at such a rate that soon they will no longer be safe to eat.

What can we do about it? First, we need to understand and comprehend the size of the problem. Then together we need to find the solutions. Every little bit helps and it has to start with each and every one of us making a conscious effort to simply think before we throw.

Jessica Watson - Orange Buoys

Orange buoys or Orange boys? One things for sure, Parker now has his job cut out for him in making sure he doesn't trip over any of them.


Jessica today reported that while she was sitting at the chart table staring out the port hole, she got a huge fright as a great big orange object floated past less than a meter away from Ella's Pink Lady. It turned out to be some sort of fishing buoy complete with aerial and just avoided getting into a tangle with Parker!

It all sounds a bit sus to me 'though, because when the fish are not biting, fishing boys can get pretty creative about how to pass the time away... I reckon they sent one of their buoys out to see what all the fuss is about this little pink boat. :-))

Jessica Watson - Voyage Wall Chart

The latest addition to the Jessica Watson experience is a wall chart available for purchase at Jessica's website store.

Albert Ross has summoned all the Scallywag crew ashore to promote the beaut new wall chart.


You and all your friends can now follow Jessica’s voyage on this new wall chart, which Jessica has helped design for all her fans.

The Voyage Wall Chart is a high quality, coated, poster measuring 990mm x 680mm and shows Jessica's voyage around the world.

Each chart comes with Jessica Watson stickers so you can plot her journey by checking the website and placing the stickers on the map.

This is the perfect way for classrooms, workplaces and families to follow Jessica on her travels.

30 stickers are included with each map.

Jessica Watson - The Scallywags on watch

When the Scallywags are on watch, you never know what mischief they can get up to. I guess they're pretty desperate to catch some fish and put the powdered eggs away for a while.

Jessica Watson's latest report puts her in some pretty fine sailing conditions, making very good progress and averaging 7knots over the past 24 hours. She says Bob's altered her course to a more northerly direction in anticipation of some "nasties" approaching further south.

Let's hope Ella's Pink Lady manages to get far enough away from any nasties so Jessica can enjoy her crew's little peace offering after their lack of excitement about her new t-shirt.

Sail on Jessica with fair winds, calm seas and tight lines.

Jessica Watson - Tumble then Dry

Catching up with some washing and hanging them out to dry along the lifelines and rigging.


Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady have reported to be far enough north to be able to start making progress eastward. They're not too far north however to miss the the prevailing tradewinds but far enough away from the nasty lows they encountered down south a few days ago. Sounds like a good plan to me.

They are enjoying some quiet sailing conditions at the moment and what better way to recover and seek out some respite than the relief and comfort you get from listening to your washing flapping in the breeze while reading a book on the foredeck. Perfectly, heavenly...you wouldn't wanna be dead for quids!

Enjoy every moment and stay safe. You and Ella's Pink Lady are champions and very tough cookies indeed!

Jessica Watson - After the Storm

This is a picture Jessica took of herself as she was rounding Cape Horn and I thought it showed her in a very reflective mood.

On Thursday 21st January 2010, Jessica Watson experienced a violent storm overnight with wind gusts of up to 70 knots and a swell of 7-10 metres, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Jessica also experienced her first knockdown and then had to endure three more during the eight hour storm. She was belted in to her wet-seat throughout.

Despite the horrific conditions and some minor damage, the good news is that both Jessica and Ella’s Pink Lady have fared well.

The winds have now abated and the dolphins have returned. She is sailing along in more pleasant conditions with a 10 knot breeze and a 3 metre swell.

Jessica is now cleaning up all the mess topside and is about to catch up on some sleep.

Jessica Watson - 11,000nm in her wake

This sign was erected in Jessica's honour on behalf of all bloggers from around the world who are so very proud of her.

Keep up the good work, Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady & Team.


Congratulations Jessica, Ella's Pink Lady and the entire Support Team on passing the 11,000nm mark of your circumnavigation. Well done also on weathering the storm you encountered in the process.

With wind gusts of up to 70-knots and up to 10-metre seas, not to mention 4 knockdowns, you rose to the challenge and passed with flying colour.

Your meticulous preparations and attention to detail paid off and you should be extremely proud of yourselves.

As the storm abates and you are once again able to relax a little, I wish you fair winds, calm seas and tight lines.

Jessica Watson - Lat 'n Long same number

My original picture had 50/50 on it and was meant to represent Jessica being halfway through her voyage as well as my guesstimation of her position at the time.

I wasn't far wrong but here's the final draft...49/49.


Jessica has just crossed a point in the Atlantic Ocean where the latitude and longitude are the same number – 49 degrees South and 49 degrees West. It is the only point of her voyage where the Latitude and Longitude are the same number.

Jessica and her Ella’s Pink Lady continue to make good progress, but they are currently bracing for a storm with gusts of over 60 knots predicted today, which marks day 97 of her epic solo circumnavigation.

Jessica Watson - Homeward bound

Ella's Pink Lady was indeed a sight to behold when she was photographed here seemingly dancing on the water while holding her skirt up to reveal her squeaky clean bottom. Such grace and beauty is what inspired the content of this particular image.


The latest update from Jessica has her out in the empty ocean again, away from land and shipping traffic, much to her and Ella's Pink Lady's relief.

As much as the past week has been extremely exciting for this young 16 year old, not to mention her entire support team and the rest of the world, Jessica is looking forward to the next leg of her voyage of adventure and to peeling off the miles of the second half of her circumnavigation.

Fair winds and calm seas, Jess. A few fish would be delish as well so good luck with that too.

Jessica Watson - Breathtaking achievement.

This is an expression of joyous elation... the feeling shared by everyone around the world but most especially by Jessica herself, having achieved such a monumental milestone. It takes your breath away!


Jessica Watson and Ella's Pink Lady have not only conquered Cape Horn and carved their names into our history books but they have achieved another milestone and broken two other records in the process.

They have sailed in excess of 10,000nm since departing Sydney on 18th October 2010. Another milestone done and dusted! Well done and congratulations also to Bob, Andrew and the rest of the EPL team.

Jessica is now the record holder for the youngest ever solo sailor to have rounded Cape Horn.

And.......drum roll please.....smashed the record with 1,000+ comments for a single post on her blog!

CONGRATULATIONS Jessica, Ella's Pink Lady and the entire support team on a job well done!

Jessica Watson - Rounds Cape Horn

This graphic is a tribute to Jessica, Ella's Pink Lady and the entire support team on behalf of all the bloggers following her voyage of adventure from all corners of the globe. We are all so very proud of her.


At 2040hrs (AEDT) today, 13th January 2010, Jessica Watson rounded Cape Horn. Hooray and congratulations on a job well done!

Jessica and Ella's Pink Lady have been sailing in 40 knot winds, mist, drizzle and a bumpy 4 metre sea over the last 24 hours and have risen to the challenge remarkably well.

The uncomfortable weather conditions are predicted to abate tomorrow as they progress in a more north easterly course towards the Falkland Islands.

Jessica Watson - Land Ho!

I dedicate this one to Jessica Watson's blog family. That Jessica has managed to inspire so many all over the world is simply amazing!

Today is a very exciting day for everyone as Jessica prepares to round Cape Horn. She has just reported that she is in sight of land and is looking forward to her parents' flyover plus a visit (sail-by) from both the Chilean and Argentinean navy. Then, as she nears within 100nm off the Falkland Islands, the Airforce may also treat her to a fly-over.

So, all-in-all a very exciting time for Jessica & EPL, not to mention her super support team and all the bloggers following her voyage from every corner of the globe.

Jessica Watson - Significant others

These may not be in chronological order because I posted them all at the same time.

I hope you enjoy what I have so far. Watch this space as I shall endeavour to capture moments of what Jessica experiences through her entire voyage of adventure around the world.

The third one above with the captions was a photo from Jess when she was becalmed at about 500nm (+/-) from Cape Horn. And yes, those are South American Espanalbatrosses. :-))

Jessica Watson - A Voyage of Adventure

This blog is intended to share a collection of graphics that I post on Jessica Watson's blog to commemorate her sailing voyage of adventure around the world.

Jessica is sailing an S&S-34 called "Ella's Pink Lady" in an attempt to break the record of being the youngest to circumnavigate the globe, solo, non-stop and unassisted. She started her voyage of adventure from Sydney Australia on 18th October 2009 and hopes to be safely back on terra firma at her point of departure before she turns 17 in May 2010.
Jess is a very dedicated and capable young sailor determined to fulfill her ambition, achieve her goal and ultimately realise her dream. With the encouragement and support of her amazing and very hard working shore team, Jessica is destined to succeed and smash her way into the record books.

I wish you fair winds and calm seas, Jess.

Love and best wishes... "samurai" Sam (Pictured below)