Come home safely, Jessica
April 15th 2010 08:10
The Great Southern Ocean can be a terrible place, and there is in it at this moment a small, pink boat which has been battered for three days by wind gusts of over 50 knots, six-metre swells and a cold, stinging rain.
On the boat is a 16-year-old girl. Her thoughts right now are on making the right decisions to survive, on repairing a mainsail ripped by the winds, and on when she might be able to catch up on some sleep, but there must be a growing number of moments when she allows herself to think about an extraordinary truth: I am nearly home.
Jessica Watson is within about three weeks of achieving what she set out to do: become the youngest person ever to sail alone and unassisted around the world. And as she sails closer to the finish line in Sydney Harbour, she will galvanize a nation.
When Kay Cottee became the first woman to sail solo around the world in 1988, we listened via the then technological marvel of a live radio cross as she and her 11-metre sloop made their way across the Great Southern Ocean. She became an Australian hero, and Watson will do the same.
Perhaps even more so, because Watson is less than half Cottee's age, because her boat is even smaller at 10.2 metres, and because it is pink. She has had to overcome other disadvantages: the handle of Cottee's kettle did not fall off like Watson's did, and while Cottee famously celebrated passing the Cape of Good Hope with a bottle of Australia's iconic Grange Hermitage, Watson is too young for such partying.
On the other hand, Cottee didn't have her parents and siblings fly over in a light plane to celebrate being back in Australian waters. That happened for Watson on April 11, and it was surely a moment of celebratory emotion to know that the nearest land, if she could see it, due north, was Western Australia's Cape Leeuwin.
Jessica Watson and her wonderful pink boat were back under the shadow of the land she calls home. Welcome home, Jess.
images: heraldsun.com.au, yachtpal.com
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Comment by Andy Tope
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Comment by Chris Champion
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Comment by Janet Collins
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I take my hat off to her but I really think that there is such pressure out there for people to become "firsts". There is talk about a 13-year old climbing Mount Everest.
It is this pressure that often clouds the dangers in embarking on adventures like Jessica has done. It is a wonderful accomplishment I won't ever take that away from her. What about the next person who tries? How young, is too young?
Good post.
Comment by Chris Champion
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We were simultaneously writing comments on each other's blogs. I just hope, in this endeavour, and this chosen way to spend our evenings, your red wine is going down as nicely as mine.
I suspect we have eons to go before we answer "how young is too young". It's like the 100 metres world record - the increments by which it is broken will get smaller and smaller.
Comment by RubySoho
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If that fails, she will win Wimbledon at the age of 9, carving a full 2 years off the previous youngest winner, Mia Hewitt.
Childhood. Pffffft. Who needs it? Just as long as parents get to live vicariously and impose gender distinctions on their children's freaking boats.
Pink Lady? That'll be your vagina Jess.
Comment by Chris Champion
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I'm glad to see you're not mellowing
My daughter, who is nearly an Eva, being an Ava, was supposed to win Wimbledon by age nine too. She's now 10, and obviously a slow developer.
Comment by RubySoho
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To be honest I really don't much care what Jessica does. I am already dreading all the media bullshit when the giant vagina sails into Sydney Harbour though.