Dolphin pod buoys Jessica Watson on her round-the-world journey

by Glenis Green

AN extraordinary visit by hundreds of dolphins has cheered on solo teen sailor Jessica Watson just as she admitted feeling "a bit mopey".

The Sunshine Coast adventurer encountered the amazing spectacle yesterday as she just clipped the edge of a southern severe weather system as she sailed her yacht, Ella's Pink Lady, towards South Africa's Cape of Good Hope.

Estimating the winds at a stiff 40 knots, Jessica, 16, said the 4m swells packed a punch, knocking her 10.4m vessel "a little".

"Before the wind started coming up I was treated to a visit from some dolphins, actually hundreds of dolphins!" she said in her daily blog.

"There were dolphins everywhere, in every direction right off to the horizon. Long lines of dolphins leaping out of waves, dolphins shooting off the swell, dolphins playing on Ella's Pink Lady's bow and dolphins quietly swimming along chatting to each other in small squeals and squeaks.

"I didn't know where to look and their visit came at just the right time too, as I'd been feeling a little bit mopey and frustrated, but the dolphins sure put a smile back on my face!"

Jessica, who had a shaky start to her attempt to be the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world when she hit a bulk carrier off the Gold Coast in September en route from Mooloolaba to her starting point in Sydney, said she had also seen three ships in the past two days.

She described the shipping as "a lot by my standards".

But more concerning for the self-confessed foodaholic was the fact that she was down to her last pack of Pringles and was running out of tinned fruit.

"On the positive, I did come across a hidden stash of Nutella," she said.

Jessica is now more than halfway through her 22,000 nautical mile journey with just over 1500 nautical miles to go until she passes south of the Cape of Good Hope. She hopes to make it back to Sydney before her 17th birthday in May.

Weather expert Rodger Badham, who has been watching Jessica's voyage for The Courier-Mail, said the teen was sailing a fine line between stronger winds to the south and soft winds to the north.

couriermail.com.au