Jess closing in on Aussie shores

by Paul Munnings

SOLO sailor Jessica Watson has marked five months at sea by chatting with the skipper of a much larger vessel – the Queen Mary 2.

The Buderim teenager has covered just under 17,500 nautical miles on her non-stop voyage around the world and serious preparations have begun for her expected return to shore in Sydney at the end of April or, more likely, early May.

During the week, Jessica had a talk over the radio with Queen Mary 2 captain Nick Bates, who is also negotiating a path across the Indian Ocean – in the other direction and at much greater speed than Ella’s Pink Lady can manage.

The Queen Mary 2 is heading towards the island of Mauritius after leaving Fremantle in Western Australia.

“It was nice to chat with Captain Nick. He passed on his best wishes for the rest of my voyage, which was very kind of him,” Jessica said.

Jessica’s team estimates she will pass under Cape Leeuwin on the south-west coast of WA in about three weeks.

She is expected to be sailing a long distance from the coast, making any visual contact impossible for those on land.

From Cape Leeuwin, it is expected to take a further month for Jessica to reach Sydney.

“I keep telling myself that there’s still such a long way to go, but at the same time I can’t help feeling excited about so much HVP (high visual progress),” Jessica wrote on her blog.

“More and more of the familiar shape of Australia is sliding into view on the chart plotter screen as Ella’s Pink Lady slowly sails closer.”

Sunshine Coast Daily