Jessica Watson’s circumnavigation less than 6,000 miles from finish

by Ray Pendleton

Jessica Watson, the 16-year-old Australian girl who cast off 144 days ago from Sydney Harbor on her planned non-stop, unassisted 23,000-mile solo voyage around the world, reports she has passed the 16,500 nautical mile mark and has less than 6,000 miles left to go.

Her pink 34-foot sloop, Ella’s Pink Lady, hasn’t been breaking any speed records, Watson posted on her blog yesterday, but she was still making steady progress eastward across the southern Indian Ocean.

“The sunshine and calm seas continue, so we're not exactly doing it too hard,” Watson wrote. “But when the speedo drops below three knots it becomes a bit of a test of my patience.

“The warm sunshine, amazing starry nights and lovely pink sunsets put in me in a great mood, but add speed as well and I'm one happy girl!” she added.

One small complaint came from Watson on Monday when, as all boaters can relate to, her “dunny,” or toilet, began giving her “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,” she reported. “Definitely not the most glamorous or pleasant job, but I can only keep trying!”

To her relief, she finally solved the problem by cleaning out “some tiny bits of grit stuck in the pressure relief/air valve.”

Watson also noted another advantage of her current weather conditions was that she has been able to leave her boat’s forward hatch open. This, as sailors everywhere know, provides the flow-through ventilation needed to fight mold and mildew below deck.

Watson’s next geographic landmark, Australia’s Cape Leeuwin, is about 3,500 nautical miles further east.


Honolulu Boating Examiner