True Spirit: The Aussie girl who took on the world

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Did Jessica perform the tradition of dunking herself in salt water when she crossed the equator for the first time? I believed if I made the effort, had the right boat, prepared myself physically and mentally, developed my sailing skills, and sought out the knowledge a solo sailor needs, that I’d have as much chance as anyone to sail around the world.” Very, very early, every Sunday, I cycle the Brisbane River Loop. A short 35 Km route that takes me over the Goodwill Bridge. From there, you can see Ella's Pink Lady (Jessica Watson's boat) in the Brisbane Maritime Museum where she's on display (the boat, not Jessica). I used to occasionally stop and marvel at how small the boat looks...compared to how BIG the ocean is. I'd think how brave this skinny little Aussie girl was. Even though she completed her round the world trip 10 years ago, I still hadn't gotten around to reading her book. Then, for some reason, Ella's Pink Lady was gone! Thankfully to return after restoration. This made me think I'd better read Jessica's book soon in case it disappears too! It started with the trailer for the Netflix movie. I’m not normally drawn to “based on a true story” books or movies but that trailer immediately hooked me so when it finally released I watched the movie and needed to know more about Jessica Watson and her story! What an incredibly inspiring individual. I’m blown away by what she accomplished at only 16 and I enjoyed reading about every moment of her journey. Her dedication, passion, and grit at such a young age really goes to show that anyone can do anything if they dream big enough and want it bad enough. Which is the very message she wanted to convey throughout the course of her book. I feel so inspired to continue chasing my own dreams. To continue to dream big! If Jessica Watson, at the age of 16, can circumnavigate the entire world entirely alone, experiencing multiple near-death experiences, then I can write and publish those books. I can become my own boss and work for myself. I can improve my drawing and other creative abilities. If Jessica can do something as challenging as sail around the world, then I can accomplish my own dreams that just don’t seem as daunting in comparison. Not that my dreams aren’t just as important, they just seem so much more doable now!

I know it for a fact that lots of people are inspired and encouraged by Jessica's spirits - determination and courage to realize their dreams. It is beyond doubt and it is also Jessica's initiative to write her blogs and publish the book.She told Entertainment Weekly, "The 15 ft. underwater is real because my emergency beacon did self-activate as the boat sank. That happened. But the time I was upside down for, it certainly felt like a long time. I haven't really got a concept of how long it was in reality, but we are talking seconds compared to what we see in the movie, which stretches on forever in minutes and minutes and minutes. That's a little bit of an exaggeration there, but it was real to the experience of it feeling like forever." Since her voyage, Jessica has maintained a pretty private life. However, her public appearances mostly take the shape of inspiring speeches or podcast interviews. I would rather be sailing than anything else, and I love the challenge of making my own decisions and overcoming the problems thrown at me.”

I could give you a million technical arguments, you know, my trip is no different to so many other people who have circumnavigated and you know become very famous for doing it," said Jessica, "but it's like I said, it doesn't worry me. There's always going to be someone out there who says something, and possibly because they just don't want to believe that it's possible for a 16-year-old to sail around the world." I’d left Mooloolaba with an escort of boats and helicopters at around ten that morning, and after fifteen hours at sea and weeks of full-time preparation I was feeling tired and slightly queasy. It normally took me a few days to find my sea legs. Confident that everything was fine, I decided to put my head down for a few minutes and have a catnap. Jessica Watson is a very good, positive influence on girls around the world my age. Scratch that- people EVERYWHERE of ANY AGE. I don't need a wish. I've got the ability to dream; that's all anyone needs to make their wishes and dreams come true. You don't need a shooting star, you can do it yourself."The part I liked most about the novel was that she was always so positive. Throughout the book Jessica faced life threatening events but with her positive nature and incredible sailing ability she managed to push through it. As she sailed she also updated a blog which she recorded all her events. When i read some of them it felt like i was out their with her!She was a very good, detailed writer. Tilda Swinton is remarkable in The Eternal Daughter 24 November, 2023 Bradley Cooper's Maestro will win Oscars - lots of them 24 November, 2023 Does it matter if Napoleon gets its facts wrong? 22 November, 2023 Jessica spent years preparing for this moment, years focused on achieving her dream. Yet only eight months before, she collided with a 63,000-ton freighter. It seemed to many that she’d failed before she’d even begun, but Jessica brushed herself off, held her head high, and kept going. I was very grateful for the great team I had helping me and knew should I succeed, it would be because of their efforts.”

Imagine what chain of events would have had to occur for a teenager who was washing dishes to pay for sailing experience, with no boat and only a dream, to become the girl who two years later would sail into Sydney harbor to the rapturous welcome of tens of thousands of fans, the public praise of the Prime Minister, and international sailing stardom! if Andrew Short showed me anything, it was to live life to the fullest and cherish the things that matter to you. For him it was sailing and his family. For me, it is the same.”

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The last part of the book chronicles the incredible welcome that Jessica received after completing her record breaking voyage, as a country stopped to welcome home one of its own who dared to carry on in the face of adversity, and fulfill her ambition. By that point, Jessica had roughly 6,000 ocean and 6,000 coastal miles of sailing experience. She had also taken numerous courses, including several maritime safety and first-aid courses. She completed a radar course, diesel engine course, radio operator course, and a yachtmaster ocean theory course. Jessica's solo, nonstop, unassisted around-the-world journey took 210 days (approximately seven months) and she logged 24,285 nautical miles, though her officially recognized sailing distance was considerably less. She departed Sydney Harbour on October 18, 2009 and returned on May 15, 2010. We had all come to terms with the dangers involved in what I was planning, so we didn’t let this stop us.” In an interview at the time, Watson said: “I wanted to challenge myself and achieve something to be proud of. And yes, I wanted to inspire people.

Written in three sections, the first part covers Jessica’s family life, her relationship with her siblings and parents and how she came to sail. I found it interesting that the family grew up travelling in their family boat and for most part the children were home schooled which allowed plenty of time to learn practical outside classroom skills. I chose to read 'True Spirit' an autobiography written by Jessica Watson about her journey circumnavigating the world single handed at the age of 16 because my Grandparents decided to get me a copy of her novel for my Birthday. I really enjoyed reading about her journey because i to love to sail. This inspiring novel falls into the category of a dairy, autobiography or biography. Jessica Watson wrote her autobiography as she was sailing around the world and published it a year after she returned. A half-moon had risen, giving the sea a silvery sheen above the darkness below. After sunset, the still, glassy conditions of the afternoon had been blown away by a light wind from the west, and Ella’s Pink Lady was making good time under full sail with the mainsail, staysail, and headsail set. I couldn’t have asked for better conditions for my first night out. Watching Ella’s Pink Lady sail along at a steady 4 knots, I felt extremely proud of my cute little pink yacht. I contemplated the next few days before my circumnavigation. It was a beautiful night, and the thought of something going wrong was the farthest thing from my mind. True Spirit is an inspiring memoir that proves that we all have the power to live our dreams - no matter how small or how big they are. The day the movie “true spirit” I watched it. And the day after. And the day after that. And then about 15 more times after that. I had no idea who Jessica Watson was before the movie was recommended to me on Netflix but after watching the movie I needed to read the book too and I can confidently say this was incredibly beautiful and powerful too! She really is such an inspiration!

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Jessica Watson sailed solo around the world in her 16th year. I must confess to having vaguely seen something of her on television but seriously those 6 months that she was sailing, I was more of a zombie than human, thanks to my little human being born just 10 days before Watson launched. Now a Netflix film* The inspiring true story of Jessica Watson—an Australian teenager who set out to sail solo around the world! I also learned so much about sailing through this book! (I knew absolutely nothing about the subject) and that I found intriguing as well. In her book True Spirit, she stated, "If I haven't been sailing around the world, then it beats me what I've been doing out here all this time!" Her manager, Andrew Fraser, defended her journey by pointing out that the WSSRC does not recognize records achieved by sailors who are not yet eighteen, so their input doesn't matter. He argued that it was never stated she would be going for a world record, simply that she would become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, nonstop, and unassisted ( Brisbane Times).