I’m not one to watch the news. There’s too much death and destruction, but I happened upon a story recently that caught my eye.
16 year old Australian schoolgirl, Jessica Watson, made headlines when she announced plans to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world non-stop. It’s a tall undertaking with a crew, let alone solo and only 16 years old.
In preparation, she set out on a 10 day trial trip, sailing from the Sunshine Coast to Sydney in her 10m, bright pink yacht called Ella’s Pink Lady. Sydney was to be the starting point of her world record attempt.
Unfortunately, she didn’t make it far. An altercation with a 63,000 tonne cargo ship just off Brisbane at 2.30 in the morning meant a premature end to the trial…and her dream.
Given the media attention she’d already attracted through the announcement of her momentous dream, you can imagine the circus she encountered as she limped into the Gold Coast Harbour. Failure is not easy for anyone to face but in front of the scrutinising eyes of the world, it’s even tougher.
In the true spirit of a dream chaser though, Jessica said she wasn’t proud of the incident but admitted she’d come out the other end with more confidence. And she remains determined to sail the world.
Being a dream chaser myself, I found Jessica’s website and decided to send her a note as encouragement to keep the dream alive. I hope she does.
“Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals. I never had a crisis that didn’t make me stronger.” – Lou Holtz
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Have you ever overcome a major obstacle in the way of a dream?
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Yeh i saw that on the news last night. Made me wonder how they do manage to be aware of huge boats when they are sleeping, as everyone has to sleep. Have you heard about the girl who is 13 years old and wants to sail round the world but the Dutch Government is saying she is not allowed to do so. This girl was born just of the coast of NZ so she is trying to move to NZ with the hope the NZ government will let her do it. I don’t think she has too much hope TBH. I’m amazed her parents support her in this dream of sailing round the world at 13 years old as to me just seems a crazy idea. I mean how much experience is this girl going to have with coping alone for so long (mentally and physically), not to mention things going wrong, communication equipment failing, having to make fast life saving decisions when it comes to huge storms coming her way etc. Not a lot im guessing.
Sami,
Even though it didn’t go as planned, I still love the whole idea of what she set out to do. Dreams in action… And maybe they don’t all work out, but the more you do it, the better your odds (and it makes life pretty awesome along the way!).
And you too, Sami – keep dreaming and keep chasing…
Sami,
My first thought was that maybe she wasn’t ready to do this if an accident took place so close to home. Then I thought, “no better place to have an accident then where there’s help.” All of her safety checks get tested.
What are really her options? Not doing it now and waiting for what? So many of us put our dreams aside out of fear.
I hope she sticks with it.
Joe
Jessica has my standing ovation, but all the people who are supporting her in her dream-chasing have my applause as well! I expect they are the wind beneath her wings — I wish her great soaring heights and all the wisdom that goes with it
Major obstacles? Um. . . er . . . hmmm . . . can’t put a finger on one, but I could show you a map of all the winding back roads taken to get to my dreams. Lovely views, you know — I’m not a crow so I don’t fly straight.
@MartYn
Hi MartYn, yeah, we had the same discussion here re what do solo sailors do for sleep, especially if they’re sailing in a shipping channel?
I did hear about the 13 year old. This is a tough one for me because I’m the last person who likes to disuade anyone from going after a dream. In this case though, and of course without knowing her or her family, I think it would be a huge risk for her at such a young age.
@Lance
Hey Lance, yes, she’s an inspiration, especially if you read what she’s done to get to this point. My post didn’t really do it justice but she’s worked hard and prepared for this for a long time now. You know me Lance, I’ll keep chasing!!
@Joe
Hi Joe. I can totally understand that thinking she may not be ready was your first response. I’m sure it’s crossed a lot of people’s minds. I did a bit of reading up on her though and she seems to have done years of preparation and build up to this point. And like you said, no better place for things to go awry. Her response to the whole thing has shown maturity beyond her years as well.
I really hope she sticks with it too.
@Jeanne
Hey Jeanne. From what I’ve read, she does have a massive support base behind her. Something like this would need a massive support base. It’s not common to find someone realising a dream without having at least one person behind them.
Yep, I have a few winding back roads myself. Evidently I don’t fly straight either!
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I must admit I DID wonder whether she would have the emotional maturity to face the obstacles she will inevitably come across. However, when the yachting and business worlds came to her aid, and in doing so, saluted her and her dream, I was thrilled … thrilled that she will be able to continue with her dream trip but also thrilled to see people come to her assistance. By all accounts, they are pulling out all stops by contributing time and money to get her Pink Lady back in the water. Humans are good people – it is just that we always seem to hear about the not-so-good-humans!
@Mum May
Hi Mum. Yeah, I wondered how she’d go too but she’s definitely proven herself in how she’s managed this situation. It is awesome to see so many people helping her. I have to admit, the cynic in me was expecting a huge amount of ridicule but that doesn’t seem to be the case which is so great to see.