Controversy surrounded her before she even set sail, but teen solo sailor Jessica Watson proved the critics wrong, writes Michael Sheather – and her mum was right there, all the way.
Jessica Watson, the 16-year-old, who has become the youngest person to sail non-stop and unassisted around the world, has a simple dedication to her book, True Spirit. “To everyone who followed and shared the voyage with me, thank you. And to Mum …”
“Mum was my first supporter,” says Jessica, now 17, who made a triumphant return to Sydney Harbour on May 15 this year, after her 210-day adventure.
“My father and everyone else took a long time to come on board, but it was Mum who sat down with me and listened while I told her I’m going to make this happen. The hardest part of this was convincing people that I could do it.”
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On the surface, Jessica Watson’s story is straightforward: a young girl who had a dream to sail around the world and, despite the greatest odds, devoted herself, mind and body, to make that dream a reality. Beneath this simple tale is another that is far more complex. That story is about a determined young woman whose dreams set her on a course through treacherous waters.
Yet beside her stood her mother, who had to learn not just to accept and trust, but that, sometimes, the best way to hold those you love close is to let them go.
“At first, I thought it might be just a phase she was going through, that Jess would be all enthusiasm for a while, but then move on to something else,” says Jessica’s mum, Julie, 46. “But that didn’t happen and I had to make a choice: was I going to support her or not? Very early on, I saw how determined she was and I knew Jessica was going to do it – in a bathtub if she had to. So, I thought, I might as well help as much as I can and make sure she does it safely.”
The decision to help Jess and support her brought with it a host of problems, not the least of which was a barrage of criticism which reflected on both Julie and her husband, Roger, as parents.
Many said Jess was too young and too inexperienced. Yet Julie’s confidence in her daughter never faltered.
“I can understand how people might have trouble relating to how I came to support Jessica’s decision,” says Julie. “It’s probably not a normal response from a mum. I always come back to the fact that if they had a daughter like Jessica, then they would believe in her, too, and I reckon they’d all make the same decision I did.”
Your say: Do you think Jessica’s parents made the right choice? Share with us below.
True Spirit by Jessica Watson, published by Hachette Australia, $35, is available now.
Read more of this story in the August issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.
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