13 years after her return, Jessica Watson's extraordinary story was made into a film:True Spirit has been available to watch on the Netflix streaming platform since 3 February. To coincide with the film launch, a new edition of her travelogue published by Delius Klasing Verlag appeared. She was also in the Podcast "Miles and lines" to look back on their adventures, but also on the film production - because there is a lot to tell.
Watson started her circumnavigation on 18 October 2009 in Sydney, where she returned to the Australian port on 15 May 2010. In the meantime, she had crossed the equator, spent Christmas at Point Nemo, the furthest point from any land, and braved four capsizes in the South Atlantic Ocean. She spent a total of 210 days alone at sea, passing Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope.
Watson's circumnavigation caused a stir
In her book, she tells the impressive story of her irrepressible will and tireless endeavours to realise her dream, her adventurous journey and the passion of her life, sailing, in a captivating and refreshingly relaxed manner.
In the first part, the young Australian talks about how she got into sailing and how she owes it not least to the support of her parents that she was able to realise her dreams. Sailing gradually became a "family affair", as she describes it. During her childhood and adolescence, Jessica Watson lived on a boat with her family for five and a half years, gaining a lot of experience on the water during this time and taking on responsibility at an early age. Her parents gave her a lot of freedom - including sailing solo around the world - and earned her a lot of criticism from the public. But it was her parents and her unusual childhood that shaped Jessica and gave her a lot to take with her: a love of travelling, a penchant for adventure, the desire to realise her own dreams and make unconventional decisions, self-confidence and self-assurance in her abilities.
Jessica Watson dreamed of such an adventure from an early age
She begins to dream of sailing around the world and reads everything she can find about single-handed sailing, intensively studying personalities who have already succeeded in circumnavigating the globe. Little by little, her desire to do the same gradually solidifies and she begins to make plans. At the age of just twelve, she spoke to her parents about her plans. Even then, Jessica believed in herself and that she could do it.
At some point along the way, I learnt that to really live life, you have to participate, pursue your passions and have the courage to dream really big. I don't know when that was."
However, it was by no means just a spontaneous idea or youthful recklessness: it took many years of preparation before she started her journey, during which she had to think carefully about her goal and overcome many hurdles in order to get closer to it step by step.
The sailing licence as a gateway to the world
Although she was still too young to obtain a boat licence, she gained experience as an unofficial skipper on many ocean voyages - not without the support of a few companions, whom she was able to convince of her passion and skills.
For me, the hardest part of this adventure was having to keep convincing people to take me seriously."
Jessica Watson talks about how she got her first boat, how difficult it was to find sponsors and what it was like to withstand the pressure of publicity and media criticism. On her 16th birthday, she finally gets her long-awaited licence and is finally allowed to sail on her own.
Watson's book also builds on her blog posts
The second and most extensive part of the book is dedicated to the young woman's long journey, which she documented in blog posts throughout and which she also incorporated into the book. They reflect her experiences in a particularly authentic and complete way, but she also expanded on them during the writing process and added events that she was not yet ready to talk about during her time at sea.
The challenge is great: she sails alone, needs enough water and food on board, has to carry out all the necessary repairs on board herself and has to cope with the weather conditions on her own. Extensive technical communication equipment enables her to stay in contact with the rest of the world.
She has divided her trip into six sections:
- From Sydney northwards to the Line Islands
- Southwards heading for Chile and Cape Horn
- North of Cape Horn
- From the South Atlantic to the African continent
- Around South Africa
- In the Southern Ocean and home
Jessica Watson became a heroine
Jessica Watson describes her everyday life on board, in which everyday things such as personal hygiene or sleeping suddenly become a big deal. The simple life at sea and the freedom fulfil her and make her happy, because it's always the moment that counts. She is exposed to the vagaries of the weather, reports storms and lulls, monster waves and capsizes, but none of this can stop her.
When she finally sailed into Sydney Harbour - three days before her 17th birthday - and after seven months had solid ground under her feet again, she was greeted by her family, friends and the frenetic cheers of thousands of people. Jessica Watson has made it and is the youngest sailor at the time to circumnavigate the world. Her most important message, which she conveys to the assembled crowd after her arrival, is that despite her success, she is not a hero, but just a normal girl who believed in her dream. Jessica Watson's story proves that with determination and hard work you can achieve anything.
