True Spirit: The Aussie girl who took on the world

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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. There is something different about adventurers; about the way their minds work. They look at the world as a place of challenges and though they know what fear is, they refuse to be hindered by it. This is a book for adventurers, for those who aspire, for those who are in pursuit of a dream, for those looking to defy the odds. Below are some of my favorite quotes from part one: My favorite quote that Jessica wrote in one of her diary entries was "You are only as big as the dreams you dare to live.” This is a really good quote that inspires me to set goals because she has proven to me that if you work hard enough they can come true. This quote was one of her many words of wisdom but for me i can relate to this one most. There are many people out there dreaming of great things…Believe and encourage them so they won’t lose one of humanity’s most prized assets—the ability to dream.”

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." 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.” No, at least not on her round-the-world trip. "That happened on a sea trial," she clarifies. She did use a fork, having gotten the idea from sailor Jesse Martin, who forgot his brush when he circumnavigated the globe. The movie finds Jessica (Teagan Croft) taping two forks together and using that as a brush.

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). Watson’s parents certainly copped some flak, both in the media and from strangers on the street, but they had brought all their children up to be responsible and independent - and I don’t think that they could have stopped her from her round-the-World attempt even if they tried! But through this book I can feel her can-do attitude, hopes, aspirations, and strength to achieve her dreams, even when others say she can't, because she's too young or not strong enough.

Now a Netflix film* The inspiring true story of Jessica Watson—an Australian teenager who set out to sail solo around the world! 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." 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.” 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! 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!It can get a bit confusing but throughout this book I have used miles to measure distances on land, and nautical miles to measure distances at sea. 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. In 2014, she gave a TEDx Talk called “Sail Away” which details all of the preparation that went into her voyage–from learning to stitch up sails to using the stars to navigate. In her most recent podcast appearance on the Australian podcast I’ve Got News For You, she also recounted her voyage and life.

I was very grateful for the great team I had helping me and knew should I succeed, it would be because of their efforts.”

This book was smooth. It flowed smoothly from section to section, never once making me feel lost or rushed. 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.

Jessica says that she handled it "really well." "I'm not sure if that means that I'm really simple or not, but I really did enjoy being by myself," she told 60 Minutes Australia. "I obviously really missed everyone, you know, from the day, the minute I started out of Sydney Harbour, you know, it was something's missing and I missed everyone so badly, but I did, I really enjoyed it. You know, once I got used to it, I enjoyed, you know, the sort of freedom, the independence of being by yourself." By 16, she had decided to circumnavigate the world by herself. On October 18, 2009, she (literally) set sail on her boat, Ella's Pink Lady, a 34-foot Sparkman & Stephens yacht. In the process, she faced monstrous waves, storms, and understandable loneliness. She would sail 18,582 nautical miles, which, for those that don't know, is slightly longer than a mile on land by 0.1508 miles. Jessica documented her travels on her blog and by video, which would become well-known and still holds hundreds of comments. I didn’t know if the crowd was there to show their support or to witness what many thought was my early defeat. I had to force myself to ignore negative thoughts and to concentrate only on guiding us up the river, throwing the occasional wave and half-hearted smile to nearby boats. 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. Any age record is eventually broken…Ultimately, this wasn’t about a record—I was looking for a challenge.”Her parents and three siblings are supportive, as well as her sailing coach Ben (Cliff Curtis), but the rest of the world seems to be waiting to see her fail. Some simply state that the 16-year-old girl is incapable of sailing a ship by herself all the way around the world, but there are also child welfare groups that question whether her parents should be allowing her to do the challenge. But despite the worries of Roger (Josh Lawson) and Julie (Anna Paquin), they support her desire to be the youngest person to complete the journey. 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." 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. 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. Reading about it all a decade later, however, did not change the fact that even at a young age, Jessica Watson had dreams. And she dreamt BIG. It is also clear that from her perspective, she worked hard to reach her dreams. She has first proven to her parents that she's serious and once she's got their support, she also received many others. Both morally & financially.