Jessica Watson made it

[girliejones]

I gotta admit that I only got on the Jessica Watson bandwagon yesterday. Before then I was both skeptical she could make it round the world by herself and bored by the concept. I saw some of her phone homes along the way and was mostly annoyed that she hadn't brushed her hair

Comments

[waqem007]

I couldn't agree more!

I wasn't that interested before (sailing not really my cup of tea) but the achievement of Jessica, sailing by herself for 210 days around the world (doesn't that just mean going around, not up and down?) deserves every record that it can get.

[girliejones]

Yeah apparently you have to cross the equator? Which kinda is more up and down than just around to me but probably has to do with making sure everyone travels the same distance from their starting point.

[angriest]

I assume this is because someone crossing the Earth via the southern oceans would have a much shorter journey than someone crossing at the equatorial level?

[hawkeye7]

Yes. Otherwise you could just sail the roaring forties, circumnavigating Antarctica.

[editormum]

It IS great, but I wish the media would stop saying it's 'heroic' and she's a 'hero'. A hero is someone who pulls a baby out of a burning building. Inspirational, yes. Heroic, no.

[girliejones]

I dunno. I think it proves she has certain qualities though - I think it shows she is mentally and physically tough, that she is independent and capable and brave and disciplined. These are the makings of true heroes. And I think she has reminded me to ignore my detractors and believe in myself and follow my own dreams. Heroes can be inspirational and help you to believe in yourself, can't they?

[angriest]

I agree - what she did is impressive, but not heroic. Not in my book.

[girliejones]

Yeah but similarly it could be argued that the term should also not be used for people who overcome illness. I think heroes inspire greatness in others, not just in doing heroic things themselves

[mandysbitch]

I too was swept up in the excitement yesterday. It was great viewing! I did a lot of bawling too (I'm such a sap). Mostly when she crossed the line and when she jumped up on the pontoon to hug her parents. All very emotional.

I saw her press conference too (how amazingly articulate and poised she is! And answered the questions about the Dutch 14 year old girl - who was prevented by a court order from sailing around the world - very diplomatically). She said she wasn't all that worried about the record because her real goal had just been to sail around the world - not to break a record. So that was very cool.

[girliejones]

Yeah I think she totally has the right perspective - focusing on the achievement not the accolades. Which I believe used to be the point of these competitions ...

[rachelholkner]

I thought it was all pink b/c it's one of the corporate colours of her major sponsor, Ella Baché.

[girliejones]

Possibly so - think their Sydney to Hobart yacht race boat might be pink too? Or is it red?

Either way I liked seeing the colour so empowered.

[angriest]

I am completely on the "please don't celebrate this like you are all doing, please don't make a big noise about world records" side. What if she had run into trouble and needed rescuing, at a cost of tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars? Was she or her family going to pay for that? (Maybe there were, I don't know.) What if she does inspire a truckload of teenagers to start sailing around the world, without the skill or experience necessary for such a journey?

Great feats of skill or endurance are impressive. I can understand why they should be celebrated. I'm very happy for her that she did something she wanted to do, and succeeded at it. I'm just not sure we should all be encouraging it - whether it a teenage boy or girl at the wheel.

[girliejones]

Well, it is an expensive sport - not every teenager is going to have access to a boat and I suspect most who do have access would not be allowed to circumnavigate the world alone with it.

I kinda think it proves that teenagers shouldn't be written off, that they are important and capable of adult skills and abilities.

[angriest]

The expensive sport part has been irritating me all day since watching the news. Part of me can't help but read the media coverage as "hooray, very rich teenage girl is about to get even richer". And I still can't move past the opinion that it was a grossly irresponsible thing for her to do - and if thing's *hadn't* all gone her way, and if she *had* got into trouble on the high seas, we'd all be talking about a very different news story.

[girliejones]

Except that I was thinking about this too and I reckon before less rich girls are gonna get a fair go at anything, rich girls should be allowed to have the same opportunities as rich boys.