26 Facts About Jessica Watson

Jessica Watson was born on 18 May 1993 and is an Australian sailor who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal after attempting a solo circumnavigation at the age of 16.

Jessica Watson has an older sister and younger brother and sister.

When Jessica Watson was eleven and they were still living on the boat, her mother read Jesse Martin's book Lionheart: A Journey of the Human Spirit to the children as a bedtime story.

Jessica Watson started sailing when she was 14 years old.

Jessica Watson's planned circumnavigation route was to start and end at Sydney and to pass near New Zealand, Fiji, Kiribati, Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and South East Cape.

Jessica Watson wrote a book about her experience, True Spirit, published by Hachette Australia.

Jessica Watson filmed a documentary about her solo trip before, during and after completing her journey.

At the time she left on her voyage, Jessica Watson had the following qualifications:.

Jessica Watson was deeply involved in the preparation of the boat, which she named Ella's Pink Lady.

Jessica Watson has named the system Parker after the chauffeur of the pink Rolls-Royce in the Thunderbirds television series.

Jessica Watson was able to retain control and return the boat to Southport under motor.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau's preliminary report on the collision found that Jessica Watson had been taking a five-minute nap during the event, and that while she had checked her radar prior to lying down, she had failed to spot the Silver Yang.

Jessica Watson arrived in the Australian economic zone on 10 April 2010, celebrating with crackers and Vegemite.

When south of Australia, Jessica Watson suffered a lot of bad weather.

Jessica Watson's journey has been criticised, particularly after the collision with the freighter.

Jessica Watson commented on this matter in her book True Spirit.

Jessica Watson got the impression it was not necessary to follow the route Jesse Martin followed, a route Watson knew well from reading Martin's book more than once.

Since attempting her circumnavigation, Jessica Watson has been recognised with a number of awards.

Jessica Watson was named the Australian Geographic Society's Young Adventurer of the Year in 2010.

Jessica Watson was selected as one of the ten international "2010 Adventurers of the Year" by National Geographic Society, and was the only sailor in the group.

Jessica Watson was named the Young Australian of the Year on 25 January 2011.

Jessica Watson was selected as one of the entrants to the Who's Who in Australia 2012 edition.

Jessica Watson was the first female skipper to cross the line in the 2011 Sydney to Hobart and as a result earned the Jane Tate trophy.

Jessica Watson received an Order of Australia Medal in the Australia Day Honours List in January 2012 for service to sailing and to youth through the achievement of sailing solo and unassisted around the world, and as a role model for young Australians.

In 2015, Jessica Watson was awarded the Leif Erikson Young Explorer Award by the Exploration Museum, in Husavik, Iceland.

Jessica Watson took part in the Mini Fastnet sailing race, in Europe, in June 2011, sailing a two-person mini sailboat with Scott Cavanough as skipper.