Jessica Watson, who on Saturday cruised into Sydney Harbor to become the youngest person to sail around the globe solo, nonstop and unassisted, acknowledged in an interview aired Sunday that she shared some people's concerns that she might not be ready for the 23,000 nautical mile journey.
"It was driving me mad, because I hadn't actually done any solo sailing. And here I was telling the world I was about to sail solo, nonstop and unassisted around the world -- and I hadn't actually been out by myself," Watson told Australia's Ten Network, which helped sponsor her trip.
"I knew I could do it, but there was just that niggling doubt ... but yeah, it was fine in the end, obviously." Watson, who has been sailing since age 8, spent 210 days successfully maneuvering her 34-foot yacht, Ella's Pink Lady, through raging storms, 40-foot waves and seven boat knockdowns.
"All of a sudden you're sort of upside down or on your side and then time sort of stops and you're going, 'Oh my goodness,"' she said of the knockdowns. "You just don't know what's going to be left on deck." Still, she found the days leading up to storms the most unnerving.
"I was completely exhausted at the time. I was sort of a bit numb. So I wasn't actually thinking it was possible to get that scared," she said. "But before a storm, before you know it's gonna get bad, it worries you -- it hangs over your whole life for a few days until it happens." Watson, who will celebrate her 17th birthday on Tuesday, amassed a large following of armchair adventurers during her seven months at sea. She regularly updated her blog with details of her journey, from the dramatic knockdowns, to the simple joy of watching the sun set over glassy waters.
