Departing Mooloolabah on Ella's Pink Lady, Jessica Watson prepares for her record breaking attempt

Preparing for her record breaking attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop and unassisted around the world, Jessica Watson departed Mooloolabah with a rousing send off. Friends, family and supporters lined the banks of the river as Jessica raised her newly branded sails reflecting Ella Bache's sponsorship. After a dedicated effort that saw her team working day and night to have the yacht and Jessica prepared in line with her mid September departure from Sydney, Ella's Pink Lady looked suitably equipped to withstand the tough voyage ahead.

Regrettably for Jessica, within 24 hours of leaving Mooloolabah her vessel was limping into Southport with a damaged rig after colliding with a bulk carrier off Moreton Island. It's hard to know whether a collision at sea is the worst thing to happen to a yachtie, or whether a fire onboard is a yachtie's 'worst case scenario'. Any person contemplating a voyage such as the one Jessica is to undertake has emergency plans drilled into their head. Indeed, for some, a pessimistic outlook is almost as essential as the ability to sail and to navigate. It is only through expecting the worst, and anticipating the action required, that a sailor has the ability to deal with all that comes their way. Sailing solo only exacerbates the potential for drama, with no-one with whom to share your fears, nor talk over emergency strategies. Jessica is pretty level-headed, as her actions in the aftermath of the collision attest. No doubt shaken to her core, she retrieved the situation, dusted herself off and motored to a safe harbour.

While debate rages about whether a 16 year should be permitted to attempt such a voyage, and doubt is cast on her parents', Julie and Roger, motives and their integrity, let's not lose sight of what this young woman has achieved. Sure, she found herself in a very dangerous situation, where she had little experience. One that could have been fatal. Just as many 16 year olds do when they jump into a car driven by their lunatic friends. Or when they experiement with drugs or alcohol. Teenagers take life threatening risks every day. Jessica has taken an enormous risk by allowing her family, friends, indeed strangers across the world, to share her dream. That she has set herself such an ambitious goal means she is obliged to put herself into the public domain. Being a naturally shy person, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to achieve her goal quietly, well away from the public spotlight. But when you aim high, you put yourself up for riducle when things go wrong.

The difference between Jessica and many other teenagers is that she has assessed the risks, and trained minutely for what she is attempting. While you can't know exactly what will happen in such an emergency, you can put all the systems in place to deal with whatever hand you're dealt. Which it seems she did quite well, as it turns out. Yes, she made a mistake. Whether she fell asleep, or her attention was diverted elsewhere, or whatever the cause, she was fortunate to sustain little personal damage other than a severely damaged pride. Experienced ocean-voyaging sailors will say that most incidents, whether a grounding, a collision or a sinking will happen within sight of land. There is an unfounded sense of safety when you know that land (read: safety) is within reach. In actual fact sailing offshore is far simpler than coastal voyaging, with Jessica's incident another one for the pundits to mull over.

I know that Jessica will have learnt from this experience. A tough lesson to learn, but one that she, and her parents, will eventually be grateful for. There is nothing quite like a near death experience to change your outlook on life. She will become a tough, hardened, and most probably very successful, sailor from this one incident. But more importantly, she will look at the world with a new perspective, having looked up from the deck of her tiny yacht into the destructive hull of a looming bulk carrier.

More information about Jessica's amazing attempt can be found at www.jessicawatson.com.au

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