*Now a Netflix film* The inspiring true story of Jessica Watson—an Australian teenager who set out to sail solo around the world! On May 15, 2010, after 210 days at sea and more than 22,000 nautical miles, sixteen-year-old Jessica Watson sailed her thirty-three-foot boat triumphantly back to land. She had done it. She was the youngest person to sail solo, unassisted, and nonstop around the world. 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. Told in Jessica’s own words, True Spirit is the story of her epic voyage. It tells how a young girl, once afraid of everything, decided to test herself on an extraordinary adventure that included gale-force winds, mountainous waves, hazardous icebergs, and extreme loneliness on a vast sea, with no land in sight and no help close at hand. True Spirit is an inspiring story of risk, guts, determination, and achievement that ultimately proves we all have the power to live our dreams—no matter how big or small. Jessica Watson was born on May 18th, 1993 on the Gold Coast of Australia . On May 15, 2010, at just sixteen, she became the the youngest person to have ever sail solo, unassisted and non-stop around the globe. A note from the author Thanks to all the people who have followed my blog. When I was putting this book together with my publisher, I started to rewrite the story of the voyage in a more traditional way, but it didn’t work. I lost something doing this. Instead, I decided to include the blogs, though they have been edited sometimes, and then expand on them to reveal things I wasn’t quite ready to talk about when I was at sea and to share things I have learned since. I hope you enjoy reading about my whole journey, not just my 210 days on the ocean. 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. 1 nautical mile = 1.15 miles All temperatures are given in degrees Fahrenheit. I’ve tried to explain the sailing terms as I go, but I have also included a glossary at the back of the book—I hope you find it helpful. Jessica Watson, 2010 Chart of Jessica’s circumnavigation 1. Departed from Sydney, October 18, 2009 - 2. Crossed the equator, November 19, 2009 - 3. Caught my first (and only) fish, November 23, 2009 - 4. Christmas at Point Nemo—the farthest point from any land - 5. Rounded Cape Horn, January 13, 2010 - 6. Experienced four knockdowns in the South Atlantic Ocean, January 23, 2010 - 7. Passed south of Cape Town and Cape Agulhas, February 23, 2010 - 8. Roughly halfway between Cape Agulhas and Cape Leeuwin, March 19, 2010 - 9. Sailed under Cape Leeuwin, back in Australian waters, April 11, 2010 - 10. Wild seas rounding Tasmania, May 2, 2010 - 11. Arrived back in Sydney Harbour, May 15, 2010 What is it in the sea life which is so powerful in its influence? … It whispers in the wind of the veldt, it hums in the music of the tropical night … above all it is there to the man who holds the nightwatch alone at sea. It is the sense of things done, of things endured, of meanings not understood; the secret of the Deep Silence, which is of eternity, which the heart cannot speak. From Mast and Sail in Europe and Asia by H. Warington Smyth (1867–1943) Preface 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. I’d left Mooloolaba with an escort of boats and helicopters at around ten that morning, and after fifteen hours at sea and weeks of full-time preparation I was feeling tired and slightly queasy. It normally took me a few days to find my sea legs. Confident that everything was fine, I decided to put my head down for a few minutes and have a catnap. Ella’s Pink Lady and I were about 15 nautical miles east of North Stradbroke Island by this point. I’d have liked to have been farther offshore, away from the local fishing fleets and possible shipping. However, the current and earlier light winds meant I hadn’t sailed very far since leaving. After scanning the horizon, checking the radar and AIS (alarm indication system), and setting my alarms, I climbed into my bunk, sti