Official Jessica Watson Blog

The swell is still pretty big but overall conditions are much more pleasant today. The drogue got winched in at dawn which turned out to be a lot easier than I was expecting and since then Ella's Pink Lady's been flying along
across the waves with only a little sail up. I've been catching up on a bit of sleep today, re-charging my batteries while I can.

So that was the good news. The bad news is that there's MORE rubbish weather headed our way. After looking at the weather charts showing this new low pressure system expected over the weekend, I'll admit I had to dig real deep to stay cool about it all. Right now I've got more than a few bruises and sore muscles. Overall I feel pretty drained and would kill for some easy sailing but seeing as that's not what I'm going to get I'm just going to have to toughen up some more and deal with it!

It helps a lot knowing that Ella's Pink Lady was built to take this and having Bob's great weather updates. As long as I keep myself fed and rested, there's no reason that I can't take anything on. Also, for some reason or another, it really does help knowing that's there's tonnes of people thinking of me out here, so thanks guys!

Jesse

Saturday's front went through with only 35 knots of wind and without a hitch, but this low pressure system passing down south is making life pretty interesting right now. Make that very interesting and very, very annoying! 

Read More

Despite the fact that today started with a knockdown, a wet bunk, a headache and some pretty huge seas, I've had a great day. I know the words knockdown and great don't belong in the same sentence, but right now I'm feeling better than I have all week. And I don't mean that I've been feeling lousy all week, I mean that right now I've got sore cheeks from smiling all afternoon.

I'm happy to report that yesterday we finally made some good progress (see Pic 2 below) and today's been a good days sailing too. It's amazing how much closer Sydney looks when we're moving. And wow, we're starting to get close too! 

Read More

Every now and again when I can't think of anything new to blog about, I always get told that it doesn't matter. I could write about a fly landing on Ella's Pink Lady and someone would find it interesting. 

Read More

The weather's been much calmer again. Sometimes a little too calm, with the wind occasionally dropping right out. But the light conditions have been a good chance to get on top of all my latest jobs and have given my bruised and tender hands a bit of time to recover.  

Read More

The flyover with Mum, Dad, Tom and Hannah on Saturday was a great welcome to Australian waters and a lot of fun. Even though all I could see was a small plane way overhead, it was still really cool. Mum reckons that Ella's Pink Lady and I looked really small between the swell, which seems strange to me because Ella's Pink Lady is my whole world at the moment! 

Read More

Today started with a lovely sunrise as Ella's Pink Lady sailed over the green line on the chart and into Australian waters. Hot chocolate in hand (yes I managed to repair the kettle!), a light sprinkling of rain and with an albatross circling above, it was one of those really special moments. 

Read More

Some bad news today. Something that has been threatening to happen for quite some time has finally happened. The handle has fallen off my only kettle! But it won't be too long now till I'll be able to pop down to the shops for a new one. 

Read More