Official Jessica Watson Blog

Nice to see Kevin Fuge onboard the "Sat Bellatrix" is heading your way and will keep his eyes open for you. I hope you manage to exchange a wave, and it will be nice to know you wont be alone near the cape.

Merry Christmas Jesse! I hope you have a fantastic day. Keep up the good work and keep smiling. We will all be thinking of you on this special day.

Merry Christmas Jesse
Hi from Tassie. Just noticed you are about level with us latitudily (is there such a word?) so experience about the same sort of weather ie hot or cold or warm or rainy or fine.... all in one day! Hope your Christmas is festive and you have a chance to open some presents and have something special to eat and enjoy the spirit of the day. Still watching your blog daily and thinking of you along with all the others so you will never be alone out there - we are all with you in spirit!
Keep doing a fabulous job and enjoying yourself!

Hi Jessica Could not leave for my holiday without wishing you a Merry Christmas. This may seem to be a quite and lonely Christmas out there in the South Pacific, but don't forget that this year hundreds of NEW friends are all wishing the best for you. It is also the Christmas that you will remember MOST for the many long years of Christmas's to come. Keep an eye out for Santa if the fog lifts. Hope you enjoy your SPECIAL Christmas Lunch... Love from Marie in OZ

Chrismas Eve here in Sydney. Hope you have a safe & happy Christmas out there in the middle of the Pacific. Give my regards to the albatrosses.
Paul.

I hope you enjoyed your "White Christmas". Just think of the memories you will have next Christmas after having complete your round the world voyage. You are proving your critics oh so wrong!!.

Re: The McGraths
Thank you! That is really kind of you, and for me a great Christmas gift! A generous way of being there too in some friendly way. It is good we have time to organize for the flag, either taking the costs on me, or shipping it.
Patriotic, I bet it will be! Even if Jessica is obviously a citizen of the Earth, especially now, no one can or would deny she is the pride of Australia, Queensland, Maroochydore, Buderim and even New Zealand. And once she will have achieved her "lap" around, she will be a glory... but she will still remain a balanced regular teenager. That's Jesse!

Re: Geoffrey Hilliard: Ha Ha, for sure I know Joan of Arc, the sheep, Domremy, Charles VII, Orleans, Reims and Rouen. You never heard about her "voices" story? Well, it is right that no one knows who she actually was. Nobody seriously believes the sheperd's story; generally, historians think she was a king's relative, probably unofficial, and a kind of a tomboy. The king's PR did a good job inventing the sheperd's tale with the Archangel's voice...

Re: Richard Lathrop: Thanks a lot for your kind words. By the way, I am really practicing here, reading all the comments. It is an excellent school, for sentences, expressions, words. I even like the "shorties" I discovered here (Chrissy, pressy, Brissy, deccies, choccies...). Much fun. I also love your comments. There are great comments on Jessica's blog, by the way, I would like to tell our fellows more often, but I feel it would take too much room. I am already talkative enough!!!

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S C A P T A I N J E S S E !

All our best wishes are taking off from France now and should reach EPL in no time.
The update post by the shore team is great, and we are all waiting for the pics, video and words of your decorated vessel.
May Santa bring you the softest swel and the good winds to round the Cape quick and easy.

BEST WISHES AND GREETINGS to your family, the best parents of all, and to your incredible shore team who provide a strong confidence to all. Wonderful job!

And BEST WISHES AND GREETINGS too, to all the fellow bloggers, adopted and fans, of this shining new community that gathered around Jessica. Your posts, stories, drawing, poems, quotes, and even shortest messages, are marvelous, as they carry so much love. It looks so unexpected, and though it is real, and still spreading. Australia has bee the first contaminated country, and so many countries are now under the spell too. That's just the kind of pandemia our planet needed. Well done, Miss Watson!

"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world." Joel Barker

I was just thinking about you out in the wide blue and glad to get home so I can see how the Cap'n is faring. Yesterday I took a day off from work without pay..so you know I was serious..and collected our Christmas present to ourselves..a cute nautical themed 18' long travel trailer called a T@da. It had to be able to sleep 3, incase its used for Hurricane Evacuations..one of the prime reasons for investing in it..and of course the kids are always going camping and asking us to go..which we like..but sorry to sat tents and sleeping on the ground are not our favorites..anyway..I headed to St,.Augustine where I had located one of these really neat nautical themed-round port like windows and really neat mini kitchen and of course it didn't escape me that Pink lady is 16' longer than our little sleeper..
I thought about the solar panels you're using thinking maybe i'll buy a set to keep the batts up. and even looking again at your wind gen....
How tall is your mast? It looks like maybe 60 feet. Quite a view you had from up there. Hopefully you kept a few videos that you have not seen and even hidden some surprises in the familiar and the now cozy space you call home.
Now I know the fog can seem erie..just driving to work in the stuff can be un nerving.. but don't you fret..God' fingerprints are all over your little pink vessel..May His confidence hold you through this mist and grey to the blue you know is on the otherside..I'm praying for some wind to push you into the clear..but not too swiftly..you deserve a break from the rolly polly rocking.

Be Blessed

Miss Jess..


Gary & Jan
Savannah,Ga

Jessica,

Merry Christmas to you. You are on the trip of a lifetime.

You blogs demonstrate that you have a worldly sense that we can only imagine. Thanks for all the great images.

Godspeed,
Andy

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"You only live once--but if you work it right, once is
enough."

-- Joe Lewis

Merry Christmas Jess. I hope the fog lifts soon, but if not.. enjoy your white Christmas! Wishing you a speedy run to the cape!

Wow, Jessica!
Hope you though had a nice christmas day. And I wanted to say, that it´s great, what you´re doing. Others at your age are going out with boys and having fun, but you go for a sailing trip! Respect, young Lady!

Hey Jessica,

Couldn't help thinking that you're missing friends and family out there - it's hard to be away at Christmas time.

Be assured of our support and prayers for your onward journey.

You're doing a fantastic job, and your commitment to your mission is inspirational!

Dave & Leonie Groenenboom
Wellington Point
Twitter: @DaveGroenenboom

Happy Christmas Jessica
Jceff
Victor Harbor

Now for a bit of 'Maiden Voyage' as Tania creeps up on Christmas..on page 191 Tania crises past a place you know well. Christmas Island. Tania unlike our current global mariner..had the luxury of being able to stop and she was very impressed with the multitude of..red crabs that inhabit Christmas Island..Tania said " On Dec 8 she set sail for Sri Lanka, 1800 miles away..through the doldrums and over the equator..then on page 192.."Immense waves buried first the boom and on the next roll, the spinnaker pole as 20 to 30 knot winds pushed Varuna steadily forward for 8 days- a far cry from the lax Arafura Sea. The strain on the rigging was relayed to my nerves..The next morning a disagreeable drizzle settled in and I was alone...For two days Varuna slowly eased North toward the Equator, as a menacing sky of lumbering black clouds closed in. Passing through the curtain of doldrums, we entered a world of flat calms, squalls, rain, and meager advances of only 30 miles a day. I resewed the rapidly disintegrating sprayhood (perhaps what you call a 'dodger?')made a splint for a broken main sail batten, cleaned up, knitted, read a couple of books, and on the third day of a glassy ocean, decided it was time to try the engine. The starter turned for about thirty seconds, nothing else happened, and a day of mechanics was born..." after a very interesting description of desperation of finding the diesel had siphoned into the bilge..she was once again engineless..." I wrote down prayers in my logbook..covered 600 miles.inch by aching inch...over the next 2 weeks."..on page 193..One night I was awakened by drops of water. Hearing no rain on deck, I reached up to turn on the light and there was a soaking wet Tarzoon shaking himself over to me. The little 'idiot' had managed to fall overboardand clamber back up somehow..without my noticing."..I played with the sails coaxing Varuna alongin vague breezes, and each mile was welll earned. During the nights unable to live with the slatting noise of the limp sails, I took down the slamming offenders and slept. There seemed no point in losing sleep for the sake of a couple of miles made good. Twice we were helped along by aggressive fronts with lots of wind..The second one fell on Christmas..Merry Christmas Tania..and as a special present, heres a nice gray sky, lots of rain, and the gift of sorely needed exercise taking reefs in and out, in and out. I thought about my family back home gathered around one of Jeris' magnificent trees bedecked in cranberry and popcorn strings with presents heaped around the floor..." She thought and described the meal she knew everyone was having then.."I emptied cans of sauerkraut and hot dogs into my pressure cooker and peeled up somepotatoes in the cockpit..dreaming about a white New York Christmas.. the cooker spewed steam..and ten minutes later ..Christmas dinner was ready and I opened my present while it cooled off...She decided she was better off on Varuna in the Indian Ocean than in New York with Radio and TV telling me what fun it was supposed to be.."


Maiden Voyage

Dec 25 1986

Tania Aebi..

See Jess she had alot of the same things you have..minus the fuel in the bilge thank you..and hopefully your dinner is something tastier than Kraut and Dogs..(though that can be good too..)

Sleep Well..And Wake to the wonder of the Pink Lady and the Journey..God' Grace...

Gary & Jan
Savannah,Ga

The Word Verification is 'Kinar' similar to the hebrew word 'Kinnor' whix is a type of lyre-the word is translated 'harp' and 'psaltery' in Psalms and Revelation..It was a 10 stringed zither..that David played..no telling how many those in Luke held by the Angelic hosts singing 'Glory To God In The Highest' And on Earth Peace..Good Will..toward men.."
I'd bet the rigging on the Pink Lady gets to sing some times too..

Sleep well..

Gary & Jan
Savannah,Ga

i Jess:
If you have 2300 nautical miles to the Horn, at roughly 150 miles a day, that means u should be there in around 17 days, give or take a few days. Great!!!!!!!!! :-)
Fog is cool as long as u don't have to worry about ships. It's certainly is a surreal experience and we get plenty of that where I live, so one becomes use to it. I kind of like it, but not without the eyes of one's electronics.

Enjoy these moments they will last a life time, with your writings. :-))

Robert

Jesse

We love following your blog and tracking your progress. Keep up the good work and I hope you have a very good Christmas with a nice reaching breeze. We have briefed Santa on your location so please don't forget to put your socking out.

Regards

Richard, Sandra, Jordan, Connor and Mia

MERRY CHRISTMAS Jessica

Jess
You are not and won't be, we are all with you connected.
I have experimented something similiar en the mountains with the fog and the snow, it's so weird and surreal as you say.
Have fun and HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!
HUGS and cheers
Alex

Merry Christmas Jess. May Santa bring you all your dreams.

Paul.

I believe that I have happened on the most amazing tale I have ever heard.
I cannot wait for the next blog, I am hooked.
God Bless and Merry Christmas.
Lisa, Mo

Merry Christmas Jessica from Brett, Debi, William and Alexander.

You are part of our breakfast now as we follow your journey every morning.

Keep safe.

" MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU !!! " . .
.
Hi Jessica,
It Must Be A Beautiful Sight !!! ... Those Beams of Coloured light mad me think of that Phrase "May The Force Be With You" ..... well, after all Jesse, you ARE In Good hands . . . You Have 'PARKER' Looking After You; and what you said about The Constant adjustments ... Well ... Ensign Charles (Chuck) PARKER on McHales Navy ...(for those who haven't yet realised Jesse)..., was always doing Adjustmants too: Howevwer 'Chukky' as he was affectionately known on the PT73, ALWAYS CAME THROUGH ... Albeit with the occasional, or should I say, frequent mistakes . . . . . And I Know That (Your) 'PARKER' Will Be On Your Side Too, and Pull you Through.

Have A Safe and Happy Trip Jesse, but Most Of All ..... HAVE FUN !!!

NM
xx