Jessica Watson OAM
Born 18 May 1993
Watson is a Sept of Clan Buchanan
An Australian sailor who was attempted a solo global circumnavigation at age 16
Australian hero (as declared by then PrimeMinister of Australia) and notable disputed by herself…
Young Australian of the Year 2011
Awarded the Order of Australia Medal 2012
Youth Representative for the United Nations World Food Programme
Author
Public speaker
Consultant for Deloitte’s Human Capital team
Currently residing in Buderim, Queensland.
The Circumnavigation
Departing Sydney on 18 October 2009, Watson headed north-east, crossing the equator in the Pacific Ocean before crossing the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. She returned to Sydney on 15 MThe circumnavigationay 2010, three days before her 17th birthday.
Watson's planned circumnavigation route was to start and end at Sydney and to pass near New Zealand, Fiji, Kiribati, Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and South East Cape. In accordance with the definitions for circumnavigations set out by the International Sailing Federation's WSSRC, the equator must be crossed - and this crossing was carried out near Kiritimati. However, the WSSRC criteria also stipulate that a global circumnavigation must have an orthodromic distance of 21,600 nautical miles - Watson's journey did not meet this requirement.
"I wanted to challenge myself and achieve something to be proud of. And yes, I wanted to inspire people. I hated being judged by my appearance and other people's expectations of what a 'little girl' was capable of. It's no longer just my dream or voyage. Every milestone out here isn't just my achievement, but an achievement for everyone who has put so much time and effort into helping getting me here."
Accolades
On completion of the voyage, Jessica was met by the then Prime Minister who declared her an Australian hero. In a simple speech that won admiration across Australian and around the world, she responded to the Prime Minister by announcing that she disagreed with him, that she didn’t consider herself a hero—just an ‘ordinary person, who had a dream, worked hard at it and proved that anything really is possible’.
Jessica was recognised with
the "Spirit of Sport" award from the Sport Australia Hall of Fame,
"Young Performer of the Year" for 2010, an award voted by the Australian public and presented at the annual Sports Performer Awards
Watson was named the Australian Geographic Society's Young Adventurer of the Year in 2010.
She was selected as one of the ten international "2010 Adventurers of the Year" by National Geographic Society, and was the only sailor in the group.
Watson was named the Young Australian of the Year on 25 January 2011.
She was selected as one of the entrants to the Who's Who in Australia 2012 edition.
Watson was the first female skipper to cross the line in the 2011 Sydney to Hobart and as a result earned the Jane Tate trophy.
Watson received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the Australia Day Honours List in January 2012 for service to sailing and to youth through the achievement of sailing solo and unassisted around the world, and as a role model for young Australians.
In November 2022 she was inducted into the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.
Author and documentarian
Overcoming early struggles with dyslexia, Jessica became a storyteller, firstly on her popular blog and then in her bestselling, internationally published book True Spirit.
She has also written a Middle-grade novel, Indigo Blue.
The documentary she filmed while at sea was narrated by Sir Richard Branson, 201 Days
A film adaption of Jessica’s story is set to be released on Netflix on the 3rd of February 2023. True Spirit, starring Teagan Croft as Watson
Jessica’s role as a Youth Representative for the United Nations World Food Programme took her to remote Laos and refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon.
Jessica is a founding member of marine start-up Deckee.com (an all-in-one boating app), has completed an MBA, is an in-demand corporate speaker and a management consultant in Deloitte’s Human Capital consulting team.
