True Spirit: The True Story of a 16-Year-Old Australian Who Sailed Solo, Nonstop, and Unassisted Around the World »

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.

On May 15, 2010, after 210 days at sea and more than 22,000 nautical miles, 16-year-old Jessica Watson sailed her 33-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.

A note from the author ix

Chart of Jessica's circumnavigation x

Preface 1

Part 1 The Starting Point 5

Part 2 The Voyage 89

Stage 1 Sydney and North to the Line Islands 95

Stage 2 South to Chile and Cape Horn 155

Stage 3 North After Cape Horn 213

Stage 4 The South Atlantic to the African Continent 217

Stags 5 Rounding South Africa 251

Stage 6 Southern Ocean to Home 261

Part 3 Home 327

A guide to Ella's Pink Lady 342

Internal guide 344

Glossary 346

Acknowledgments 349

Photographic acknowledgments 353

Sponsors 355