Homecoming Queen

After 210 days, multiple 'knockdowns', being de-masted, eating horrible tinned food and managing not to run into any more container ships, Jessica Watson has single-handedly sailed herself around the world. At 16.

Simply amazing.

Some of you may remember this post I wrote about her father's comment in the lead up to her world-record breaking journey that he would rather see her dead than deny her her dream. I reckon all the (deserved) hoopla now surrounding Jessica will just convince this dickhead that he was right to feel that way. And that really pisses me off, justifying that sort of glib, irresponsible parenting. Grrr...

But back to Jessica, let's ignore her wanker Dad and think about what it must of taken her to achieve this feat.

First of all, when she announced she was going to attempt this journey - oh, as an aside, can someone please remind all the reality TV shows, that this is what a 'journey' is - she was immediately scorned by doubters, both from the professional sailing world and the armchair experts around the country. Unfortunately, this is somewhat of an Aussie thing, the Tall Poppy Syndrome, when someone wants to rise above, there is a tendency by some to want to cut them back down, to fit in with the rest, to just be average. It's one of the things about Australia of which I am definitely not proud.

Jessica was undeterred. I remember at the time finding her a little bit smug. Well, maybe, or maybe she was simply convinced that she could do this thing, and all the negative words just rolled over her, as insignificant as a single drop in her beloved sea.

Then of course, she collided with a container ship, barely a week into her journey, and had to wait while her yacht was repaired to start again.

Think back to when you were 16.

Can you imagine taking that kind of blow to your confidence, to your dream, and simply continuing on? Wouldn't you feel like you'd made a massive mistake? It would be so easy to let all the doubters crowing and revelling in your misfourtune erode your confidence.

Again, Jessica kept her mouth shut and simply continued on.

Isn't it interesting how, now that she has succeeded in her journey, these incidences are just part of her remarkable spirt, her confidence in herself. Had she been unable to complete this record feat, those same incidences would be hailed as 'proof' she wasn't up to it. I guess the parts are defined by the overall success or failure of the whole.

I really hope that the other 16 year olds, currently laying around on the couch, endlessly Facebooking each other and ignoring their parents plantive cries to get up for God's sake and do something with their lives, are inspired by Jessica's passion and determination, and find something they too can feel as strongly about.

And I really hope Jessica goes on to do more amazing and inspiring feats. After all, can you imagine your whole life peaking at 16?

Sailing dangerous waters

Someone asked me the other day what I thought about the whole Jessica Watson sailing around the world at age 16 thing. Unusually for me, I’m kinda a fence-sitter on this one. I don’t know Jessica; her sailing prowess or her emotional maturity. My first gut reaction is “It’s reckless, she’s too young”. Though I do remember thinking, “Well, what if Jesse Martin’s parents had said no to him?”

Apart from the very embarrassing container ship incident, she is by most accounts a pretty good sailor, though there has been a lot of criticism by expert sailors over her safety checklists and “amateurish” approach. She seems to be pretty mature for a 16 year old, if a bit smug for my liking, though I admire her adventurous spirit and her determination.

So I was pretty happy to reserve judgement and just hope for the best for Jessica, until I read that her father stated in an interview with 60 Minutes reported here that he would rather lose his daughter than deny her the chance to chase her dream!!! What the hell!?!?!?!??! I still don’t know what to think about Jessica, but I sure as Hell know what I think of him…

I was totally disgusted with this glib disregard for his main duty as a parent, that being keeping his daughter safe. Even from herself. Would he REALLY rather his 16 year old daughter DIE than face her pouting and huffing because Daddy said “no”. What a slap in the face to those parents who have lost a child. And I’m not just picking on Dad here, Jessica’s Mum might need a good hard look at herself too.

This sort of pandering parenting where Mums and Dads are petrified of “stifling” their “extraordinary” children by setting limits or, Heaven forfend, saying no to them is responsible for they very worst of the attributes we are currently tarring “Gen Y” with. That being those lazy, indulged, self-important, air-of-entitlement brats who think they don’t have to start at the bottom and that the world owes them. By the way, I’m pretty sure we had people like that in all generations. I’m pretty sure everyone from Caesar to Winston Churchill was complaining about those bratty teenagers. But this feels like another post, back on topic…

Sure, we need to tell our kids to believe in themselves, and that yes, they are extraordinary (even if it’s just to us). But we also need to give them a sense of reality. More importantly, we need to keep their safety our highest priority. I am so angry at this man I’ve never met for forgetting that. It makes me wonder what’s more important to him, having a daughter, or having a record-breaking daughter and interview fees. Mee-ow.

Did anyone ever consider saying “Well, Jessica, that’s some great ambition you’ve got there, and we’d love to help you. Spend a year working with a professional sailing crew, learn all you can. Then, try sailing to Fiji – if you make it without smacking into a whopping great boat, bang-up job, now try sailing to Africa...” You get my drift.

Quixotic