REMEMBER WHEN

ASK most 16-year-old girls what they’ve been doing lately and no doubt boys, school and shopping will be near the top of the list.

But how about fighting 65knot winds, frolicking with dolphins and spending hours alone in the middle of nowhere eating freeze-dried food?

Not quite the normal lifestyle, but then Buderim schoolgirl Jessica Watson, who that day completed her epic round-the-world voyage, was far from normal.

The brave teen travelled more than 23,000 nautical miles alone in her circumnavigation of the globe, following in the path of Kay Cottee and Jesse Martin.

In doing so, she become the youngest person to have completed the journey.

Born on May 18, 1993 on the Gold Coast, Jessica had been in close proximity to the sea throughout her life, and that juxtaposition developed into a fascination and admiration.

She was taming the sea by the age of eight, sailing dinghies off the Sunshine Coast. Her head was swimming with nautical accomplishment having been read tales of Aussie sailing feats by her mum, such as that of record-holding Martin’s circumnavigation at the age of 17 in 1999 and Cottee becoming the first female to sail solo around the world in 1988.

It seemed inevitable she would make her mark on the world’s waves in some form, and so in her mind the idea formed to follow in her heroes’ footsteps, at the age of 16.

When she went public with her plans on May 11, 2009, there were some who felt she was too young, the mission too difficult.