Girls and a sail - famous yachtsmen of our time

Jessica Watson and her trip around the world

How many sailors do you know who have sailed solo around the world at 16? But among yachtsmen there is at least one such person - Jessica Watson. Jessica was born in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The dream of conquering the ocean was born to Jesse at the age of 12. Then her mother read to her, her little brother and sister the book “Lionheart: The Journey of the Human Spirit”. 

After only 4 years, Jessica decided it was time to realize her dream. The Sparkman & Stephens 34 boat was chosen as a means of transportation. Interestingly, this model was quite popular among fans of circumnavigation - it was also used by John Sanders, David Dix and Jesse Martin.

The boat was bought and refitted. In this, Jessica was helped by experienced senior comrades in the person of Don McIntyre and Bruce Arms. On the sailing yacht, the galley, fuel and water tanks were refitted and the electrical system was reconstructed. Jessica personally participated in the repair work. The result is a charming pink yacht called Ella's Pink Lady. 

Jessica started her voyage on October 18, 2009. Already in May 2010, she returned from a solo trip around the world. The voyage ended up being slightly shorter than the required 40,000 km, which is necessary for the voyage to be recognized as a global circumnavigation. Despite this, Watson was honored with the Young Australian 2011 Award and the Medal of the Order of Australia.

Riot and Laura Dekker's record

Laura (or Laura) Dekker is a Dutch yachtswoman who, following Jessica Watson, set a new world record for being the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the world.

In 2009, at the age of 15, Laura announced that she was going to travel around the world. The Dutch authorities, however, were against such a plan because of her young age. However, even a court decision did not stop the young rebel from hiding from the authorities in the Antilles (!) Islands.

And yet the authorities got her there too. A year later, in 2010, the court nevertheless removed all restrictions from her and Laura had very little time left to set a world record. The precedent for conquering the circumnavigation had already been set by Jessica Watson, and it was only a matter of time when a new contender for the record appeared. 

Laura decided to go around the world on a two-masted ketch “Guppy” (Guppy). On January 20, 2011, Laura sailed her yacht from Saint Martin in the Caribbean. She completely circled the globe and returned back. The entire journey took 519 days. As a result, Laura nevertheless became the youngest navigator who made a single circumnavigation of the world.

Samantha Davis and real sports

Samantha Davis was born on August 23, 1974 in Portsmouth, England. Samantha's family was fond of sailing, while his father was a professional sailor. It would be strange if Samantha did not take her first steps in yachting on a family boat. Davis is now a professional yachtswoman herself, but she also practices yoga and Pilates.

Samantha has many achievements in serious sailing, but I would like to highlight a few of the most striking. In 1998, Davis competed in the Jules-Verne Trophy around the world aboard the Royal & SunAlliance catamaran. Alas, the team fell out of the race due to a broken mast, but the whole team, including Samantha, demonstrated the dedication and perseverance of true champions.

In 2001, Samantha took 11th place in the Mini-Transat regatta, in 2002 - 6th place in 6TH IN THE TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE, in 2004 - 5th place in Transat AG2R. Since 2007, Samantha has been participating in regattas and around the world almost every year. In 2018, she placed second in The Bermuda 1000 Race and 5th in 2021 in The Transat Jacques Vabre. Davis is not going to stop there.

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14.02.2023