Youngest, Longest, Highest, I don't get it?

From the Editors desk...

It is so interesting how everyone now seems to have a say on what Jessica Watson is trying to do? I don't know Jessica, though friends who are big on the whole yachty thing seem to think she has good qualifications and a better than average chance of achieving her goal, so good luck to her. Personally, I just don't 'get' the whole 'first to do' stuff? I don't understand why anyone would put both themselves and their families through so much stress just to be able to say "I did it"? I wouldn't care if Jessica was 26, 46 or 66, I just don't get why you would want to attempt what she is doing, that is a really really big ocean out there? It seems a lot of expense, effort and stress all round, and it is not like it is setting you up for the rest of your life for a career or the likes? Sorry, to me it seems pretty pointless. Though having said that, there is more to this issue...

A lot of people keep commenting about her age, but anyone who knows teenagers know that there is 16 and there is 16... Some are really immature, some are very very mature, earning a living and in some cases supporting other family members, so age alone cannot be an issue in this case, particularly when she has a lot of experience to back her up. The Government suddenly weighing into this issue seems pretty ridiculous to me, if you were a single mother and your child left school at 16, the Government no longer gives you any assistance as they think the child is obviously old enough to stand on their own two feet, so same here, they should back off. If she was under that age and there was a child services issue then fair call, they have an obligation to look into a possible negligence issue, though of course they would have to actually find an over-worked, under-funded, child services caseworker to even look into it, and I am sure Jess would have finished her trip before that paperwork was even done, though that sadly is an issue for another day.

Another issue I have in all this is how the authorities seem to have been able to do something that is normally impossible, investigate and hand down a report within 2 weeks? Hello? Have you ever known a Government service be able to do something like that so quickly? Maybe pressure from media outlets had them work overtime on getting something out there for them to report on, I have no idea, but, does seem a tad suss to me, and I have to wonder at how balanced and thorough that report could really be?

Unfortunately for Jessica, to get the funds to do a trip like this you need media and PR, on the flip-side, that sort of exposure can turn on you as she is now finding out. As I said above, these sorts of 'records' don't grab my imagination, and I seriously don't understand them, though this girl has qualifications, experience, the backing of her family, and at 16 you are old enough to work and pay tax, therefore she is old enough to do this 38,000 kilometre voyage. A lot of 16 year olds are sitting back just counting down the days to Schoolies, skipping school, have no purpose in life, think they will be supported by parents until they finally get off their butts and find some direction in life...

This 16 year old is focused, experienced, has a plan, an aim, and worked her butt off to get to this point to be able to do this journey, so even though I don't 'get it', all power to you girl, there are a lot of us here on the Coast crossing our fingers and toes for you. My husband being one of them, having grown up on yachts he still remembers being a kid and thinking Robin Lee Graham (see copy of book to the right) was a deadset legend and it definitely inspired him, reading his book over & over on yachting trips, so ignore the likes of me, even if you don't complete your attempt, hopefully a lot of teenagers will look at you and maybe have a think about their own lives and see they can aim for more in life! Good Luck!

Cheers,
Noely
The Editors Desk

Permanent Link: Youngest, Longest, Highest, I don't get it?
Publish Date: 29 Sep 09