Jessica thuis, nu Laura nog weg

[Cees Binkhorst]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

En dan nu droom van Laura waarmaken ;)

Groet / Cees

I'm no hero, says humble Jessica
http://www.smh.com.au/national/im-no-hero-says-humble-jessica-20100515-v54u.html

GLENDA KWEK
May 15, 2010 - 7:00PM

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Solo teen sailor Jessica Watson says she's not a hero, but just ''an
ordinary girl who had a dream''.
The 16-year-old was welcomed by thousands of cheering people at the
Opera House and on a flotilla of boats crowding Sydney Harbour just
before 3pm this afternoon after a 210-day round-the-world voyage.
''It's completely overwhelming right now,'' she said as thousands
whistled and clapped while others chanted ''Aussie, Aussie, Aussie ...
Oi, oi, oi!''.
''There was nothing out there ... and there's absolutely everything now.''
The harbour was turned into a spectacular reception area, as hundreds of
boats crammed into the narrow waters to greet the young adventurer on
her small, pink yacht.
She had left Sydney in October, sailing in sometimes difficult
conditions through the Pacific, across the equator, past Cape Horn in
South America, across the Atlantic, past the Cape of Good Hope, through
the Indian Ocean before returning to Australian waters.

Fellow solo sailors West Australian Jesse Martin and English teen Mike
Perham helped Watson take her yacht in after she crossed the finish
line, as an aeroplane wrote her name ''Jessica'' in white smoke in the sky.
Fears that Watson would struggle to walk after such a long time at sea
were unfounded, as she made her way up a pink carpet to the Opera House
forecourt with her family, wearing a broad grin and looking none the
worse for her epic voyage.
*Greeted by the Prime Minister*
She was met by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who hailed her as "Australia's
newest hero".
"You do our nation proud," he said. "You are a hero for young
Australians ... and young Australian women."
But Watson said she had to disagree with Mr Rudd as "I don't consider
myself a hero".
"I'm an ordinary girl who had a dream. You just have to have a dream and
set your mind to it.''
Confident and relaxed, Watson was even able to throw in a joke or two.
''It was tough,'' she said when asked how it felt to leave her yacht.
''Stepping off was so strange, because for the last seven months, I was
doing everything to stay on board,'' she said as the crowd laughed.
*'You can achieve anything'*
The Queenslander was quick to emphasise how young people - especially
girls - could achieve anything ''if you want it enough''. ''People don't
realise ... what girls are made of,'' she said.
''When you take away those expectations, it's amazing what you can
achieve.''
She added at a press conference later that people ''just need the
passion to want something bad enough and a way to make it happen''.
''The thing that picked me up in the tough times was having come through
other tough things, like the day I sailed in after the collision [on my
trial run] holding my head high to the critics.
''I held my head high then, I can do this.''
Also present to welcome Watson was NSW Premier Kristina Keneally, who
joked the young sailor was ''possibly the most important person in
Australia, because you made the Prime Minister and NSW Premier and all
these people wait for hours for your return''.
But she hailed the teen for her courage and for reminding people that
''it's possible to follow our dream''.
*Dismisses criticism*
Watson brushed off criticism expressed during the last week of her
journey that she did not fulfil the requirements to get a world record,
saying ''it's not something that worries me''.
''It's really simple. If I haven't sailed around the world, I'd be lost
as to what I've just spent the last seven months doing,'' she said.
Sail World website said Watson would not break Martin's 1999 record, as
she had only travelled 18,265 nautical miles, about 200 nautical miles
short of qualifying for official ''around the world'' status.
''For me, it was never just about the record, so I'm not worried at all.''
She also refused to comment on Dutch sailor Laura Dekker's difficulties,
after the 14-year-old was blocked by her government from
circumnavigating the globe because of her age, saying she didn't know
what Dekker's preparations were.
But she added she'd learnt that ''you don't judge someone by a number or
what they look like.''
*What's next?*
Watson joked she had changed after the trip as she was ''a year older''.
But she said she learnt that ''it's definitely about having fun''.
''Just don't take it too seriously,'' she said.
The 16-year-old - who turns 17 in three days - said she looked forward
to doing more sailing and perhaps racing, but was happy to ''do normal
things'' now.
''[I'll] just have a quiet few years, finish school, that sort of thing.
''We'll see where sailing takes me after that.''

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