True Spirit

There is something different about adventurers; about the way their minds work. They look at the world as a place of challenges and though they know what fear is, they refuse to be hindered by it.

On 15 May 2010, after 210 days at sea and 24,285 nautical miles, sixteen-year-old Jessica Watson sailed her yacht, Ella's Pink Lady, triumphantly back into Sydney Harbour. She had become the youngest person to sail solo, unassisted and non-stop around the world, writing her name in the mostly male-dominated record books.

With a major feature film soon to be released, this book, told in Jessica's own words, shares with us her childhood, her dyslexia, her inspiration, her years of planning and her preparation. While many doubted her, she tells how a disaster at the very start gave her the confidence she needed to set sail. Taking us onboard the day-to-day of the journey and disclosing her battle with sleep deprivation, gale-force winds, forty-foot waves and several knockdowns that saw the boat's mast go beneath the water, Jess reveals how she coped with the solitude, alone on a vast sea with no land to be seen and no help close at hand, to conquer the Everest of sailing.

True Spirit is an inspiring memoir that proves that we all have the power to live our dreams - no matter how small or how big they are.

About the Author

After 210 days at sea navigating some of the world's most challenging oceans and surviving seven knockdowns, Jessica Watson sailed triumphantly into Sydney Harbour in May 2010. At 16 she became the youngest person to sail solo non-stop and unassisted around the world.

In December 2011, Jessica skippered the youngest crew to ever compete in the iconic Sydney to Hobart yacht race, finishing second in their category. She was named Young Australian of the Year in 2011. And in January 2012, Jessica was announced in the Australia Day Honours list, receiving an OAM (Order of Australia Medal) for services to sailing and being a role model for the youth of Australia.

Jessica completed an MBA in 2017, she is a partner in marine startup Deckee, an ambassador for Mobile Travel Agents, and is a Youth Representative for the United Nations World Food Programme. Jessica's #1 bestselling memoir, True Spirit, was first released in 2010 and her debut middle-grade novel, Indigo Blue, was published in 2018. Jessica is an in-demand corporate speaker and a management consultant within Deloitte's Human Capital Practice.