Sydney - Australian teenager Jessica Watson said Saturday that loneliness was not an issue as she passed the two-week mark in her bid to become the youngest person to sail solo and unaided around the world. Jessica, 16, set sail from Sydney on October 18 for what she hopes would be an eight-month voyage and a place in the record books.
The Queenslander is in the South Pacific and two weeks away from the equator, which she must cross before steering Ella's Pink Lady south toward South America and around the treacherous Cape Horn.
Mother Julie Watson, who is in daily contact, said being a solo sailor was not troubling her daughter.
"She reiterated again that it's not lonely," she told Australia's national broadcaster ABC. "You don't know how many people are out on the boat with her in mind and spirit. She really feels that people are along the journey with her, and she's got very good communications, so she can pick up the phone and have a chat."
Jessica has yet to face any challenging weather and is ahead of schedule. She has busied herself repairing minor leaks and doing schoolwork.
"She's quite enjoying just sitting down and tucking into some schoolwork, which is quite different to all the other stuff she has to do," Julie Watson said.
