Teen sailor Jessica Watson in town for Long Beach Boat Show

Teenage sailors Zac Sunderland and Jessica Watson, who became celebrities after piloting boats around the world by themselves, are scheduled to make appearances this weekend at the Long Beach Yacht & Boat Show at Shoreline Village Marina.

Sunderland's younger sister Abby, who became even more famous earlier this summer when she became the subject of a dramatic rescue during her ill-fated solo-circumnavigation attempt, is across the country to compete Saturday in a race on Lake Huron.

Zac Sunderland, who lives in Thousand Oaks, briefly became the youngest person to have circled the planet alone in a sailboat. But that distinction now belongs to Watson, an Australian who returned to Sydney in May, just days before turning 17, after a 210-day odyssey in a 34-foot pink sailboat.

Watson is in Los Angeles promoting a book about her adventure, entitled "True Spirit" (Atria Books, $16). The book covers everything from the controversy surrounding her endeavor to the highs and lows she experienced on the water, to her thoughts on Abby's ordeal.

Watson also endured heavy seas, but she was blessed with good fortune. During her first experience with gale-force winds in the Southern Ocean, she said during a recent interview, a dolphin swam along her boat, helping to keep her calm, for six hours until the winds subsided.

Her most harrowing moments, however, were during a stormy night in the Atlantic, when her boat was blasted by 65-mph winds and knocked down four times (meaning the mast or its rigging touched water).

There was another stretch when she was cold, wet and miserable for three consecutive days, and struggled emotionally.

"But one of the things I really am proud of is the mental side of the trip and how much fun I did have out there," she said, citing the exhilaration associated with fast sailing, spectacular sunsets and amazing sea birds in flight.

Not long after Watson returned home, Abby had endured heavy seas and her 40-foot boat was rolled by a rogue wave in the southern Indian Ocean. It lost its rigging and satellite communications equipment, leaving her adrift.

Abby activated her emergency beacons, which signaled the beginning of a rescue effort that originated in Australia. But nobody knew for an entire day whether she was still on her boat, whether the boat was upright, or if the sailor was in the water.

Watson said that episode, which had a happy ending when Abby was found to be safely aboard her 40-foot boat, "made me realize what everyone, my including my mom and dad, had to go through when I was sailing and did not always communicate. It drove me absolutely nuts waiting for news about Abby."

Zac Sunderland and Watson are expected to make appearances at the boat show Saturday and Sunday from 1- 4 p.m.

Show hours are from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and from 10-6 Sunday. Admission is $12 for adults. Children 12 and younger get in free.
 
-- Pete Thomas

Photos: Jessica Watson (top) and Zac and Abby Sunderland (bottom)

Comments

[MiaGill34]

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[Mike (Canada)]

Mike (Canada)

WOW, I can't believe how this article talks nothing of Jessicas immense accomplishement, and focuses on Sunderlands ill prepared failed attempt.

It doesn't even mention the fact that she now holds the world records for sailing solo, unassisted and non-stop around the world.

This article should have never been published. Shame on Thomas !!!

[Molly Johnson]

Abby didn't belong in this article anymore than she belonged out in the middle of the Indian Ocean at the wrong time of year.
Abby isn't a guest at this boat show.
Jessica Watson and Zac Sunderland are.
And how did Abby become "even more famous" for failing to attempt her around the world sail?
I would suggest to the editor that if you are going to pay writers to report on boat shows, that you ask them to stick to the pertinent facts.
Every article this writer has posted here has mentioned Abby Sunderland when she has nothing to do with the the boat show he is reporting about.
If Mr. Thomas insists on promoting Sunderland propaganda, could he do it on some "Abby Fan Club" site, and not in articles that are supposed to be about the guests at the Long Beach Boat Show?

[G Michael Howard]

For a professional writer I would have imagined that you would have all the facts straight before you started writing. Jessica had a total of six (6) knockdowns where the mast goes into the water as much as 180 degrees, we are talking about a complete roll-over, not just touching the water.
Ms. Watson also has a first name,it's "Jessica". I think that's rude to just refer to her as Watson.
I admire and have followed both girls who only wanted to travel around the world and enjoy themselves, why does the media want to cast negative thoughts about either one. I would think that there would be more praise than criticism heaped upon them for what they had undertaken, successful or not.

[Mark]

Jessica Watson obviously is the class act among the young circumnavigators. She stands head and shoulders above the others in her sailing prowess as well as in her integrity. Unlike the others, I would travel across the country to see Jessica Watson.

Mark

[Pete Thomas]

To Richard: This article was not meant to minimize Jessica's achievement by any means. I brought up Abby because Jessica talked about her during our interview and because she mentions Abby in her book. I think what Jessica accomplished was amazing. She told me her boat was knocked down, not upside down. BTW, I wrote a lot of positive things about her during her voyage and there is nothing negative in this article.

[Sabreoneninety.blogspot.com]

I can't believe how biased this article is toward Abby and how it is designed to minimize Jessica's acheivements.

Jessica succeeded by using the right boat for the job, meticulously prepared, doing the right amount of training, and going at the right time of the year. Jess's boat was knocked upside down during the storms, not just knocked so the mast touched the water!
Jess had a rough time. In true Aussie fashion, though, she tries to minimize how hard it was, rather that exaggerate how difficult it was.

There was no reason to mention Abby's failed attempt in this article, other than to try to diminish Jess.

Abby's voyage was a hasty, ill prepared voyage using the wrong type of boat. The only objective was to try to beat Jess around the world. Experienced mariners and sailing magazine editors around the world agree that she never should have been in that part of the Indian Ocean, at that time of year, as it is too dangerous, and asking for trouble.

Richard