Christopher Reeve:

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” … even a massive obstacle like a Bulk Carrier.

16-year-old Jessica Watson set sail on Ella’s Pink Lady yesterday morning from the Sunshine Coast after a year of preparation.

The Sunshine Coast schoolgirl was attempting to become the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world. But she was forced to turn back less than 24 hours into the voyage after colliding with a Bulk carrier.

In 1999, Jesse Martin became a household name and entered the record books at 18 by covering 27,000 nautical miles in 328 days by himself. Martin said Ms Watson still had to fullfil her dream.

“Everyone’s got something in their mind they want to be doing and she’s out their doing it like I did and I think that’s a great thing,” Martin told ABC Radio.

Jesse Martin’s world record was broken last month by 17-year-old Briton Mike Perham.