A 16-year-old Australian who spent seven months at sea in her pink yacht sailed across the finish line of her round-the-world journey Saturday, becoming the youngest sailor to circle the globe solo, nonstop and unassisted. Thousands of spectators erupted into cheers as Jessica Watson sailed into Sydney Harbor, the finale to an epic adventure in which she battled 40-foot (12-meter) waves, homesickness and critics who said she'd never make it home alive. “She said she'd sail around the world, and she has,” a tearful Julie Watson said as she watched her grinning daughter cruise past the finish line from a nearby boat. “She's home.” Watson docked at Sydney's iconic Opera House. The teenager burst into tears and gasped in relief as she stepped off the yacht and into the arms of her parents, whose decision to let their daughter attempt the feat was called an act of insanity by critics. She hung onto her father and brother as she walked slowly and tentatively along a pink carpet rolled out in her honor - her first steps on land in 210 days. Fans screamed and waved as she walked by, many wearing pink clothes and holding pink flags in a nod to her 34-foot (10-meter) yacht, Ella's Pink Lady. “People don't think you're capable of these things - they don't realize what young people, what 16-year-olds and girls are capable of,” Watson told the raucous crowd. Watson's journey took her northeast through the South Pacific and across the equator, south to Cape Horn at the tip of South America, across the Atlantic Ocean to South Africa, through the Indian Ocean and around southern Australia. Australian Jesse Martin holds the current record for the youngest person to sail around the world solo, nonstop and unassisted, after he completed the journey in 1999 at the age of 18. She was also joined on board by Britain's Mike Perham, who completed a solo circumnavigation at the age of 17 in 2009, though technical problems forced him to stop for assistance. Watson's feat, however, will not be considered an official world record, because the World Speed Sailing Record Council discontinued its “youngest” category. And though she sailed nearly 23,000 nautical miles, some sailing enthusiasts have also argued that Watson didn't travel far enough north of the equator for her journey to count as a true round-the-world sail as defined by the record council's rules. Watson's managers have dismissed those claims and argued she doesn't need to adhere to the council's rules anyway, since they won't be recognizing her voyage.
