Customer Reviews

True Spirit: The True Story of a 16-Year-Old Australian Who Sailed Solo, Nonstop, and Unassisted Around the World

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True Spirit is an excellent book in at least three respects. First, it is an entertaining read, slowly building, and then suddenly carrying the reader along at a page-turning clip as a very young teenage girl sails alone, intent on circumnavigating the world non-stop.

Second, the writing is from the very rare perspective of a teenage girl, in clear and simple prose that often surprises with its poetic imagery.

Third, though by no means a philosophical treatise, it brings to mind Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : "The real cycle you're working on is a cycle called `yourself.' " Watson's narrative of her pertinacious pursuit is ultimately an inspiration, charming in the telling, and effective in its impact on the reader. For example, when in the Australian Bight, she tells us, "Another forecast came through, predicting yet again a gale with 65 knot winds and 30-foot seas. I wasn't happy at all! I spent half an hour moping and let loose a few tears... then I got angry at the way I was letting it all get to me. I decided I wasn't going to finish my trip being miserable and that I had to toughen up some more and deal with it." Reader beware, that spirit can become infectious.

It is not a spoiler to let the reader know that Jessica Watson sailed into Sydney Harbor to overwhelming adulation. A sixteen year-old slip of girl was the talk of the town, the city, and the nation, and her book is a must-read for every young person and every parent of a young person who wishes to say, "Yes, we can!"

I happened to follow this young lady's blog as she sailed around the world solo, non-stop and unassisted on a 34' pink sailboat while she was doing it so I was familiar with the story. Even though I knew the story, this book filled in a lot that was never mentioned in her blogs. The book takes you from her childhood and this dream of sailing around the world all the way to the completion of her epic journey sailing into Sydney Harbor. This is a book that should be required reading for all school children young and old.

I couldn't put the book down and I'm looking forward to reading it again, this time on my Kindle.

Buy this book. You won't be sorry.

Jessica Watson is truly One True Spirit.

Jessica Watson tells this story from inspiration through preparation to the actual cirumnavigation in an easy flowing, almost conversational manner. Interspersed between entries from her blog, she adds background and detail about this incredible voyage.

I was able to quickly read Jessica Watson's vivid account of her round the world voyage on Ella's Pink Lady. Why quickly? It was because I had followed her voyage almost from the beginning and read the blog updates almost every day and posted comments quite often. Therefore, much of it was revisiting familiar territory while living her adventure again. "True Spirit" is a unpretentious account of a young girl that had a dream and meticulously charted a course to realize and accomplish that dream which she did on May 15, 2010 when she sailed back into Sydney Harbor. Her odyssey was the culmination of years (yes years) of planning, preparation and training in order to sail smart and with caution. This was in no way a spur of the moment decision. In the book, a reader will quickly realize the enormous support and encouragement she received from her family, her friends and professional sailors as she untiringly soaked up information she would need. This approach carried her through some absolutely terrifying moments where she experienced six knockdowns from brutal waves of 10 meters height and more. Alone at sea for 210 days, she experienced highs and lows but with maturity beyond her years, she constantly battled through and rose to meet any challenge the sea could throw at her. She aptly defines inspiration and in doing so has become a role model for young and old alike. Buy it. You'll love it

As an ocean sailor and former skipper, I found the book breathtaking. The contrast between the author's language, a typical teenage lingo, and the impressive strong and mature personality her reports betray is striking. Even though her daily life at sea seems necessarily repetitive, she manages to engage the reader with her rich experience of ever changing conditions, a richness that conveys her seemingly general modus of experiencing life. In the very limited space of her ship, she creates a world that she enjoys tremendously throughout. In the first part of the book the author impresses with her perseverance, sense of responsibility and diligence in preparing for her odyssey; in the second part she displays an amazing all-round competence that renders her detractors among concerned pedagogues and officials narrow-minded and pedestrian. You've got to admire a Ulysses when you see one. Hartmut Grebe

I have read a lot of non-fiction action/adventure books and I bought this book for a few different reasons: I love all things Australia; the author's picture on the cover is especially cute and beguiling and draws you in; and for the pure love of adventure read from the safety of my wing-back chair, as I sit before you a decidedly non-adventourous person.

Although Jessica Watson doesn't describe herself as brave, I certainly do! Her almost daily journal entries give the book a fun as well as exciting You-Are-There quality. Plus, she can write! I think what I mostly identified with was her growing awareness of the delights and serenity of being ALONE.

The weather in California turned cold as I read the book in November and I have to say that I would not have been happy to have been in the cold wet weather conditions she experienced. But I'm glad she didn't mind and was therefore able to have the journey of a lifetime!

Every once in a blue moon someone comes along and has a different take on how to live life. All of us, when we were young, read about people doing amazing things, but how many of us, when the book was put down, said to themselves, "I could do that " and then went about doing it!

Imagine what chain of events would have had to occur for a teenager who was washing dishes to pay for sailing experience, with no boat and only a dream, to become the girl who two years later would sail into Sydney harbor to the rapturous welcome of tens of thousands of fans, the public praise of the Prime Minister, and international sailing stardom!

Written, first person, in an engaging and understated style, the book "True Spirit" is the story of how a young girl from an adventurous family was taken by the dream of sailing around the world, solo, nonstop and unassisted after hearing a book by Jesse Martin. Martin, who had circumnavigated ten years before, had written how he was just an average person with a dream. Through hard work and dogged perseverance, Jessica replicates his achievement a few days short of her seventeenth birthday. Jess's charming personality really comes through in the book, as it did in the captivating blogs she wrote during the voyage.

"True Spirit" starts with Jessica's life before the dream takes hold at age eleven. Jessica gives some background of her unusual childhood living on a boat, and on the development of her taste for adventure. Following, is a description of how all the various pieces came together, from preparing the boat, to the sponsorships and public debate over her age, and the wisdom of someone so young undertaking such a difficult and possibly deadly voyage. The events surrounding her dramatic ship collision at night during a practice run, as well as the resulting public debate are covered.

The book really takes off as she leaves Sydney harbor and into the unknown. As part of the voyage narrative, the blogs that Jessica sent from sea are included and elaborated on, giving the reader an insight into Jess's emotional highs and lows while solo voyaging. All was not smooth sailing. In the South Atlantic the yacht suffered four serious knockdowns. The blogs are the heart of the book, and give the reader a sense of what it is like to be at sea, with its vast sky, sealife, and raw nature. The daily rhythm of life at sea is captured, with its routines, reflective times, and constantly changing weather conditions. Jessica becomes one with the sea and her boat, Ella's Pink Lady.

The last part of the book chronicles the incredible welcome that Jessica received after completing her record breaking voyage, as a country stopped to welcome home one of its own who dared to carry on in the face of adversity, and fulfill her ambition.

Upon finishing the book I was struck by how absolutely amazing Jessica is, and how much she accomplished in a very short time. A humble soul, Jessica insists she is an average person. Her message to the world is that we all have the ability to do remarkable things, we just have to dream, plan and work hard! Jessica Watson is an inspiration, and I'm sure we haven't heard the last from this very special person.

Thomas

I followed Jessica's voyage 'round the world through her blogs and so when the book True Spirit came out I just had to buy it. A large portion of the book contains all her blogs written during the voyage. In this section of the book Jessica sprinkles in a lot of notes elaborating on her condition, thoughts and fears at the time. In some cases she admits that her realtime blogs were more upbeat than she was feeling, her honesty in this book is enchanting. She had some seriously dark moods during her voyage but Jessica wanted her parents and supporters to keep a positive attitude and she later shows how insightful that strategy was after she found herself on shore fretting over Abby Sutherland's disappearance. Jessica realized that while being alone on a boat in the middle of a raging ocean can be frightening, it can be even more frightening to be sitting on shore worrying about someone on a boat in the middle of a raging ocean.
Most of all this book can serve as an inspiration to young people everywhere. Not everyone has a dream to sail around the world, but almost everyone has a dream, and in this book Jessica explains how she made her dream a reality. Sure, some adults helped her but Jessica makes it clear that she had to PROVE to them that she was dedicated enough to follow through, especially after crashing her boat into a freighter just before departure. She also explains that the biggest thing her parents did for her was to stand out of the way and allow her to live her dream. Good advice for all parents.

Years ago, a friend said to me:
"Every single one of us has a fierce strength within...that sometimes goes unrealized.
But, when we discover it...amazing things can happen."
Such is the story of this amazing young woman,
who discovered her fierce strength,
and developed that strength into a force that would lead her to the realization of a dream.
Tales of adventure are captivating.
Jessica Watson's tale is no exception.
What makes her story different from the rest,
is the warm and engaging way in which it is told.
Her story is not just read, it is experienced.
Readers find themselves involved in this amazing voyage...
during the becalmed, serene days; and the turbulent, stormy nights.
We are there as Jessica sings happily at the top of her lungs,
and when she struggles with the difficulties of being homesick.
Most importantly, we are there at the triumphant ending,
when Jessica achieves her dream.
"True Spirit" is not just a book.
It's the invitation to become a part of the adventure of a lifetime.

It's of a different era than Tania Aebi or Robin Lee Graham, but still an engaging account of an impressive sail. Jessica Watson is certainly convincing that she drove the entire concept, not her parents. And, complete with a lot of exclamation marks, it definitely captures a girly teen spirit, and you've got to appreciate that Jessica successfully struggles to stay upbeat, thankfully not spending nearly as much time in lonely moping or talking about cats as other young circumnavigators. Her non-stop voyage means no interaction with the natives, and no love angle, so it's a different sort of story than Dove or Maiden Voyage, and, though she took the five capes route, she seems to slip through Cape Horn with a whole lot less drama than most sailors -- if you're not reading closely you might miss the paragraph where the boat is inverted and she is standing on the cabin roof! The hardcore sailor may wish for a bit more sailing talk, more references to previous circumnavigators and sailing lore would have filled in the story nicely, and Australians may notice spots where she toned down Aussie dialect, but understandably it's aimed at a mass audience. The book quotes extensively from her blogs, and also includes frequent microsoft video tags for instant links to her video diary -- this tag integration is brand spanking new, and it works very well, it's well worth having your smart phone at hand while you read.