Jessica Watson on Being Knocked Down in Her Yacht in Massive Seas 6 Times

An extended clip from the ground-breaking series, The Thread, exploring what connects different Aussie icons who broke away from the pack. Full episode on Jessica Watson OAM here: Like watching? **Like this video above and comment below** Support us by subscribing: Follow Hugh Minson on Twitter: Like Hugh Minson on Facebook: Follow Jack Morphet on Twitter: ======================================================== ►Transcript Hugh: So, I want to go back to the storm where you likened the conditions to the ’98 Sydney to Hobart. In moments like that when your boat was knocked down four times in the storm, the third being the worst, did you question your judgment? Jessica: That was a really interesting storm because I wasn’t expecting that particular storm to be as bad but I was expecting bad storms somewhere along the line, so I was expecting knock-downs. That doesn’t make it a lot easier, I had my head around knock-downs before I left. I remember sitting just down here and joking with a mate, having bets on how many knock-downs I was going to have and I had less than I suspected. Hugh: How many did you suspect? Jessica: Um, quite a few, I was thinking more like 12 so you know, half is pretty good. But I do remember there were a few moments in the middle of that storm when even though you know the boat’s set up to take this, even though you know there’s no reason why everything shouldn’t be right, you do start questioning it. Your head starts running through the sensible, practical things you need to be worrying about. Again, some checklists and what is the worst-case scenario? But there was definitely a moment there when you start going what does happen if the boat falls apart and how can it possibly stand out to what’s going on. That’s really interesting what goes through your head at moments like that and it’s kind of scary because you think about it and you go well what will happen will happen and it wasn’t until I started thinking gosh I’m putting my family through something right now and god I’m going to hang on, I don’t know what I’m going to do but god I’m going to hang on to get back and to not make this any harder for them than it already is. It was a really interesting moment realising that, realising how much they meant to me and how much it was important for me to do everything I could to get through it. Hugh: Do you think it was those moments that perhaps did change you, you mentioned in your book that you feel like the journey has changed you, but was it those moments? Jessica: Yeh, definitely. I think realising that, getting to the point where you’re so scared and you don’t know what’s going to happen and realising that’s the thing you have to hold on for, not for yourself, not because I don’t want to get hurt. I’d accepted those things and I wasn’t worried about them, it was realising I didn’t want to put my family through anymore. Not that I even wanted to see them, which of course I did, but that was really what triggered with me and that taught me how important it is to have good people around you, family and friends. It’s such a simple thing and I suppose we all realise that but it is moments like that make you realise how important it is. ======================================================== ►About Jessica Watson OAM At just 16, Jessica Watson became the youngest person ever to sail solo around the world. She lived with her family on a boat between the ages of 9 and 14, during which time she was inspired by Jesse Martin, who sailed into the record books a decade earlier. Her voyage inspired a nation, with thousands of adoring fans lining the Sydney Harbour to welcome her home in May 2010. Watson was named Young Australian of the Year and went on to skipper the youngest crew to finish the perilous Sydney to Hobart yacht race. ======================================================== ►About The Thread Two mates sit down with 10 iconic Australians to figure out how they broke away from the pack. Hugh and Jack seek out leaders of wide-ranging fields: adventure, sport, business, philanthropy, medicine, law and literature to uncover the common thread that binds them. The interview subjects are household names famed for remarkable and well-told stories, but rarely have they been asked how they did it, how they define success and whether anyone can do what they’ve done. Armed with meticulous research and uncomfortably simple questions, we elicit intriguing, inspiring and often unexpected insights from an eclectic bunch of trailblazers. ======================================================== Check out all 10 full episodes here: