For several months, I have been daily following the blog of a 16-year-old Australian named Jessica Watson. First thing in the morning, last thing at night and several times each day, I check for her latest post, eager for news – always hoping that news is good. Since October of last year, this young girl has been sailing around the globe on a small sailboat called Ella’s Pink Lady – non-stop and alone. And since January, I’ve been tracking her perilous journey – every storm, every doldrum, every freezing night and stunning sunset, every knock-down and broken piece of equipment, every twinge of loneliness.
I am fascinated by the act itself . I think back to Ferdinand Magellan - the explorer who set out with 5 ships and a crew of over 200 men to circumnavigate the globe in the early 1500’s. The journey was completed 3 years later with only one ship and 19 men remaining. (Even Magellan himself didn’t make the distance. He was killed in the Philippines while trying to convert locals to Christianity.) And there are other famous names like Drake and Cook – but now it’s being done in a 30 foot sailboat by a 16 year old girl.
Two 16 year old girls, actually.
There’s an American girl name Abby Sunderland out there now as well. She started her journey from Mexico and has just recently rounded Cape Horn on her 40 foot sailboat, Wild Eyes. And not to be left out, a 38 year old man named Alessandro di Benedetto is circumnavigating the globe in an even tinier 20 foot sailboat. I read with amazement his accounts of petting dolphins and seals, of listening to whales breathe nearby, of dodging icebergs.Last week his mast broke in a violent storm and first reports had him stopping in Chile for repairs, but he simply built another mast out of whatever he had onboard and is even now closing in on treacherous Cape Horn with his jury-rigged mast.
These adventurers all have smart, sharp on-shore teams behind them – people with knowledge of the sea, of weather patterns, of navigation – but they are the ones out alone out there for months on end, fighting the daily battles – sometimes for forward progress, other-times simply for survival.
I’m surprised that I find all of this fascinating. I’m no sailor, though I have a deep love for the sea. Perhaps crossing the Atlantic by boat twice before the age of 7 left a deep impression on me. But looking at this all metaphorically – which I admit I’m prone to do – I do know why I find it inspiring.
Storms come and they go. Doldrums come and they go. The sea, winds and waves are ever changing – the key is learning to navigate whatever is thrown at you. A knock-down is not the end, – if you’re prepared and know how to get back up. And no matter how much support I might have – and I have wonderful friends who are much smarter than me - it still comes down to me riding out the storms, daily choosing faith over doubt, courage over fear, joy over despair.
It helps that I know and walk with the One who tames the wind and the waves, who sets the boundaries in place – the only One who can. Even when He’s asleep in my boat- and lately it feels like He’s been in a deep, deep slumber, I still have the promise of His words. When we started this journey together He said “let’s go over to the other side of the lake” – so I know He has plans to get me there, regardless of what rogue wave may slam me broadside or turn me upside down, disorienting me for a day or two.
These words may seem simplistic, and even trite. They usually do – until a storm actually hits. Or in my case lately , a series of storms.
Jessica, Abby and Alessandro’s journeys will all come to an end at various times in the weeks/months ahead. Jessica is only a few short weeks from home – though she’s currently fighting lightning storms and wicked seas in the Great Australian Bight. The latest storm knocked her down, tore her mainsail and flooded her cabin. But she’s up again and moving forward with her typical positive attitude. Abby and Alessandro still have a ways to go, but all of them want to accomplish the same thing. They want to conquer the storms, the winds, the waves – and themselves – and at the end, sail into safe harbor and hear the words Well Done.
As do I.
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