It was a little over two years ago when Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail solo around the world unassisted, and while she saw and experienced many exotic and beautiful places during her voyage, it is still in Australia where she finds her favourite getaway.
Jessica would rather holiday in the Whitsundays than in any other destination in the world, for it is here in the calm waters of the Whitsunday group that she can relax and meander though the azure passages between the 74 islands, stopping off to visit a beach here and a favourite lookout there.
Greg Stoltz for Adelaide Now caught up with her recently and filed the report below.
Jessica Watson rates the Whitsundays as her favourite holiday destination Pic by Luke Marsden.
JESSICA Watson flashes her trademark gap-toothed grin when asked her favourite holiday escape.
“Sailing of course,” the teen yachtswoman says. “In the Whitsundays. I’ve sailed the world and it’s pretty hard to beat.”
Sailing Whitsundays. Courtesy whitsundayescape.com
Long before she made history two years ago as the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world, Watson was cruising the Whitsundays with her parents and still rates it her most idyllic destination.
“I spent quite a lot of time up there with the family when I was younger so it’s got special memories to start with,” she says.
“It’s just a wonderful place to go for a sailing holiday it’s quiet, it’s easy sailing and there are just so many beautiful islands and bays to anchor in when you want to get a bit of sand between your toes.”
Watson says while popular resorts such as Hamilton, Daydream and Hayman islands offer terrific Whitsundays holidays, “you have to be on a boat to really see it at its best”.
“You mightn’t have the luxury of endless hot water on tap but to be sitting on a beach that’s completely deserted is pretty special,” she says.
Whitsundays – Place To Yourself.
“On my voyage around the world, I saw lots of empty ocean and some of the land I saw was amazing, beautiful. But you do realise how lucky you are when you come home to Queensland.
“You’ve got these lovely places like the Whitsundays in your backyard and they’re just as good, or better, than some of the so-called exotic sailing destinations overseas.”
Whereas much of the Australian coastline is “hard sailing”, Watson says the Whitsundays offers vast expanses of azure, often calm water especially in winter.
“You can pretty much day sail to the next lovely place,” she says.
Diving Whitsundays.
Watson says one of her favourite Whitsundays experiences is to climb atop “the roof of the Whitsundays” Whitsunday Peak.
“There’s a bay you can anchor in (Sawmill Beach in Cid Harbour) on the main island.
“You climb to the top and it’s just really, really lovely,” she says.
“It’s a bit of a trek but the view is well and truly worth the hard yards when you look out and see all the beautiful bays, islands and yachts.”
Watson is the ambassador for Queensland’s Season of Sailing, launched by Tourism Queensland.
JESSICA Watson flashes her trademark gap-toothed grin when asked her favourite holiday escape.
The campaign aims to encourage tourists to take part in major sailing regattas up and down the Queensland coast, including the iconic Hamilton Island Race Week in August.
Foreshore Whitsundays.
Yacht charter companies, accommodation houses and other tourism operators have come on board to offer packages promoted as “Racey Days and Cruisey Nights”.
“Sailing is something that everyone must try at least once in their lives and Queensland offers the best locations for learners all the way through to seasoned sailors,” Watson says.
She says the many charter boat companies operating out of the Whitsundays are the perfect solution for novice sailors wanting to explore the coast and its 74 islands.
They offer both bareboat (sail yourself) and skippered and crewed vessels, depending on your sailing ability and/or confidence.
“If you’re not that confident, don’t chance it get a skipper and crew,” she says.
“There’s nothing I like better than to get on somebody else’s boat, eat some cheese, drink some wine and soak up the sun.”
Watson’s tips for a great sailing holiday include plenty of sunscreen and, importantly, go with the flow.
“Take it easy, don’t push it there’s nothing worse than a bad experience out on the water,” she says
“If the weather’s not nice, you don’t need to leave the dock.”
Watson, meanwhile, is already planning her next voyage in the Whitsundays.
“I’m skippering my brother’s boat on a Schoolies Week cruise,” she says.
“I made the silly mistake of offering my services and he took me up on it.”
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