Rough seas between Watson and home

14 May 2010, 5:07 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Watson is due to pass through Sydney Heads about 11.30am (AEST) Saturday, delighting crowds estimated to number tens of thousands. (PrImage)

Watson is due to pass through Sydney Heads about 11.30am (AEST) Saturday, delighting crowds estimated to number tens of thousands. (PrImage)

It may not be all plain sailing for teenager Jessica Watson as she enters the last hours of her epic round-the-world solo voyage.

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It may not be all plain sailing for teenager Jessica Watson as she enters the last hours of her epic round-the-world solo voyage.

While reuniting with family, a home-cooked meal, a long shower and comfy bed may be foremost in the mind of the teenage adventurer, forecast rough seas and high winds could yet blow her plans off course.

The 16-year-old is due to pass through Sydney Heads about 11.30am (AEST) Saturday, delighting crowds estimated to number tens of thousands.

However, as Watson covers her final stretch along the NSW coast, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) forecasts winds up to 45 knots and waves up to seven metres offshore.

Those conditions are expected to peak on Saturday, BoM forecaster Satya Kishore told AAP.

"We are expecting these strong winds to ease across the coast. However, ocean winds are likely to remain strong or at gale force on Saturday," he said.

It certainly won't be the first time Watson has faced turbulent conditions during her 23,000 nautical mile (about 38,000km) odyssey, with the Sunshine Coast girl enduring regular rough times.

She battled 40-foot (12-metre) waves and multiple knockdowns during her journey, which 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.

Her journey on the 10-metre boat Ella's Pink Lady started from Sydney on October 18 last year.

It was originally expected to take eight months with a projected return in mid-June but instead Watson is due to dock at the Opera House on Saturday morning to test out her sea legs on terra firma.

She will be greeted by her parents, a throng of media and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

For about the last 12 hours of her voyage Watson will be shadowed by her project manager Bruce Arms, aboard another vessel, who insists he will keep a great enough distance to allow her to complete her voyage unassisted.

Watson's efforts are already being heralded.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore says she is considering giving Watson a key to the city.

And in her home state, Queensland federal backbencher Peter Slipper said he would nominate her to become Young Australian of the Year.

"In these days of celebrity worship ... it's so refreshing to see a role model who's famous for all the right reasons," Mr Slipper wrote in his nomination.

"Jessica hasn't achieved glory using her looks or shock tactics - she's in the spotlight for her genuine talent, courage and enormous sense of adventure."

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