Meet the Adventurers of the Year: Circumnavigator Jessica Watson

Each day we will feature one of the 2010 Adventures of the Year here on our blog. Get to know them all in our photo gallery, then vote for your favorite for the People's Choice award—every day. You can even vote for a new favorite each day, if you can't pick just one. Photograph by Sergio Dionisio, Getty Images

The Circumnavigator

Jessica Watson sailed around the world, alone, as a teenager.

Before Jessica Watson steered her 34-foot yacht across four oceans, circling the globe without stopping once, her yacht had a collision with a 63,000-ton bulk carrier during the first night of a sea trial. Her boat, Ella’s Pink Lady, lost its mast. Her quest to sail around the world before her 17th birthday was already controversial, and the collision only seemed to strengthen the arguments against the young Australian—that she was too young, too inexperienced, and too immature. (These were also directed at Watson’s parents and two other young wannabe circumnavigators, siblings Zak and Abby Sunderland.) But Watson, who was raised on sailboats and is more poised than most, quietly returned to port, tended to her broken ship, and returned to sea. “Any doubts about whether I could cope mentally,” Watson later wrote, “vanished…I was stronger, more determined, and ready….”

On May 15, 2010, after 210 days, the smiling 16-year-old arrived in Sydney Harbor, the youngest single-handed, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigator of all time. This, too, would become controversial, for detractors took Watson to task for not sailing far enough into the Northern Hemisphere. No matter. Tens of thousands of fans came out to greet her triumphant return to Australia, while millions watched on national television. But perhaps more impressive were the numbers of people following her journey in real time, through her blog. Watson once wrote: “I could write about a fly landing on Ella's Pink Lady and someone would find it interesting.” And 447 encouraging comments followed.—By Ryan Bradley

Read more from Jessica Watson >>

Adventure in 60 Seconds: Last Week in Exploration

By Tetsuhiko Endo

Since the popularization of whitewater rafting and kayaking, the North Fork of the Payette has become one of North America's premier stretches of whitewater with 15 miles of continuous Class V rapids, including the infamous series of drops known as "Jacob's Ladder." Record rainfall in the region has swelled the river to unprecedented levels over the last two weeks and some of the world's best kayakers have taken the plunge into never before paddled conditions. Check out this video clip of the mayhem at Canoe and Kayak magazine.

Adventure in 60 Seconds: Last Week in Exploration

By Tetsuhiko Endo

It's been a slow season in the Karakoram, reports Explorersweb.com. With only 25 climbing permits sold  for the entire region, we are going skip the usual climbing news this week, and look to other backdrops for our adventure fix.

It was not a good week to be a sailor. A few weeks ago, we reported on the launch of the "Bounty Boat" -- a group of men lead by Captain Dan McIntyre who are trying to recreate the journey of William Bligh, the poor guy who was mutinied against in the famous story of Fletcher Christian. Apparently McIntyre takes recreating very seriously. He is copying Bligh's journey down to the rations that Bligh and his men ate. In the last week alone the men have suffered a knockdown and a decrease in their rations, which, according to their blog, they heartily disliked to begin with. Check out all the grousing, complaining, arguing, and occasionally mutinous thought on their blog.

Solo Sailor Abby Sunderland, 16, is OK

It's making international news: Solo sailor Abby Sunderland, 16, is not lost in the Southern Ocean. She is OK, though her boat took a beating in the heavy swells, and will be picked up by a French fishing boat soon. We'll have more on this soon.

Solo Sailor Abby Sunderland, 16, Feared Lost at Sea

ABC News has just reported that Abby Sunderland, the 16-year-old presently attempting to complete her solo sail around the world, may be lost at sea. A support crew lost contact with Abby in choppy seas in the Southern Indian Ocean early this morning. Her eight-month-pregnant mother said Abby fired two emergency beacons at around 6 a.m. Brother Zac, who at 17 briefly held the youngest solo circumnavigation record when he completed his voyage in July of 2009, said they are trying to get rescue crews out to the boat. Our thoughts are with the Sunderland family for Abby's safe return.

Last month, Jessica Watson, also 16, successfully completed her solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe.

Jordan Romero, 13, Summits Everest - How Young is Too Young? You Tell Us

Photograph by Jake Norton. See more Everest pictures.

This weekend, American teen Jordan Romero, 13, climbed to the rooftop of the world where he reportedly called his mom. What a good kid. Though specific details regarding the climb are yet unknown, we know the team, which included Romero's dad, completed the climb without notable injuries. Romero's blog says "More to come after we load the yaks…." So we'll wait for more details and get back to you. In the mean time, we've asked our friends in the climbing world to weigh in with their perspectives on this question: Is there such a thing as "too young" on Everest? Or in high-risk adventure pursuits in general?

Let's look at sailing. Earlier this month Australian Jessica Watson, 16, completed her successful solo, non-stop, unsupported circumnavigation of the globe (though there was an issue with the length of the voyage). And though Watson is technically be the youngest person to pull off this feat, the title of "youngest" in sailing has become moot: The World Sailing Speed Record Council and other record-keeping organizations stopped recognizing "youngest" pursuits recently because they've become so controversial. Over the past year, we have seen a dizzying number of teens attempt to bump each other out of the record for youngest solo, non-stop, unsupported circumnavigation. The youngest, Laura Dekker, 13, was prevented from attempting a solo circumnavigation earlier this year by Dutch authorities.

No More "Youngest" World Records in Sailing -- Is There Such a Thing "Too Young" in Adventure?

It is expected that Australian Jessica Watson, 16, will complete her successful solo, non-stop, unsupported  circumnavigation of the globe on Saturday. Over the past year, we have seen a dizzying number of teens attempt to bump each other out of the record for youngest solo, non-stop, unsupported circumnavigation. And though Watson will technically be the youngest person to pull off this feat, some suggest that her route was not long enough to make if officially qualify. Regardless, the title of "youngest" in sailing has become moot: The World Sailing Speed Record Council and other record-keeping organizations stopped recognizing "youngest" pursuits recently because they've become so controversial.

Adventure in 60 Seconds: This Week in Exploration

Nepal Annapurna trek, photograph by Jeremiah Cunningham, My Shot

This week in adventure, the mountains are taller, the controversy fiercer, the waves bigger, and the oil slicker. Thankfully, the beasts are tamer and the expeditions are sending back some pictures that you have to see to believe.—Tetsuhiko Endo

MOUNTAINS
Mount Everest saw its first summits of 2010 this week, as reported by explorersweb.com. As usual, it was the sherpa who, as part of their nine to five, topped out while fixing ropes to aid everyone else. Although most teams are waiting for the weather to clear next week, a few on the Peak Freaks team have pushed ahead and touched the rooftop of the world. (explorersweb.com)

At lower climbs, a controversy is slowly brewing surrounding the death of Spanish climber Tolo Calafat, who perished on Annapurna on April 29th. Some of his companions allege that a Korean team cut the ropes that Calafat and his crew had fixed in order to aid their descent and then refused to send their sherpa to help him, despite being offered money by Spaniard Juanito Oiarzabal. Although the Koreans have given plausible, if difficult to verify excuses, the incident, combined with the controversy surrounding Oh Eun-Sun's disputed title as the first woman to climb all 8,000m peaks, has created a lot of bad blood between the two mountain-loving nations. (explorersweb.com)

David de Rothschild's Plastiki Sets Sail! - Video

Just in time for World Water Day (today) and after nearly four years of development, eco-adventurer David de Rothschild has launched his most ambitious expedition yet. The Plastiki, an innovative catamaran made from 12,000 post-consumer plastic bottles, set sail on Saturday for a 100-day voyage from San Francisco to Sydney. Their mission is to witness some of the most devastating waste accumulation on our planet, including the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch. According to his twitter feed, David and the crew had eggs for breakfast on their first morning at sea. (Read our previous coverage and see the NG Plastiki site.)

Taking inspiration from Thor Heyerdal's 1947 Kon-tiki expedition, the Plastiki's crew includes of David de Rothschild, accomplished skipper Jo Royle, and Olav Heyerdahl, Thor's grandson. Check back for updates here, or go to http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/plastiki/.

Photographs courtesy of Luca Babini

Best New Trips in the World: Sail (and Kayak and Snorkel) in Madagascar's Waters

For our annual Adventure Travel issue, we scoured the globe to find the 25 Best New Trips in the World for 2010, complete with a Best Trips photo gallery. Today, we present Madagascar. The world's far corners are now well within reach.

MADAGASCAR: Sail the Indian Ocean

Known for its 70-plus species of lemurs, Madagascar has the market cornered in trips focused on exotic leaping animals. But few travelers are aware of the country’s marine life. Enter Kumuka Worldwide, whose first-of-its-kind sailing trip plunges into the coral-filled Indian Ocean while hitting a cluster of little-visited islets just off the main island. Starting on Nosy Be, the largest of Madagascar’s outer islands, you’ll travel by dhow—the traditional sailboat used by African and Arabian traders for millennia—from one deserted beach to the next, camping on white sand by night, and kayaking, snorkeling, and fishing by day.

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