Around the world: teen sets sail

At just 16 years of age, Australian teenager Jessica Watson left The Spit in Sydney on Sunday the 18th of October, 2009, in her attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the planet.

The non-stop journey began in Sydney after much controversy (more on that later) and will Watson will probably return as a very different person after a journey that is not be balked at.

Upon leaving Sydney, Watson wrote on her blog: "After a good night sleep, a good breakfast and a last hot shower, that was it and I was off to sail around the world!"

After leaving mainland Australia behind, Jessica will then head towards the northern tip of New Zealand and skirt around Fiji. The Line Islands and Christmas Island will be the next target as she navigates the South Pacific Ocean, heading towards South America and Chile.

Jessica's 34-foot yacht, the Ella's Pink Lady, will then head south towards Cape Horn and then past the Falkland Islands and into the South Atlantic Ocean with the next target the African continent.

Rounding South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope will be followed by sailing across the Southern and then Indian Oceans towards Western Australia. After this Watson will then round Tasmania and sail towards home in Sydney.

The entire voyage will cover some 23,000 nautical miles, or about 38,000 kilometres and will take around 250 days. Watson can expect to encounter a range of trying conditions, particularly in the Southern Ocean.

Already there's been plenty of conjecture about Watson's voyage, particularly as this is her second start after her 34-foot yacht, the Ella's Pink Lady, collided with a cargo ship less than a day into a test run from the Sunshine Coast to Sydney.

After the incident in early September, where the Ella's Pink Lady yacht limped away with damaged mast and roughly scraped starboard deck and hull, Jessica Watson put on a brave face.

"All things considered, the boat did come up well. The big thing for me is I came through the whole thing feeling confident," said 16-year-old Watson.

You can follow Jessica's journey via her blogs on her website, and if everything goes to plan we'll see her back in Sydney in 2010, having set a new record.