posted January 30, 2010 05:06 PM         

Kathleen Donaghey

January 31, 2010 12:00am

THE mother of teen sailor Jessica Watson has revealed for the first time the private pain that is driving her daughter's dream of going around the globe.

The 16-year-old was a preschooler when she was diagnosed with severe dyslexia – the lone child in the class unable to count to 10 or recite the alphabet. But after enduring the stigma of illiteracy, Jessica's fate changed at age 11 when mum Julie read her Lionheart, the story of Jesse Martin's solo world voyage.

"What people don't realise is that I was reading to her because she couldn't read," Mrs Watson told The Sunday Mail.

Pictures: Solo girl

"I was helping her access a world she couldn't reach. When she heard Jesse Martin's story and realised how human he was, Jessica went very quiet, you could see the cogs turning.

"She realised he was an ordinary person with vulnerabilities and humanness. And that's why he wrote the book: so people realised you don't have to be superhuman to go around the world."

Today, the Sunshine Coast teen is almost halfway across the South Atlantic Ocean and on track to achieve her dream of becoming the youngest person to sail solo around the world, non-stop and unassisted.

Last week she completed repairs on her 10m yacht, Ella's Pink Lady, after earlier facing frightening 10m waves and buffeting 70-knot winds.

Today Jessica is expected to face winds of up to 30 knots, according to marine weather tracker Roger Badham, but nothing dramatic.

Mrs Watson said her daughter had overcome enormous personal insecurity to get this far and was now an inspiration to others.

Her dyslexia, which has improved, has not held her back, although she does have to take extra care.

"She has to be careful with number reversal when she's conveying her position," Mrs Watson said.

Her mum said Jessica was propelled by a fortified internal confidence.

"She has struggled all along with perception and people saying: 'How could she do that if she can't even spell?' But you don't have to accept that as a limitation," she said.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,1,26654671-952,00.html

Raymond

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"Nothing matters absolutely;
the truth is it only matters relatively"