Summary

NAME: AUS SAILOR 20091018I TAPE: EF09/0982 IN_TIME: 10:12:34:23 DURATION: 00:02:00:18 SOURCES: AuBC/CH9/CH10 DATELINE: Sydney - 17/18 Oct 2009 RESTRICTIONS: Check shotlist for details SHOTLIST AuBC - NO ACCESS AUSTRALIA Sydney - 18 October 2009 1 Various of teenage sailor Jessica Watson sailing out of marina in Sydney Harbour 2 Wide of onlookers applauding and waving 3 Wide of boat sailing out of marina 4 Close of name of boat reading (English): Ella's Pink Lady 5 Close of Watson on boat 6 Close of Australian flag on boat and name reading (English): Jessica Watson CHANNEL 10 - NO ACCESS AUSTRALIA Sydney - 17 October 2009 7 Wide of boat moored in harbour 8 SOUNDBITE (English) Jessica Watson, Sailor: I suppose it's a big, scary, and possibly risky thing to be undertaking but yes, there's plenty of different risks, but we've just done everything we can to minimise them 9 Wide of Watson climbing onto boat 10 SOUNDBITE (English) Jessica Watson: I've got absolutely everything, the communication and navigation systems I've got is just amazing It's better than some of the big ships out there AuBC - NO ACCESS AUSTRALIA Sydney - 18 October 2009 11 Wide of Watson's boat sailing away from Sydney Harbour surrounded by coastguard and support boats 12 Close of people in small boat holding signs reading (English): Go Jess, Good Luck 13 Wide of Watson adjusting sails on boat 14 Wide of boat sailing out of Sydney Harbour 15 Zoom in from wide of Sydney skyline to convoy of boats CHANNEL 9 - NO ACCESS AUSTRALIA Sydney - 18 October 2009 16 Aerial shot of Watson's boat surrounded by convoy of support boats sailing out of Sydney Harbour ++MUTE++ STORYLINE A 16-year-old Australian steered her bright pink yacht out of Sydney Harbour on Sunday to start her bid to become the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world After hugging her parents goodbye on shore, Jessica Watson sailed her 34-foot (10-metre) yacht out of Sydney under grey skies and slightly choppy conditions She smiled and waved to scores of well-wishers who lined parts of the shore and boats that gathered in the harbour Watson's plan to make a 23-thousand and 600 mile (38-thousand kilometre) journey through some of the world's most treacherous waters had sparked a debate in Australia about whether someone so young should be allowed to try such a potentially dangerous feat But the girl and her family insisted she was an experienced and capable sailor and pointed out that although she will sail solo and unassisted, she would have a strong support team to help if any dangers arose On the eve of her departure, Watson herself admitted that it's a big, scary, and possibly risky thing to be undertaking but stressed that her team had done everything we can to minimise them Earlier this year, a Dutch court ordered a 13-year-old girl to be placed in the custody of child care authorities while her parents argued over whether she should be allowed to attempt to become the youngest sailor to circle the globe Although Watson's departure was all plain sailing on Sunday, she suffered several setbacks during preparations for the journey Last month, her yacht collided with a cargo ship as she sailed toward Sydney - an accident that triggered some calls for her to abandon the attempt because of the dangers And Watson's planned departure last week was delayed by strong winds in Sydney The first leg of the young sailor's journey will take her past northern New Zealand, then Fiji and Samoa In a trip expected to last about eight months, she plans to pass around the southern tips of Africa and South America Briton Mike Perham in August laid claim to being the youngest solo round-the-world sailor The 17-year-old completed a 28-thousand-mile (45-thousand-kilometre) trip in nine months, though he stopped for repairs, which counts as an assisted journey Perham was a few months younger than Zac Sunderland, from California, who claimed the youngest solo crown in July when he completed a similar trip in 13 months, though his trip was also in the assisted category The previous unassisted mark is held by another Australian, Jesse Martin, who was 18 when he completed the journey in 1999