The Lowburn-based grandparents of a 16-year-old schoolgirl attempting to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world have ‘‘nothing but confidence'' in their granddaughter, who yesterday suffered a setback when she crashed into a cargo ship.
Jessica Watson left Mooloolaba on Queensland's Sunshine Coast on Tuesday, on a 10-day preliminary solo voyage to Sydney.
Yesterday, her yacht collided with a 63,000-tonne cargo ship.
When contacted by the Otago Daily Times, Ms Watson's grandparents Gordon and Margaret Chisholm said they had limited details of the incident but were confident it was a ‘‘minor'' setback.
Mr Chisholm said they hoped it did not become a serious problem although they believed Jessica could handle the situation.
Mr and Mrs Chisholm recently returned from Australia where they helped Jessica prepare for the journey.
‘‘We are extremely impressed by the team she's got supporting her. The technical assistance and everything else she's got is great, and so far we've had very good reports of how she's going.
‘‘We've got nothing but confidence in her,'' Mr Chisholm said.
