The world still loves an adventurer, doesn't it?

Marco Polo wrote a best-seller about a trip to China from Europe that few people even believed happened. Columbus, Hudson, Cabot, Cortes, Vespucci, Magellan, the Wright Brothers, Lindbergh, Earhart, Gagarin, Sheppard, Armstrong, Yeager, Branson... the list is long and very impressive. What is really odd, though, is that the list is almost universally admired by all.

I'm not going to argue details about politics, here... (yes, Columbus has his detractors and Gagarin was a Communist, and Branson does it for money...), but the list is truly one of heroes and icons, isn't it?

Now a 16-year old girl from Australia manages to circumnavigate the globe in less than 211 days, solo with no assistance and non-stop, becoming the youngest person to do so ever (and one of only 48 people to do it AT ALL, EVER!) and not only her home country, but people all over the world have watched her and followed her progress online as her GPS safety equipment radioed where she was every hour. She has a book deal for the story, a life-time worth of experiences, and her whole life stretching out in front of her.

Was it risky? Yes. Was there danger? Of course. Was she adequately trained and prepared? Is anyone that makes such a voyage "adequately trained", regardless of age? I'm NOT one of the detractors of her effort and achievement... Jessica did a damn fine job completing a damn hard task, and I'll leave the critical comments of her performance to those that HAVE completed the job (all 47 of them). All I know is she was of legal age to do what she did, and she had all the legally-required training and certifications for the trip that Australia required... so those that are going to be critical have very little to bitch about.

I like the fact that there are still people out there that want to do hard things for no other reason that the fact that they are hard. Well done, Jessica... well done.