The 16-year-old Australian yachtswoman Jessica Watson, who is hoping to become the youngest person to sail around the world, will almost certainly have to delay the start of her voyage, after hitting a cargo ship on a test sail.

Jessica had started out on a 10-day test run from the sunshine coast in Queensland south to Sydney. Unfortunately, less than 24 hours into the trip, she hit the carrier – at about 02:00 local time on Wednesday morning, 17:00 BST on Tuesday evening.

Her yacht Ella’s Pink Lady has sustainded damage to its mast, and the starboard side of the deck and hull have been badly scraped. Jessica is unharmed, although a little shaken.
The teenage is still determined to carry on with her plans to circumnavigate the globe: “”All things considered, the boat did come up well. The big thing for me is I came through the whole thing feeling confident.”