Pink Lady sails into the harbour

TEEN SAILOR: Jessica Watson’s boat is at Coffs Harbour International Marina this weekend.

Travis Mead

EVANS Head may have had a visit from teen world solo sailor, Jessica Watson, but Coffs Harbour will have to be content with her yacht and a very knowledgeable crew.

“I think we had the whole town of Evans Head on the boat,” skipper Phil George laughed.

The man responsible for the automatic windvane steering system which sailed Jessica Watson around the world is delivering the yacht, Ella’s Pink Lady, to Sydney for a boat show.

“Horrendous. We surfed into Coffs Harbour on quite large waves and we appreciated what Jessica must have gone through,” is how he described conditions when they arrived at 7pm on Thursday.

He explained the steering system as using “the wind in relation to the boat’s core and if the bearing changes or veers off to port or starboard, the vane will react and create a mechanical movement in the opposite direction to bring it back to course.”

While the crew and local contractors complete running repairs, the local community is welcome to visit the boat at the marina.

“Bring as many kids as you like, if you’re less than four foot tall you can even stand on the boat.”