We just think this is so cool! However, the controversial issue was discussed on 20/20 last week—are these kids really too young to attempt such adventures? Whatever you think, it's a big accomplishment for Jessica Watson. Congrats! —SheJumps

Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail around the globe solo, nonstop and unassisted when she cruised into Sydney Harbour on May 15 in her pink, 34-foot yacht to a rock star welcome of thousands. She successfully maneuvered her boat through raging storms, 40-foot waves and seven knockdowns during the 23,000 nautical mile journey that critics thought she wouldn't survive.

She wept with relief after stepping off the yacht and into the arms of her tearful parents, whose decision to let their daughter attempt the feat was dubbed an act of insanity by some.

"People don't think you're capable of these things — they don't realize what young people, what 16-year-olds and girls are capable of," Watson told the crowd. "It's amazing when you take away those expectations what you can do."

Watson is from Buderim, north of Brisbane in Queensland state and sailed out of Sydney on Oct. 18 despite protests by critics that she was too immature and inexperienced for the treacherous journey.

She sailed northeast through the South Pacific and across the equator, south to Cape Horn at the tip of South America, across the Atlantic Ocean to South Africa, through the Indian Ocean and around southern Australia.

The route took Watson through some of the world's most treacherous waters, and the teen battled through monstrous storms. She said those times gave her moments of doubt, but generally she kept her spirits up.

"Amazingly, I just enjoyed it much, much more than I ever thought I would and handled the challenges better than I thought," she told journalists. "You don't actually have a choice — you're in the middle of a storm, you're being knocked down — you can't fall apart."

Her feat will not be considered an official world record, because the World Speed Sailing Record Council discontinued its "youngest" category. Australian Jesse Martin holds the record for the youngest person to sail around the world solo, nonstop and unassisted, after he completed the journey in 1999 at the age of 18.

And though Australian Prime Minister Rudd dubbed her "Australia's newest hero," Watson was dismissive.

"I don't consider myself a hero," she said. "I'm an ordinary girl who believed in her dream."