A 15-year-old female is planning to sail solo and non-stop around the world. Australia-based Jessica Watson plans to set off from Brisbane in November, sailing a 34-foot yacht with enough food and equipment aboard to last eight months and 22,000 nautical miles.

She leaves Brisbane on 7 November to sail south of New Zealand and Cape Horn, up to the equator in the Atlantic and back to Brisbane via the Cape of Good Hope and the Indian Ocean.

If successful, she will complete the voyage soon after turning 17, breaking the record for the youngest person by a year.