Australian girl sailor crosses round-the-world finish line

Australian schoolgirl sailor Jessica Watson sailed into history yesterday as a noisy pink-bathed crowd welcomed her home as the youngest person to sail around the globe solo, non-stop and without help.

Tens of thousands of people took to the harbour and lined the foreshore to celebrate as Watson, 16, crossed the finish line in her bright pink yacht, ending a remarkable 210 days at sea.

Harbour Master Steve Young sounded a pink hooter to signal the official end to her voyage, and a tugboat sent up a celebratory jet of water as the beaming teen steered through the harbour mouth, waving to the throng of onlookers.

It was a "daunting" change of scenery for Watson who said she'd grown used to the monotony of isolation and "empty waves."

"I haven't seen a person for almost seven months and suddenly there's people everywhere, faces, so much colour so much noise, so much everything," Watson told reporters.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd joined the teenager's emotional parents Roger and Julie to welcome her at the Sydney Opera House, where she took her first steps on dry land in almost seven months, to wild cheers and applause.

"You may feel a little wobbly on your feet just now," Rudd told Watson, who needed help to hobble on unsteady feet up the pink carpet from her boat.

"But in the eyes of all Australians, you now stand tall, as our newest Australian hero."

Watson appeared incredulous at her jubilant reception, broadcast live on commercial television to millions of Australians, and was quick to dismiss the prime minister's praise.

"I don't consider myself a hero," the schoolgirl said.

"I'm an ordinary girl who believed in a dream. You don't have to be someone special or anything special to achieve something amazing, you've just got to have a dream, believe in it and work hard."

Although the World Speed Sailing Council will not recognise Watson's record, as its minimum age is 18, her seven-month voyage makes her the youngest person to achieve a solo, continuous and unaided circum-navigation.

Fellow Australian Jesse Martin set the current record of 327 days in 1999, then aged 18.

He boarded Watson's yacht to congratulate her and steer a course to shore so she could lap up the welcome.

"It took me 11 months and she's done it in seven, she's flown around the world," an admiring Martin said.

Rudd presented Watson, who is keen to learn to drive a car, with a certificate for a free driving lesson, something he joked she was sure to have "no problem" with.

The teen said she was looking forward to a few simple pleasures - walking on the beach, eating fresh fruit and reading some new books - and returning to life as a 16-year-old.

"For now I'm just really happy to do some more slightly normal things, have a quiet few years to finish school, that sort of thing," she said.