World solo sailor Jessica Watson urges people to check blood pressure after partner dies of stroke

Famous sailor and former Young Australian of the Year Jessica Watson has shared a vital health message after the sudden death of her partner.

Jessica Watson, 29, who became the youngest solo sailor in the world to travel the globe non-stop and unassisted in 2009 at age 16, lost her Cameron Dale in August 2021.

The 29-year-old died at the Gold Coast Hospital on August 30 – six weeks after suffering a ‘catastrophic stroke’.

Now eight months after his death, Ms Watson is determined to educate young people on the importance of controlling blood pressure.

Jessica Watson (right) has urged people to check their blood pressure after her long-term partner Cameron Dale (left) died after suffering a sudden stroke

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Ms Watson (right) described Mr Dale (left) as her ‘long-term partner in every aspect of life and planned future’

‘Please check your blood pressure! It’s such a simple thing that could save a life,’ she wrote on Sunday.

‘Cam’s stroke was the first he knew of his high blood pressure.

‘It’s not on the radar for active young people and it needs to be!’

She then went on to share that strokes kill more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer every year yet 80 per cent of those deaths are preventable.  

Ms Watson (above) became the youngest solo person to sail around the globe in 2009 after spending 210 days at sea

Ms Watson (right) said she was grateful for the people who have helped her following Mr Dale’s (left) death and urged others to check their blood pressure because ‘it’s such a simple thing that could save a life’

‘Please ask the people you love to get their blood pressure checked this May. Go to your local Pharmacy or GP,’ she said.

‘Don’t let a stroke be their first sign of high blood pressure!’

Ms Watson shared in an emotional message on September that Mr Dale had died six weeks after suffering a stroke due to high blood pressure. 

‘On Monday, 30 August 2021 we lost our Cam – my long-term partner in every aspect of life and planned future,’ she wrote.

Mr Dale (left) died on August 30 last year after suffering a sudden ‘catastrophic stroke’ six weeks earlier

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‘Cam and I have been inseparable since 2011, our shared world centred on messing about on boats. 

‘Describing what Cam means to me is impossible – everyone who knows us understands how much we simply loved each other.

‘Being Cam’s ‘Jess’ is the role I’m most proud of.’  

In March Ms Watson shared another tribute to Mr Dale, writing: ‘time has been a blur of pain’.

Ms Watson (left) told her followers to not ‘let a stroke be (the) first sign of high blood pressure!’ following the death of her partner Mr Dale (right)

‘I’ve often found myself utterly overwhelmed by the good of so many wonderful people,’ she said.

‘I want to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has helped. Every person who sent a message, a memory of Cam, a card, thank you! 

‘Thank you to my closest friends. Every time you say you wish you could do more to help, please know how much you do help.

‘Thank you to everyone who’s got me out on the water sailing. No words required, you guys know what a lifeline it’s been.

Ms Watson (above) was named Young Australian of the Year in 2011 after becoming the youngest solo person to sail around the world in 2009

Ms Watson became the youngest person to sail around the world non-stop and unassisted after completing a gruelling 210 days on her 33-foot sailboat dubbed ‘Ella’s Pink Lady’ (above)

‘It was my wise little sis who told me early on that some things are too big to bear alone and have to be shared. Thank you to everyone who’s helping carry this.’

Ms Watson gained the title of youngest person to sail around the world non-stop and unassisted in 2009 after completing a gruelling 210 days on her 33-foot sailboat dubbed ‘Ella’s Pink Lady’.

She arrived back in Sydney just three days before her 17th birthday and was named Young Australian of the Year in 2011.