The 16-year-old, who has strong Central Otago connections with grandparents in Lowburn, yesterday set off from Sydney in her yacht, Ella's Pink Lady, with a plan to be back around the middle of next year without having touched land.
Her voyage will remain largely in the Southern Hemisphere, covering about 23,000 nautical miles or 38,000 kilometres.
She first sails into northern New Zealand waters before heading to Fiji, Samoa, South America and South Africa, and then on to the final 7400km leg back to Australia.
Maritime New Zealand spokesman Ross Henderson said once the yacht entered the New Zealand search and rescue area they would be watching its progress.
"I'm not saying we're watching her every minute, but we're keeping an eye on it," he said.
"If she does happen to get into trouble then we would provide assistance as we would with anybody who was in distress." The attempt has been the subject of much controversy, with many, including the Queensland Government, calling for the teenager to abandon it.
Concerns grew further last month, when her yacht collided with a 63,000-tonne cargo vessel off North Stradbroke Island on her first attempt to sail from the Gold Coast to Sydney.
To qualify for the record, the yacht must cross all lines of longitude and cross the equator into the northern hemisphere at least once before returning to Sydney.
