Sydney ? After seven months at sea, an Australian teen crossed the finish line of a round-the-world journey today in her pink yacht, becoming the youngest sailor to circle the globe solo, nonstop and unassisted.

Thousands of spectators erupted into cheers as 16-year-old Jessica Watson sailed into Sydney Harbour, the finale to an epic adventure in which she battled 40-foot waves, homesickness and critics who said she’d never make it home alive.

“She said she’d sail around the world, and she has,” a tearful Julie Watson said as she watched her grinning daughter cruise past the finish line from a nearby boat. “She’s home.”