Queensland teenage sailor Jessica Watson has been named Young Australian of the Year for the bravery and tenacity she showed during her solo round-the-world trip.

The then 16-year-old battled fierce storms and loneliness at sea to become the youngest person to sail non-stop and unassisted around the world in 210 days.

She used her acceptance speech to urge her fellow young Australians to dream big.

"You don't have to be anyone or anything to achieve something. You've just got to believe in it and work hard," she said.

"It doesn't have to be sailing around the world. It might be building an orphanage in Cambodia, campaigning for climate change or something as simple as getting a driver's licence.

"To all you Aussies out there, particularly us young guys, let's dream big, but more importantly let's make it happen."

Watson's controversial journey at first attracted criticism and she faced calls to abandon the trip after colliding with a bulk carrier off the south-east Queensland coast.

Many questioned Watson's ability and maturity and whether her parents were doing the right thing in letting their daughter go.

But condemnation quickly become admiration as she pushed on, undeterred by the media attention surrounding her.

Apart from encountering wild winds, large swells and several knockdowns - one where her mast was pushed 180 degrees into the water - Watson's journey from then on was with few major setbacks.

Beginning in Sydney, the voyage took her through the South Pacific and across the Equator, south to Cape Horn at the tip of South America, across to the Atlantic Ocean to South Africa and then across the Indian Ocean and around southern Australia.

She withstood 40-knot winds and a four-metre swell while rounding the notoriously tough Cape Horn.

But it was conditions closer to home that proved some of the toughest.

Sailing the Southern Ocean, from Cape Leeuwin and around Tasmania, Watson's yacht was knocked down several times while battling wild storms.

Battling six-metre swells and a ripped main sail, the final leg of her journey took several hours longer than what was predicted.

But Watson sailed her 10-metre yacht Ella's Pink Lady back into Sydney Harbour seven months later on May 15, 2010.

Watson is also Tourism Queensland's new Sailing Ambassador and was named Young Performer of the Year at the Sports Performer Awards in Sydney last month.