21 January 2012

Laura Dekker - Youngest Ever Solo Circumnavigator

Laura Dekker and her trusty 38ft Jeanneau Ginfizz ketch "Guppy" have today dropped anchor for the last time, completing their circumnavigation, which officially makes Laura the youngest person ever to sail solo around the world.




The following is an excerpt from Laura's Weblog entry of 11th January:

"I have learned very much about myself along the way and I also have learned very much from all the different places and the many different people that I came in contact with in so many different countries. I have learned from the Pacific Ocean and its islands I had only seen in my dreams. I have learned from the Indian Ocean which snapped me out of my world of dreams showing me bad weather, storms, calm winds and what a long crossing is. And so too I am learning from the South Atlantic Ocean with its soft trade winds and smooth sailing..."

When the student is ready, the teacher appears. Laura Dekker was born ready!

So long Laura and thanks for a truly inspirational ride. May you go on to live a long, happy and extra-ordinary life, what-ever you do and where-ever you choose to do it.


17 January 2012

Laura Dekker - Are we there yet?

Laura Dekker is expected to arrive in the Caribbean Island of Sint Maarten within the next week (weather permitting) which would make her the youngest person ever to sail solo around the world.





Her father, Dick Dekker said "She should finish her circumnavigation between January 20 and 25, perhaps on January 22 or 23”. If there was an official record to be broken, Laura would break it "by more than half a year!" Mr Dekker said.

It’s been a long battle for Laura whose original plans to set sail when she was 14 were blocked by a Dutch court. She was placed in the care of child welfare officers on the grounds that she was too young to guarantee her own safety at sea.

Mr Dekker said that after she completes her circumnavigation, Laura plans to live in New Zealand where she was born, saying his daughter was "tired of the Netherlands, which has not ceased trying to put a spoke in her wheels".