Teen Girl Sailor Close to Breaking World Solo Sailing Record
EmailLast year, Aussie 16-year-old Jessica Watson sailed around the world solo. The same year, American Abby Sunderland, also 16, made it from California to the Indian Ocean alone on her sailboat before a rogue wave tore off the mast of the boat, forcing her to end her trip. Since then, another teenage girl took on the sea and now she’s more than halfway finished with her journey.
Dutch teen Laura Dekker is trying to break Watson’s record of being the youngest person to sail around the world solo. After a legal battle with the Dutch government — which initially objected to the teen making the trip — Dekker set off from Gibraltar in August 2010, when she was 14.
Laura Dekker (Marcel Antonisse/AFP/Getty Images)
Now 16, she has spent more than a year sailing the ocean on her 39-foot ketch, named “Guppy.”
Dekker, who has taken several breaks on land during her voyage, told Australian TV she doesn’t mind the solitude of her boat.
“I’m totally used to it,” she said. “For me, it’s really normal!”
Dekker’s father has been quoted as saying she could complete her trip as soon as this February or March. For now, after successfully crossing the Indian Ocean, Dekker’s voyage has taken her to South Africa, where she recently ventured off the Guppy and regained her land legs to take in the sights at a nature preserve in Port Elizabeth. Read about her travels at her blog.
Watch the full story on “20/20″ Friday at 10 p.m. ET.
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I think it’s a wonderful adventure for these young women, but if they get into trouble without a contigency plan and it costs the coast guard or some countries equivalent marine based authority to come rescue them if they get into trouble, they should be liable. Maybe they could buy insurance.
Posted by: newcountryman | November 23, 2011, 8:23 am 8:23 am
Just wishing her the very best in every way. This young lady is a strong gust of fresh air for sure.
Posted by: Blue Dog | November 23, 2011, 9:31 am 9:31 am
While I think her accomplishment is remarkable, I don’t think it’s a good idea to call it a “record”, even if it is. Records are made to be broken, and breaking this kind of record begs the question of when does letting a child sail solo around the world constitute neglect and endangerment? 16? 15? 14? 8? If younger and younger children set to sea to break “records”, you can be sure there will be deaths. Are these children competant to make informed decisions about risking their life at such an age? Do they even understand their own mortality at that age? I didn’t. Let’s just let this young lady keep the record forever.
Posted by: John | November 23, 2011, 3:44 pm 3:44 pm
Laura Dekker is a sailing hero that can stand in a long line of Dutch sailors. Her bad luck is just that nowadays the Dutch media tend to focus on her lesser sides, more than on her great achievements in sailing. Some centuries ago, nobody bothered that our big marine heroes had their criminal mistakes as well, but being a teenager wanting to sail the world, Laura just had to become a hype in the media.
Laura was propably not prepared well enough for her journey, with a small Hurley 700 yacht that she rightfully called Guppy. Furthermore, Laura was not at all prepared for the media storm that almost washed her away when her parents were threatened with loosing custody over their daughter, because Dutch officials believed Laura to be unable to achieve a circumnavigation they suspected to be rahter more her father´s dream than Laura´s own wish.
So Laura ran away from home, got arrested on the Dutch Carribean Island Sint Maarten, she threatened her family with suicide and lost lots of credit with the Dutch public. Some of that loss of credit was maybe for a good reason, but there has also been lots of bashing going on against her for no other reason than lack of respect, jealousy and boredness. After all of this, it is clear that Laura did not reward her sponsors the way she should have, she has been rude to people in ports, she has been constantly twisting around stories, giving us doubts about what exactly the real truth is and blaming the media for that. Anyone can understand that sailing is her first priority and school has slipped down her list, but why make fake promises, then break them, provoking questions and get mad if people woory about her future without school? The newest black spot on Laura’s reputation is the fact that she is now sailing with a New Zealand flag, propably just to return some of the bashing she recieved in the Netherlands, but forgetting about the law and her Dutch fans.
Yet I think we should give Laura all our respect for her tremendous sailing achievements, since I strongly believe that very few teenagers can sail around the world like she does. We should also grant Laura the benefit of the doubt when it comes to her weak background, as she grew up with her father, who seems to have a hard time to say ´no´ to his daughter. I would have forbidden her to sail, but hey, let´s be happy Laura is not my daughter, for she has absolutely prooved to be capable of making her sailing trip around the world! :-)
And to all of those who can´t stop critisizing or even bashing Laura Dekker for the mistakes she has comitted so far: Please think about how you were when you were young! Would it not have been your dream to do something very special, something that is your passion and persue this in a way that would have made you stand out of the normal crowd at school? Did you even worry a minute about insurance problems before taking a joy ride in a ran down car a friend would borrow to you? (Laura drove off) Have you never been rude to people, because you did not get enough sleep? (After a long journey and lots of yellow press journalists hasseling her)
I wish Laura to come home to Den Osse safely, to finish her school, get out of the stormy media attention and built up a stable life, close to her beloved sea, where she may want to start a sailing school. I would be very honoured to be one of her first clients, if only she grows up and manages to leave her freakier teenage behaviour behind. Thanks to Laura Dekker I got to read lots about sailing at sea, whereas I was never interested before!
Eric, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Posted by: Eric | November 23, 2011, 9:11 pm 9:11 pm
John: There are quite a few misconceptions and mistakes in your post the first being that Laura’s boat is NOT a “small Hurley 700″ but is in fact a Jeanneau Gin Fizz. I know you mean well and I respect that.
Laura is a sailing prodigy. Exceptionally talented. A Mozart of sailing. This is her dream. She deserves our respect!
Posted by: Zack | November 24, 2011, 12:01 pm 12:01 pm
A critical point of clarification: Laura’s route is completely different from the “southern ocean” routes of Jessica Watson or Abbey Sunderlands partial voyage (which basically circle Antarctica).
Laura’s route involves sailing around the world from East to West: from Portugal to Canary Islands, to the Carribean, the Galapagos Islands, Tahiti and the South Pacific (Tonga, Fiji…); through the Torres Strait to northern Australia (Darwin), then from Darwin to Durban, South Africa, then around the southern Cape of Africa (Good Hope/ Agulhas) and then home. This is an epic journey with many amazing stops, adventures and friends along the way.
Neither is better, however, they are completely different.
Posted by: Zack | November 24, 2011, 12:15 pm 12:15 pm
Laura’s current plan (as reported in South African press & blogs) is not to return to Gibraltar, but to sail back to the Caribbean to complete her circle of the globe. Then she will continue West to New Zealand, where she was born at sea, to visit & possibly settle. What I love about the way she is making her trip is that she is more interested in having fun, meeting people and seeing different places, then in setting records or getting publicity. She is a very good sailor, good problem solver, and an expressive writer. Her trip has been far more of an education than any school could have been, though a recent blogger who saw her cabin, said that it looked like a library, so I think she has still kept up with her school work.
Posted by: Robin | November 24, 2011, 2:17 pm 2:17 pm
Laura: According to what I have read, you have reached South Africa! Wonderfull !! I am
so happy for you! Although I have followed your progress with great interest, I lost track while you were
sailing through the Indian Ocean. Today i found that you were now in So. Africa! Hurrah! It sounds like
you are over the most dangerous part of your trip! God be with you! We all have our thoughts and
prayers with you as always. You have sailed a smart race! Keep it up. – BWS
Posted by: Bruce W. Sampsell | December 17, 2011, 5:21 pm 5:21 pm