Laura Dekker, a Fourteen-Year-Old who Circumnavigated the World

“If you want to see the other side of the world you can do two things: turn the world upside down or travel there yourself.” Laura Dekker was 14 when she set out for her one year and five month-long trip, to travel 43,452 kilometres around the world. She had a dream to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe single handedly, and in January of 2011, she accomplished her dream and inspired so many people along the way.

By: Ella Randall

October 2020 - May 2021

“If you want to see the other side of the world you can do two things: turn the world upside down or travel there yourself.” Laura Dekker was 14 when she set out for her one year and five month-long trip, to travel 43,452 kilometres around the world. She had a dream to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe single-handedly, and in January of 2011, she accomplished her dream and inspired countless people along the way.

Laura Dekker was surrounded by water from the moment she was born on her parents’ sailboat in Whangarei, . Her parents, Dick Dekker and Babs

Muller, had just finished sailing around the world when Laura was born. But when

Laura was six, her parents got a divorce. Laura stayed with her father and Laura’s younger sister, Kim, stayed with her mother. Laura and Dick moved back to the mainland, while Dick started a build on a new boat for them to live on.

Laura received her first sailboat, an Optimist, at the age of six. These small boats are a lot of fun and are how Laura started sailing independently. She loved entering sailing races, and more often than not, winning. Eventually, though, she was not allowed to race in the children’s races anymore because she won so often, and was moved up to the adult races, sometimes even racing her father. In 2008, she bought her first big boat, a Hurley 700, which she spent the entire summer on, navigating throughout the . In 2009, Laura set off from her home in Maurik,

Gelderland, without telling anyone with the plan to sail to Lowestoft, Suffolk. There she emailed her father from a library computer telling him her plans and whereabouts. When the authorities found out, they ordered Dick to go retrieve Laura, but he refused and said that he had confidence in her sailing back alone. Dick was forced to go, so he hopped on a plane, got to Laura, made sure she was ready, and then she sailed home and met her father there.

When she was 10 years old, Laura decided that she wanted to be the youngest person to solo circumnavigate the world. At the time held the record and had just come back from her at the age of 16. If Laura wanted to beat Watson’s record, she would have to move fast. Lots of people objected, even her mother was skeptical, but her father knew she could do it. Laura had quite the journey of court cases and her fair share of media attention. She was eventually allowed to go, but many people were still not on board with the plan and were more than a little doubtful. Before the court could find a way to make her stay, she prepared for her journey as quickly as she could and decided to leave as soon as possible. After many months of perseverance, she finally got her way. She was going to get the opportunity to become the youngest person to solo circumnavigate the world. So, on August 4, 2010, at the age of fourteen, she set off with her father, to , which would take two weeks.

The first boat Laura had was an Optimist, often referred to as an Opti. These boats are often used for children to learn to sail, or for racing. They used to be made of wood, but are all made of fibreglass now, although wooden ones can still be found.

They are 7ft and 9in long in total. Laura needed a much bigger boat than an Opti for her trip, though. For her, the perfect boat was a 40ft two-masted sailboat, a

Jeanneau Gin Fizz ketch, called Guppy. When they found Guppy, the boat was not cared for and in need of repairs, but it was cheap and had a solid structure. With a few adaptations and a lot of hard work, they were able to turn it into the perfect boat.

On a sailboat there are two very essential things you need, fresh water and power.

There are two main types of collecting rainwater. One way is to have a rainwater collection system but these only work when it rains. With this method, if you are without rain, you are without water. The second option is a common but expensive one. This is called a watermaker. These machines filter the salt and other particles out of the seawater leaving you with fresh, clean drinking water. Depending on the size of the sailboat, a watermaker can pump around 40 gallons of fresh water an hour. Another thing that you need on a sailboat is power. One of the most common ways is solar power. Many sailboats have solar panels attached to the roof or bow.

Hydro-generators are another substantial way to get power. These attach to the back of the boat, dragging in the water and collecting power through water movement. As long as the boat is moving faster than five knots, it will continue to collect power.

Although these are very expensive and typically cost $5,000, they are the easiest and most reliable way of generating power.

On August 18th, she said goodbye to her father and set out alone from Gibraltar.

She headed to the for several weeks to wait out hurricane season.

Next, she went to and began her first big open water crossing to Sint

Maarten. During this time, she only had to use her sail for two of the 17 days. This first crossing was reasonably uneventful. She stayed in the from

December 18th to March 19th. Next, she passed through the Canal, which marks the transition from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Twelve days later, she crossed the Equator. The next day, she arrived in the Galapagos Islands, then headed to French Polynesia, then to , and finally arrived in . The next leg of her journey took her through the Coral Sea, a small part of the South Pacific next to . Mid-August, she entered the Torres Strait. This passage is known for shallow waters, strong tidal currents, and a maze of 580 coral reefs. It was during this treacherous passage that she completely lost one of her sails before arriving in

Darwin, Australia. Leaving Darwin, she crossed into the Indian Ocean on route to

Durban, . Setting off from marked her second Atlantic crossing and the last stretch of her journey to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe single-handedly. After a stretch of being at sea for 41 days straight, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in completing her journey.

Laura Dekker’s journey is inspiring not only because she circumnavigated the globe, but that she did it by herself and at such a young age. This required bravery, determination, and courage. Even though she was told she was crazy, and that she could not do it, she persevered. As a result of her perseverance, she was able to fulfil her dreams, proving that even though she was only 14, she was able to accomplish her dreams, however big they were, and inspire so many people.

Bibliography

Lauradekker.nz

Stuff.co.nz https://www.outsideonline.com/1914511/behind-scenes-maidentrip-17-year-old-laura-dekker s-solo-sail-around-world http://www.lauradekker.nl/

Wikipedia

One Girl, One Dream

MaidenTrip