youngest circumnav ever!!

Discussion in 'All Things Boats & Boating' started by Guest62110524, Aug 25, 2009.

  1. Fanie
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    Fanie Fanie

    She is only 13 and should be accompanied by another boat in case something goes wrong.

    It also has everything to do with the Dutch Gov - it is one of their's that wants too attempt something exraordinary and they should support it seeing if she succeeds it will be a feather in their cap.
     
  2. JLIMA
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    JLIMA crazed throttleman

    While not a trip I'd be interested in making myself, I can't see a reason why she should be taken to custody by the dutch gov. That to me seems a more than a little over intrusive and, much more a matter for her to go over with her parents. Me not knowing her capabilities, however, prevents me from saying she should or shouldn't although her solo england trip does bode well for her case of making the trip.
     
  3. Guest62110524

    Guest62110524 Previous Member

    Fans, she may well have the maturity of a boy 17 and 18 and up, so providing someone like Isa or Ellen, could teach her things like retrieving halyards and stuff, clearing fouled screws, then that would prepare her
    I am sure there are many solo sailors watching , who could help in that way
    i would not be suprised if some all gal crack racing crew does not invite her along. In fact the silence is deafening from those quarters
    All I can say is, I wish I had a daughter like this , raw courage and spirit!!!
     
  4. APA-168
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    APA-168 student amateur designer

     
  5. TeddyDiver
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    TeddyDiver Gollywobbler

    Is this better? thou the PFD is the same so think it's her own and she's wearing it.. again..
     

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  6. CDK
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    CDK retired engineer

    Very annoying, this Laura story.
    She keeps reappearing on every Dutch TV channel and newspaper.

    I have nothing against talented kids, but this is just a media circus. Recently she "escaped" to the island of St. Maarten, was reported missing and is now escorted back to Holland. All of this is staged because her parent(s) do anything to keep her in the spotlights.

    This is simply a case where people seem to think that money can bend laws.
    Back to school Laura!
     
  7. apex1

    apex1 Guest

    She Sails !!!

    not tomorrow but........




    14-year-old Dutch sailor given the green light to sail

    .
    In an amazing reversal, a Dutch court has ignored child welfare workers' plea that would-be circumnavigating teen sailor Laura Dekker be put in the care of a foster family.

    Further, they have assured her that, pending certain conditions being met, she will definitely be allowed to go sailing next summer.

    This means that the young sailor, who was born on a sailing boat in New Zealand, will be allowed to go sailing solo before her 15th birthday in September next year.

    Laura's ambition is to undertake a two year circumnavigation voyage in her Hurley 800, an 8.3 metre boat called Guppy, and she reportedly 'jumped a hole in the sky' when she heard the news.

    In an earlier court hearing, no guarantee was given that, when the court met in May next year, she would be permitted to go sailing. Then, her father and the child welfare authorities clashed on how Laura was to prepare for the planned long journey.

    Laura, disturbed by the clashing adults, disappointed by the 'gut feeling' that, no matter what, she would not be allowed to go sailing next year, pressured by the attention of the press and with her grades slipping, ran away from home, leaving her father a letter.

    Family spokeswoman, Mariska Woertman commenting on the latest court ruling, said 'That it took a trip to Sint Maarten, so be it.'

    The written ruling stated: 'It appears that child welfare authorities and the father weren't able to cooperate on drawing up a plan of attack....Because of this, Laura became caught in a downward spiral.'

    Laura's lawyer Peter de Lange praised Wednesday's decision for clarifying that if Laura meets certain conditions — which were not made public — she will be given permission to depart on her trip next summer.
    'It's not, 'do your best and we'll see' anymore,' he said. 'It's, 'if you do your best than it's going to happen and we'll see to it that it does'.'

    AAP reported that Laura's mother Babs Muller had left the court in tears earlier Wednesday after her home had been excluded as a possible place for Laura to stay. 'They know everything much better,' she told reporters sarcastically, pointing to the courthouse. 'They know what's best for my child.'

    For the background to this story, read earlier Sail-World stories from this week here and here

    The record status, in brief:
    The youngest person to sail solo around the world is 17-year-old Mike Perham of Britain, who commenced attempting a non-stop unassisted sail, but was forced to stop several times for repairs to his boat. He took the title from American Zac Sunderland, who set out, as is Laura's ambition, to go sailing from port to port, and had just finished his two-year circumnavigation when Mike Perham, in a much faster boat and a couple of months younger, completed his.

    Now Australian 16-year-old Jessica Watson, is currently trying to beat, not Perham's record, during which he stopped several times, but fellow Australian Jesse Martin's non-stop unassisted record, which he established in 1999.

    Zac Sunderland's younger sister Abby Sunderland, also 16 but younger than Jessica, is on the verge of commencing her own attempt at Jesse Martin's record, commencing from Marina del Rey in California, and again on a much faster boat.

    Laura, when she embarks on her voyage, will not be trying for these records, as her journey will be a cruising journey, stopping at many points along the way, and not, under the current plans, venturing into the Southern Ocean.

    However, if she completes her own journey in time, she could still end up as the youngest sailor, with or without stops, to circumnavigate the world.




    by Nancy Knudsen 4:50 AM Thu 24 Dec 2009 GMT
    sail world.com
     
  8. apex1

    apex1 Guest

    nightmare

    and not to forget the pretty negative part of the story, "child welfare" being the childrens worst enemies. And that is valid all over Europe, they´re just nuts!

    see:



    Father may lose custody of runaway 14-year-old sailor

    'Sad face - Laura on her way to catch her flight back to the Netherlands'
    [​IMG]
    While 16-year-olds Jessica Watson and Abby Sunderland are well along the way to their goals to sail solo round the world, 14-year-old Laura Dekker, who had similar ambitions but was forbidden by a Dutch court to go sailing, has now been returned in custody to the Netherlands after running away from home.**

    She had successfully avoided European regulations, which would have prevented her from travelling as a minor without permission, by flying to Paris and taking the onward flight to Sint Maarten in the Caribbean on her New Zealand passport. Laura holds dual Dutch and New Zealand citizenship.

    After arriving back in Amsterdam on a flight from the Netherlands Antilles island of Curacao, Dekker was interviewed by police and then turned over to child-care authorities. Police have not commented about their discussion with her.

    Holland's Bureau of Youth Care wants to remove the girl from the home of her father, Dick. Dekker's parents are divorced, and her mother unlike her father, does not approve of her sailing ambitions.

    A district court hearing about Dekker is slated for Wednesday local time.

    An official at the Utrecht court said a closed doors hearing would be held to hear the request from welfare authorities to place Laura in court custody. A ruling will be handed down soon after.

    'Options include placing her into foster care or with her mother,' the court official said.

    Where she wants to be - sailing her yacht Guppy - .. .
    Born on her parents' boat in New Zealand, Dekker spent the first four years of her life at sea and had intended to start a two-year solo voyage round the world on her 8.3 metre yacht Guppy on September 1 when she was still 13.

    Her grandparents criticised youth welfare workers for their treatment of Dekker in a letter in yesterday's De Volkskrant.

    'Since the Bureau of Youth Care got involved, we have seen Laura change from a positive teenager into a child who has lost all trust in adults,' they wrote.

    **It is pertinent to note that Laura was NOT wanting to emulate the circumnavigations of the two 16-year-olds who are currently set on make-or-break journeys through some of the most difficult conditions on the planet. The difference, which is huge, is that they are attempting circumnavigations 'non-stop and unassisted'.

    Laura, whatever you think of her age and whether she should be allowed to go solo sailing, wanted to sail in short legs, from port to port, similar to the journeys of hundreds of cruising sailors each year, and there have been no indications that she wanted to enter high latitudes. She has already completed many thousands of sailing miles with her parents, and, at the age of 11, sailed the English Channel twice solo, in her yacht Guppy.


    by Nancy Knudsen 6:03 AM Wed 23 Dec 2009 GMT

    sail-world.com
     
  9. Submarine Tom

    Submarine Tom Previous Member

    APA-168,

    Apology accepted.

    Merry Christmas (or seasons greetings, which ever applies the best).

    -Tom
     
  10. CDK
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    CDK retired engineer

    Yesterday's Dutch evening news stated an agreement has been reached with Laura's father. As he will surely loose custody if another incident emerges, we will probably hear nothing for quite a while.

    Laura told the reporter of the newscast she expects to sail around her 18th birthday....
     
  11. apex1

    apex1 Guest

    hammer her down

    Jeah, another great example how the dumb mass is hammering a bright personality down to her own level.

    Look at this bright and upright person, claiming her rights!
    [​IMG]

    Self confident, stable backbone and a clear body language, that is a mature personality! (not the mayor, the Girl)

    But of course, living on a boat with daddy, bahhh.
    Having a own boat at 11, uuhhh.
    Sailing solo cross the channel (twice) at 13, iihhh.
    And who takes care... and thats all soo dangerous... that should be forbidden....

    How can a society like ours, accept such a brilliant character?
    NOT...........
    We would have to kill all the fat, dumb, barefaced ******** terrorizing the average home. But they are "standard", Laura Dekker is not!

    So, better we pull her down to standard, to get drown in the average crap, before we accept she is better than the critters populating our houses.

    It is not uncommon that grandparents are the better parents, but at least they know from a higher point of view whats up with a child.
    So I like to quote Laura Dekkers Grandparents again:

    Her grandparents criticised youth welfare workers for their treatment of Dekker in a letter in yesterday's De Volkskrant.

    'Since the Bureau of Youth Care got involved, we have seen Laura change from a positive teenager into a child who has lost all trust in adults,' they wrote.


    I hope Laura is strong and stable enough to fullfil the agreement with the authorities, and to make her dream come true as soon as possible.
    I hope Laura was just bent a bit, not broken!

    my2C

    Regards
    Richard
     
  12. Angélique
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    Angélique aka Angel (only by name)

    Laura successfully finished her solo circumnavigation long time ago, just found on YouTube a trailer of the film she made about the journey....


    P.S. - The red Jeanneau Gin Fizz ketch you see anchored at 1:27-1:34 in the video is her boat.
     
  13. RHP
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    RHP Senior Member

    Very nice.
     
  14. Angélique
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    Location: Belgium ⇄ The Netherlands

    Angélique aka Angel (only by name)

    Here's a Jeanneau Gin Fizz review, at the bottom there's a nice picture from Laura's journey....
     

  15. Angélique
    Joined: Feb 2009
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    Location: Belgium ⇄ The Netherlands

    Angélique aka Angel (only by name)

     
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