Laura Dekker is a 14 year old Dutch girl who's dream had been tied up in the Dutch family courts for almost a year. The courts concern was that the girl was not skilled enough to be able to handle the open sea by herself. The courts and her mother were concerned about her welfare and have had it tied up in court. Her father is supportive of her (parents are divorced). This young girl has quit the background with sailing and I feel that she will be able to handle herself and the boat through the course of her journey. This just goes to show you that no matter how young you are you can still accomplish great things.
With all these kids attempting this great feat, it makes you wonder how the rest of the world views these kinds of things. Alot of people think that these kids are just doing this as a press stunt, but what I think is that they are looking to fill their lives with acheivements and stories that they can be proud to share with the world.
Solo circumnavigation is not an easy thing to pull off either. These kids are at sea alone for the entire duration of their trip and have to sleep in intervals. While they have auto pilots so they do not have to stay at the helm all the time, they do have to check it quit frequently. On top of that, they have to make all meals from free dried food that has to last the entire length of the trip. For alot of teens this would be a great challenge because many simply cannot cook well. Zach Sunderland was one of these kids. He was a poor cook and he admitted to this in one of his videos from the boat. In short this is no easy task what these kids are doing and I applaud them for their efforts!
So who will be next to attempt to break the record? With laura setting sail the age bar is set pretty low. If you are attempting this please contact me. I would love to interview and feature you on the site. Well until next time safe voyages!