Laura Dekker is a 14 year old Dutch girl who is sailing solo around the world and she arrived at Marina Rubicon in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote on Thursday.
Laura has had a year long legal battle with the Dutch authorities, they placed a supervision order on her until she could convince them that she was old enough to embark on this two year journey to circumnavigate the world. Laura set sail from Gibraltar to start her solo voyage on the 21st August 2010 , she will be sailing solo but mooring in harbours along the way therefore her trip will be classed as assisted.
During the first leg Laura suffered with some sea sickness whilst she got into a rhythm with her new boat Guppy, she has enjoyed the peace and quiet after all the media attention prior to setting sail. Guppy is a 38ft Jeanneau Ginfizz Ketch which is a bit different from her 28ft Hurley 800 that she’s previously sailed. You can follow Laura’s adventures through her website Laura Dekker the following is an excerpt from the entry dated 25th August 2010:
“After seeing only water for four days I spotted land this morning. Unfortunately I could see the land earlier on my radar but not by looking out because of poor visibility. Happily it got better around midday when all clouds cleared away and conditions turned to nice and warm sunshine.
Now I lie in the Canary Islands with the first leg of my journey behind me. It was a great first leg and I can look back at it with a good feeling. Sleeping, eating, navigating and all other things onboard went well for me, and with the weather improving I got into my rhythm more and more each day.
For now I will stay where I am with a view on the shore, but with this fine weather and this wonderful view it will be all fine.”
Laura will spend some time sailing in the Canary Islands waiting for the hurricane season to end before crossing the Atlantic to Barbados. Laura has promised to continue her school studies and has all her exercise and text books aboard.
¡Buen viaje! Laura, we wish you fair winds and the best of luck.
Post to Twitter