Laura Dekker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura Dekker
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Dekker in 2011
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| Born | 20 September 1995 Whangārei, New Zealand
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| Citizenship | Dutch German New Zealander |
| Occupation | Sailor |
| Known for | Youngest person to sail solo around the world |
| Spouse(s) |
Daniël Thielmann
(m. 2015; div. 2017) |
| Children | 2 |
Laura Dekker (born 20 September 1995) is a Dutch sailor. In 2009, she announced a big plan. She wanted to become the youngest person to sail all the way around the world by herself. This is called a solo circumnavigation.
At first, a Dutch court stopped her because she was so young. But in July 2010, the court allowed her to go. Laura's amazing journey began on 21 August 2010. She sailed her 12.4-meter (40-foot) boat, a two-masted ketch named Guppy. After 518 days, she finished her trip. She arrived in Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten, when she was 16 years old.
Contents
Early Life and Sailing Adventures
Laura Dekker was born in Whangārei, New Zealand. This happened while her parents were on a seven-year sailing trip. Her father, Dick Dekker, is Dutch, and her mother, Babs Müller, is German. Laura has citizenship from the Netherlands, Germany, and New Zealand. Her parents separated in 2002. Laura lived with her father after that.
Laura spent her first five years living on a boat. She often sailed with her father when they returned to the Netherlands. She has owned several boats, and she named all of them Guppy. Her first Guppy was a small Optimist dinghy. She got it for her sixth birthday and quickly learned to sail it by herself.
When she was eight, she read a book called Maiden Voyage. It was about a girl named Tania Aebi who sailed around the world. This book inspired Laura greatly.
In 2006, Laura helped her father in a sailing race. Afterward, she got to borrow a friend's boat, a Hurley 700. She cleaned and took care of it. This boat was also named Guppy. She sailed it often. In 2007, she took this Guppy on a six-week trip around the Wadden Sea with her dog, Spot.
Later, Laura bought her own Hurley 700 with help from her father. She named this boat Guppy too. She spent her whole summer vacation in 2008 sailing it around the Netherlands.
Sailing to England Alone
During the next school year, Laura started getting her Guppy ready for sailing on the open ocean. Her big dream was to sail around the world. In March, her father told her to first sail to England to get more experience. He thought this difficult trip might make her change her mind. The English Channel has strong currents, rough weather, and many big ships.
Laura spent eight weeks getting Guppy ready. On May 1st, she sailed away from Maurik without telling her father her exact destination. She reached the coast and then crossed the Channel. She arrived in Lowestoft, England, on Monday morning. She emailed her father from a library to tell him she made it.
Local authorities in England were worried about her being alone. They asked her father to come and sail back with her. But her father said she could sail back by herself. The authorities then placed her in a children's home until her father arrived. He came, took her back to her boat, and then flew home. Laura left England on May 11th. With strong winds, her return trip was much faster. She reached Rotterdam and was home that evening.
Planning a Trip Around the World
In August 2009, Laura told the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad about her plan. She wanted to sail solo around the world in two years. Her father supported her dream. Laura planned to use a 38-foot Jeanneau Gin Fizz ketch, also named Guppy. This boat was set up for long trips and sailing alone.
Her planned route started from Portugal, heading west. She would sail through the Caribbean, then the Panama Canal, and past Indonesia. She planned to make about 26 stops along the way. An Iridium Communications tracking system on her boat let her family watch her journey from the Netherlands. She also avoided the stormy Roaring Forties winds.
Laura continued her schoolwork through the Wereldschool (Worldschool). This school provided materials for her to learn by herself. From the start of her trip in August 2010, Laura wrote a weekly column for the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.
Concerns from Authorities
The local authorities where Laura lived were worried about her plan. The Child Welfare Office got involved. A court decided that Laura would be under shared care with the Council for Child Care. This stopped her from leaving. This situation got a lot of attention around the world.
Dutch rules for inland boats say that a captain under 16 cannot sail a boat longer than seven meters in Dutch waters. But Laura's big trip would not start in the Netherlands, so these rules did not apply.
On 18 December 2009, Laura was reported missing. She had left a letter for her father. Two days later, she was found safely on Sint Maarten. She returned to Amsterdam and was questioned by the police.
On 27 July 2010, the Dutch court finally ended its supervision of Laura. The court decided it was "up to the girl's parents to decide whether she can make the trip." Laura said she would leave within two weeks.
Laura later said about the authorities, "They thought it was dangerous. Well, everywhere is dangerous. They don't sail and they don't know what boats are, and they are scared of them."
While in Australia, Laura gave an interview. She said she wasn't doing much schoolwork because she was busy sailing and taking care of the boat. This led some people to think she had quit school. She explained that she hadn't stopped studying completely and would continue her studies after her trip.
On 14 October 2011, Laura was nominated for the Conny van Rietschoten Trophy. This is a very important Dutch sailing award.
Laura's Boat: Guppy
Laura used a French-built 12.3-meter (40-foot) two-masted Jeanneau Gin Fizz ketch. She named it Guppy, just like her earlier boats.
Her Solo Trip Around the World (2010–2012)
Laura sailed from Den Osse, Netherlands, on 4 August 2010. She went to Portugal with her father to test the boat. Her solo journey officially began from Gibraltar on 21 August 2010.
Here are some key parts of her amazing journey:
- She arrived at Lanzarote on 25 August.
- She stayed in the Canary Islands for several weeks because of hurricane season.
- She started crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Verde on 2 December. She reached Simpson Bay Lagoon on 19 December.
- She sailed through the Panama Canal on 11 April 2011.
- She crossed the Equator on 25 April and reached the Galápagos Islands the next day.
- She sailed from the Galápagos Islands to Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands, in 18 days. This was her longest leg so far.
- She visited Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora.
- She arrived in Darwin, Australia, on 25 August. This was one of the toughest parts of her trip. Her father visited her there, and they worked on the boat. She also celebrated her 16th birthday.
- She departed Darwin on 25 September, heading west.
- She arrived in Durban, South Africa, on 12 November, after 47 days at sea without stopping.
- She passed Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa, on 26 November.
- She passed the Cape of Good Hope on 27 November in rough weather.
- Laura arrived back in Simpson Bay on Sint Maarten on 21 January 2012. She had sailed non-stop from Cape Town. This completed her full trip around the world! She was 16 years and 123 days old.
- The entire trip took 518 days, which is about 1 year and 5 months.
A documentary film called Maidentrip (2013) was made about her journey. Laura filmed most of it herself.
Life After the Voyage
After her incredible journey, Laura continued to be involved in sailing.
- In March 2013, her film Maidentrip was shown for the first time at a film festival in the United States.
- In 2014, Laura took part in a Dutch reality show called Expeditie Poolcirkel in northern Scandinavia, which she won.
- In November 2014, Laura's book One Girl, One Dream was published.
- On 20 February 2015, she earned a Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate. She was the youngest person to get this important sailing qualification.
- Laura now works on educational sailing trips for children. She started the Laura Dekker World Sailing Foundation. She has a 21-meter-long ship, also named Guppy. In November 2020, Laura and a young crew sailed from Spain to the Caribbean islands and back.
What Happened to Guppy?
In February 2018, it was announced that Laura had given her beloved Guppy to LifeSail. LifeSail is a non-profit group in Los Angeles that teaches children life lessons through sailing.
Sadly, on 20 August 2018, Laura announced that Guppy was wrecked on a reef in the Pacific Ocean. This happened while LifeSail was sailing it to Los Angeles. The boat was completely lost.
Personal Life
On 28 March 2015, when she was 19, Laura married Daniel Thielmann in New Zealand. They later divorced. Laura is now in a relationship with Sander Vogelenzang, who builds boats. They have a son born in 2018 and a second child born in June 2022.
See also
In Spanish: Laura Dekker para niños
