Dutch sailor Laura Dekker became the youngest person in history to sail solo round the world. Between August 2010 and January 2012, the 16-year-old circumnavigated the globe in stages. Her journey took her from training in an Optimist dinghy to cruising across the Atlantic. Even before she set sail, her age attracted considerable media attention, and a court ruling delayed her departure by almost a year. Her record was never officially recognised. In this series, we profile the most extraordinary solo sailors – both men and women – to have circumnavigated the globe in history.
From the Opti to the Atlantic
Dekker was born in Whangārei, New Zealand, in 1995 whilst her parents were on a seven-year sailing trip. She spent the first few years of her life on board. So, for Dekker, the boat was a defining part of her life right from the start. On her sixth birthday, she was given her first Optimist, which she was sailing on her own after only a short time.
Later, she acquired a ‘Hurley 700’. In 2007, Dekker spent six weeks sailing solo on the Wadden Sea in it, accompanied only by her dog. In May 2009, she made the leap to the open sea. At the age of 13, she sailed from Maurik in the Netherlands via Maassluis to Lowestoft in England, single-handed across the North Sea and through the busy shipping lanes of the English Channel.
Dekker: Dispute in court
When plans for a solo round-the-world sailing voyage were made public in August 2009, the Dutch Child Protection Agency intervened. A court initially restricted the parents’ custody rights so that a child psychologist could assess Dekker’s suitability. At the end of October 2009, the Family Court in Utrecht finally ruled that she would be allowed to set sail in the summer of 2010 at the earliest. The court stated in its reasoning that such a long voyage could endanger her health and mental development.
It was not until the end of July 2010 that the Middelburg Family Court terminated the guardianship with immediate effect. The case was the subject of much debate far beyond the sailing community; *YACHT* magazine also reported on the dispute over their planned sailing trip.
A ketch designed for single-handed sailing
Her father bought a ‘Jeanneau Gin Fizz’ for the voyage. The French two-masted yacht was rigged as a ketch and was approximately 12 metres long. Dekker carried over the name ‘Guppy’ from her previous boats. The rigging was well suited to single-handed and cruising sailing, as the yacht had been specially optimised for long-distance voyages. Using an Iridium system, she transmitted her position, allowing her family in the Netherlands to track her course.
2,960 nautical miles in 18 days
After months of disputes with the Dutch authorities, Laura Dekker was finally allowed to set sail in the summer of 2010. Together with her father, she first sailed from the Netherlands to Portimão to put her yacht, “Guppy”, through its paces on a longer test voyage. She then continued on to Gibraltar. There, on 21 August 2010, the then 14-year-old set off alone on her solo circumnavigation of the globe.
Her route took her first to the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. In December, she crossed the Atlantic on board the “Guppy” to Sint Maarten. After several stopovers in the Caribbean and passing through the Panama Canal, the longest leg of her journey followed: From the Galápagos Islands, she sailed some 2,960 nautical miles to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Archipelago – a crossing she completed in 18 days. That works out at an average of around 164 nautical miles per day, or just under seven knots over ground.
As her journey through the Pacific and Indian Oceans continued, Dekker had to overcome many challenges. The journey of around 770 nautical miles from the Marquesas to Tahiti took her about a week. Shifting winds, reefs, shipping traffic and little sleep made this leg particularly demanding. She then sailed on to Tonga – around 1,400 nautical miles in twelve days – and continued her journey via Fiji and Vanuatu.
On 25 August 2011, Dekker arrived in Darwin. There she met her father; together they overtook the “Guppy”. Laura Dekker also celebrated her 16th birthday in Darwin.
47 days non-stop across the Indian Ocean
The most challenging leg of her journey was yet to come. After her stopover in Darwin, Dekker set course westwards across the Indian Ocean. Ahead of her lay the longest leg of her journey: some 5,540 nautical miles, which took her non-stop to Durban in South Africa over a period of 47 days. During this leg, she published her positions with a delay of around two weeks, out of concern about piracy in the Indian Ocean. Dekker reported conditions ranging from complete calm to strong, frequently shifting winds, accompanied by rough seas.
From Port Elizabeth, the journey continued southwards. On 26 November 2011, she passed Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa and of her voyage. A day later, in rough weather, she rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached Cape Town, where the Volvo Ocean Race fleet was also moored.
The final leg took him back from Cape Town to the Caribbean, covering 5,600 nautical miles without stopping at any port. On 21 January 2012, Dekker sailed into Simpson Bay on Sint Maarten at around 3 pm local time, aged 16 years and 123 days. However, she never wanted to return to the Netherlands.
A record that nobody recognised
Dekker is therefore the youngest person to have sailed solo round the world, ahead of the Australian Jessica Watson. Watson had completed her round-the-world voyage in May 2010 non-stop and in 210 days, but was older at the time of completion. Dekker was not awarded an official title. The World Sailing Speed Record Council had scrapped the “youngest” category following the debate over so-called “youth obsession”, and the Guinness Book of Records did not recognise the voyage as a record either.
Her father had already stated in mid-2011 that his daughter was not primarily interested in the record. The tour itself was the goal. To this day She is sailing round the world and passing on her experience, as head of the ‘Laura Dekker World Sailing Foundation’, to the next generation of young sailors.
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David Ingelfinger
Volontär