Laura Dekker is expected to reach the Caribbean island at around 3 p.m. local time on Saturday. She will then have successfully completed her voyage on her "Guppy", a Jeanneau Gin Fizz 37, and will enter the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest solo circumnavigator. She had already dreamed of this as a ten-year-old.
It was launched from Gibraltar in August 2010. Since then, she has travelled for over 500 days. Her journey first took her across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and then through the Panama Canal to the South Pacific. This was followed by stops in Australia, among other places, before travelling across the Indian Ocean to South Africa. From there, she finally set off on the last major leg back to the Caribbean.
Dekker made a conscious decision not to finish her journey, which had caused a worldwide stir, in the Netherlands; the youth protection authorities at home had initially put too many obstacles in her way. The sailor first had to endure numerous court battles before she was allowed to start, subject to a number of school conditions.
And at the end of her trip, the supervisory authorities in her home country once again made their presence felt in the media. They summoned Laura Dekker's father - so far unsuccessfully - because she is said to have neglected her schoolwork during her trip. Whether the current timing is a coincidence or was deliberately chosen by the authorities to cast the conclusion of Dekker's trip in a negative light is the subject of controversial debate in the neighbouring country, as it was at the beginning of the project. The majority disapprove of the officials' actions.
If nothing unforeseen happens, Laura Dekker will take over from Australian Jessica Watson tomorrow. She had already successfully completed a solo circumnavigation of the world in May 2010 - and even non-stop. Shortly after her, the US-American Abby Sunderland failed with a similar endeavour. She is the sister of Zac Sunderland, who had also previously sailed around the world as an under-18.
Although there will be a big welcome party in Dekker's honour on St. Maarten, she will have to do without an official title. The World Speed Sailing Record Council, which is responsible for sailing records of all kinds, has cancelled the youngest category as a result of the heated discussions about the "youth craze" that has broken out. However, Dekker's entry in the Guinness Book of Records should be safe.
