Dutch girl, sea and the dog .

[china]

14-year-old Dutch sailor girl heads out to sea (Agencies)
Updated: 2010-08-04 17:20

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Large Medium Small AMSTERDAM - A 14-year-old Dutch girl who hopes to become the youngest person to sail around the world by herself has climbed onto her boat and left the Netherlands.

Laura Dekker of the Netherlands (C) and her Father Dick (L) pose for photographers with her boat Guppy in the harbour of Den Osse August 4, 2010. [Agencies] ​

Laura Dekker and her father Dick Dekker have left the southern Dutch harbor of Den Osse in her 38-foot (11.5-meter) yacht Guppy, bound for Portugal, where she hopes to begin her solo attempt later this year.

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Dekker plans to stop at dozens of ports along the way to rest, study and receive assistance in maintaining her ship. She won a prolonged legal battle last month when a court released her from Dutch child protection agencies that had blocked her departure over fears for her safety.
She told reporters before leaving Wednesday she would miss her dog.:love9:

 

[AnnaG]

Good for her!
Go, Laura!

 

[#juan]

Good for her!
Go, Laura!

I'm more than a little uneasy about this young lady's trip. It sounds like she would be easy pickings for pirates
in several places in the world. In a boat, in rough water, things can happen very quickly that could end the voyage. I can't imagine her getting the sails down in high winds and maintaining control.

 

[lone wolf]

My guess is she has power-assisted everything ... and kahunas lots bigger than most of us.

Go, Laura!

 

[china]

That's one thing that I still want t do before I'm 65 -circumnavigate in
a 40 45ft cat .

 

[karrie]

The last girl I heard about trying this ended up shipwrecked and stranded on a fishing vessel. Lovely position for a teenage girl to be in. If it were "Oh no, my girl got lost down town and ended up locked in a biker bar", people would rip her parents to shreds, but a sail boat and the open sea... well, rock on little girl.

 

[shadowshiv]

The last girl I heard about trying this ended up shipwrecked and stranded on a fishing vessel. Lovely position for a teenage girl to be in. If it were "Oh no, my girl got lost down town and ended up locked in a biker bar", people would rip her parents to shreds, but a sail boat and the open sea... well, rock on little girl.

I agree. How many days had passed before they were able to learn if the girl was even still alive? I am sorry, but just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Is getting your daughter's name in the record books really worth it?

 

[Bar Sinister]

It is only a matter of time before some thirteen-year-old wants to try it. After that we will be down to pre-teens.

 

[shadowshiv]

It is only a matter of time before some thirteen-year-old wants to try it. After that we will be down to pre-teens.

I think there is a legal limit as to how young a person can be to travel alone on the open seas. Alas, it doesn't appear to be 14 years old.

 

[#juan]

I agree. How many days had passed before they were able to learn if the girl was even still alive? I am sorry, but just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Is getting your daughter's name in the record books really worth it?

I wonder. Is the Dad living this trip vicariously through his daughter? Is the trip somehow for the
Dad's greater glory? I don't believe a fourteen year old has the experience or the mechanical skills
required to do something like this.

 

[AnnaG]

:roll: Easy fix: send a motored yacht to accompany her. The yacht doesn't have to interfere unless something's going wrong.

The 16 year old Aussie girl whose mast snapped was ok after her emergency beacons beeped someone's coast guard a couple months ago.

BTW, sailing yachts can be rigged so that automation can do a lot of the mechanical work required. They're built all the time.

 

[shadowshiv]

I wonder. Is the Dad living this trip vicariously through his daughter? Is the trip somehow for the
Dad's greater glory? I don't believe a fourteen year old has the experience or the mechanical skills
required to do something like this.

In cases such as this, it almost always seems to be the way.