Jump to content

Laura Dekker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Fetchcomms (talk | contribs) at 00:20, 4 August 2010 (Filling in 4 references using Reflinks). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Laura Dekker
Born (1995-09-20) 20 September 1995 (age 28)
Whangarei, New Zealand
NationalityNetherlands

Laura Dekker (born 20 September 1995) is a Dutch solo sailor. In 2009, she announced her plan to circumnavigate the globe as the youngest person on record. Dutch authorities, however, have opposed this plan in view of her age initiating an international discussion about the rights of the government. In July 2010, the Dutch court announced that she is allowed to sail the world solo.

Background

Laura Dekker was born on a boat in the port of Whangarei, New Zealand during a seven-year trip by her parents.[1] Her father, Dick Dekker,[2] is Dutch and her mother, Babs Müller,[2] is German, thus Dekker has Dutch, German, and New Zealand citizenship.[2] Dekker spent the first four years of her life at sea.[3] At six, Dekker had her first boat, an Optimist, and learned to sail it herself. The next boat she received at the age of ten was a Hurley 700. She named it Guppy and used it for solo-sailing during her multiweek-long summer vacations; her trips included the Wadden Sea and the North Sea.[4] In May 2009, Dekker made a solo-crossing from Maurik, the Netherlands to Lowestoft, England where local authorities requested her father to come and accompany her on her return voyage.[5]

Plan of a global circumnavigation

In August 2009, Dekker announced her plan for a two-year solo sailing voyage around the globe in the Dutch national newspaper, Algemeen Dagblad. If successful, she could be the youngest person to have done it; currently the Australian Jessica Watson is the youngest with 16 years and 362 days. In that case Dekker should finish before July 2012 to be the youngest. Her father supports her; she lives with him after the separation of her parents.[6] Dekker plans to sail seagoing Jeanneau Ginfizz ketch 38ft, also named Guppy. The boat will be equipped for long-distance sailing and adapted for solo-circumnavigation. The route is planned to go from Portugal westwards, cruising the Caribbean, go through Panama and past Indonesia. Then she plans either to go past Somalia to the Mediterranean, or around Africa if piracy is of concern. She plans around 26 stops.[7]

At 14 locations Dekker will be met by a support team that follows the same route. It will also help her along difficult spots such as the Panama Canal.[8] An Iridium tracking system onboard will allow a team in the Netherlands to monitor her course closely. This route is not necessarily less risky compared to the non-stop route of Jessica Watson or the two-stop route of Abby Sunderland. This is because the risk of colliding with a ship or to run aground is much larger near land than on open ocean. Also the risk of being a crime victim is larger in a port city than on the sea. Dekker will still have to cross the big oceans. On the other hand she will avoid the stormy roaring forties, and she will avoid the hurricane seasons which otherwise makes latitudes 20-30 dangerous.[citation needed]

Her education would be conducted through the Wereldschool (Worldschool), an educational institution that would provide her with material for self-learning. During hurricane seasons, Dekker plans to fly home to study there.[9]

Government objections

Although Dekker’s plan was supported by her father, her mother was against it,[10] the local authorities at Wijk bij Duurstede, her residence, objected and got the Child Welfare Office involved. A family court judgment was obtained that placed Dekker in shared parental custody with the Council for Child Care who stopped her departure.[11][12][13] The shared custody was to last until July 2010, but a successful application by the child protection agency saw that extended until at least August of that year.[14]

Dekker's plan and the intervention by the government received extensive international attention.[15][16][17][18] Discussed was, aside from the personal matters, the issue to what degree government has a right to intervene when minors engage in risky behaviour that is parentally supported.

According to the Dutch inland shipping regulations, it is prohibited that a captain younger than sixteen years sail a boat longer than seven meters on Dutch waters; thus Dekker would not be allowed to use the boat for any solo excursions within the Netherlands until 2012.[19] She has still done so, with the effect that the police required her father to come and sail the boat home together with her. The circumnavigation, however, would not start in the Netherlands, thus Dutch naval regulations do not apply to her voyage.[7]

On 18 December 2009 a member of Dekker’s family reported her missing to the police.[11] A farewell letter was left for her father,[6] although her boat remained in the port of Maurik.[20] On 20 December, Dekker was found safely on Saint Martin.[21][22] Two days later she returned to Amsterdam where she was interrogated by the police.[23]

On 26 December it was reported that another court in the Netherlands overruled the objections of the social workers and permitted her to sail alone next year; she is expected to do so in September 2010 when she will be 15.[24]

On 27 July 2010 the Dutch court ended supervision of Dekker, and decided it was "up to the girl's parents to decide whether she can make the trip."[25] Dekker reported that she will depart "within two weeks".[26]

Her boat

History
 NetherlandsNetherlands
NameGuppy
OperatorLaura Dekker
Routecircumnavigation from Lisbon
BuilderJeanneau
StatusUndergoing modifications
General characteristics
TypeKetch
Length37 ft 6 in (11.5 m)
Beam12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Draft6 ft 2 in (1.83 m)
PropulsionSails


Dekker had planned to sail the boat she was given by her parents, Guppy, a Hurley 800, with a length of 8.30 metres (27 ft) and a beam (width) of 2.75 metres (9 ft).

In February 2010 she and her father acquired a new boat. It is a French-built 11.5-metre (38 ft) two-masted Jeanneau Gin Fizz ketch.[27]

Solo circumnavigation

She has announced that she will start sailing from the Netherlands on August 4th, 2010 headed for Lisbon, Portugal, around 1000 nm. But this will not be part of the solo circumnavigation, as she will have other people onboard. It will include boat testing and boat training for her. After adjusting any problems that has shown up, she will start solo from Lisbon at a later date.

The plan[28] published by Laura Dekker includes making stops in the following ports:


References

The initial webpage from 20 December 2009 is based on a translation of the corresponding Dutch Wikipedia website.

  1. ^ Solozeiler Laura (13): 'Alles is rond' - Het Parool, 24 augustus 2009
  2. ^ a b c Gemeente wil Laura Dekker nog niet uitschrijven - Binnenlands Bestuur, 25 augustus 2009
  3. ^ 'Laura heeft zout in haar bloed' - De Telegraaf, 24 augustus 2009
  4. ^ Info over Laura Dekker en Guppy - Website Laura Dekker
  5. ^ Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{lang-en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead.Dreams scuppered for Dutch sailor girl - BBC News, 28 August 2009
  6. ^ a b Corder M source=AP (20 December 2009). "Dutch teen who sought solo sailing trip disappears". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ a b Op_koers
  8. ^ Vragen van een lezer aan Laura Dekker - ad.nl 9 september 2009
  9. ^ 'Laura, mag ik met je mee op wereldreis?' - Algemeen Dagblad, 19 September 2009
  10. ^ Spiegel (2009-09-05). "Mutter absolut gegen Weltumsegelung" (in German). Retrieved 2009-12-21.
  11. ^ a b Spiegel (20 December 2009). "Weltumseglerin Laura Dekker verschwunden" (in German). Retrieved 2009-12-21.
  12. ^ CNN (28 August 2009). "Dutch court halts girl's solo sailing plans". Retrieved 20 December 2009. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ "Teen solo sailor Laura made a ward of court"
  14. ^ "Dutch court delays schoolgirl's round-the-world bid". Google News. Agence France-Presse. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
  15. ^ Karla Adam (30 August 2009). "Dutch Delay 13-Year-Old's Dream of Sailing the World". The Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  16. ^ Whipple, Tom (29 August 2009). "Court bans teen sailor Laura Dekker from record-breaking voyage". London: The Times. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  17. ^ "MainSail Social workers threaten to thwart teen sailor's record bid". CNN. 30 August 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  18. ^ "Laura Dekker, 13, must wait before trying to sail around the world alone". Los Angeles Times. 29 August 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |hrsg= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ 'Wettekst BPR' - Overheid.nl
  20. ^ Zeilmeisje Laura Dekker vermist, Omroep Gelderland, 20 December 2009
  21. ^ "Update - BNO News reports that teen Dutch sailor Laura Dekker is found safe on Saint Martin". BNO News. 2009-12-20. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
  22. ^ "Solo sailor girl found on Caribbean island"
  23. ^ Mike Corder, AP (22 December 2009). "Teenage Dutch sailor Laura Dekker sees life unravel after court blocks dream voyage".
  24. ^ NZ Herald (26 December 2009). "14-year-old given permission to sail around world". Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  25. ^ "Dutch court OKs bid by 14-year-old to sail solo around the world". Content.usatoday.com. 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  26. ^ "SpitsNieuws : Laura gaat rond de wereld zeilen". Spitsnieuws.nl. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  27. ^ Richard Durham (2010-03-22). "Dutch girl, 14, planning world cruise | Sailing news". Yachting Monthly. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  28. ^ http://www.lauradekker.nl/lauradekker/download/2Laura_Dekker_De_Passaat_Route.pdf
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laura_Dekker&oldid=377032885"