Laura Dekker

Dekker was born in the city of Whangārei, New Zealand, during a seven-year sailing trip by her parents.{{cite news |newspaper=Het Parool |url=http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/224/BINNENLAND/article/detail/259756/2009/08/24/Solozeiler-Laura-13-Alles-is-rond.dhtml |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160223232504/https://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/224/BINNENLAND/article/detail/259756/2009/08/24/Solozeiler-Laura-13-Alles-is-rond.dhtml |archive-date=23 February 2016 |title=Solozeiler Laura (13): 'Alles is rond'|date=24 August 2009|language=nl}} Her father, Dick Dekker,{{cite web |url= http://www.binnenlandsbestuur.nl/sociaal/nieuws/nieuws/gemeente-wil-laura-dekker-nog-niet-uitschrijven.126260.lynkx|title=Gemeente wil Laura Dekker nog niet uitschrijven|date=25 August 2009|work=Binnenlands Bestuur|language=nl}} is Dutch and her mother, Babs Müller, is German. Dekker has Dutch, German, and New Zealand citizenship.{{cite web|url=http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/About_Laura.html|title=LauraDekker.nl de Jongste solozeiler ter wereld! – ◦ About Laura ◦|website=www.lauradekker.nl|access-date=31 March 2015|archive-date=1 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901062705/http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/About_Laura.html|url-status=dead}} Her parents divorced in 2002.{{cite web |url= http://www.spiegel.de/schulspiegel/ausland/0,1518,647201,00.html |work=Spiegel |title=Mutter absolut gegen Weltumsegelung |language=de |date=5 September 2009 |access-date=21 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091206054404/http://www.spiegel.de/schulspiegel/ausland/0,1518,647201,00.html |archive-date=6 December 2009}} She lived with her father after the separation of her parents, and her younger sister Kim went to live with her mother.{{cite news |last1=Manson |first1=Bess |title=A Girl, A Boat, A Dream |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/10660391/A-girl-a-boat-a-dream |work=Your Weekend (supplement to The Press) |date=25 October 2014 |pages=10–14}}

Dekker spent the first five years of her life at sea and sailed often with her father after the family's return to the Netherlands. She has owned several boats, all named Guppy. The first was an Optimist dinghy she received for her sixth birthday, and which she promptly learned to sail solo, initially accompanied by her father on a windsurfer.{{cite web |title=Winter Jobs... |url=http://www.lauradekker.nl/Basis.aspx?Tid=5019&Lid=13&Lit=VIEW |date=29 May 2015 |first=Laura |last=Dekker |quote=The first couple of times that I sailed out in my Optimist, dad would sail along me on a windsurf-board. He would capsize the boat in moments when I would least expect it. I often landed under the sail, which was what he wanted, so that he could see how I would react. It was – I realize now – the best preparation that he could have given me for my trip and other adventures. |access-date=2 July 2015 |archive-date=30 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130070943/http://www.lauradekker.nl/Basis.aspx?Tid=5019&Lid=13&Lit=VIEW |url-status=dead }}{{Citation |url=http://zeilmeisjelauradekkerarchive.blogspot.com/p/zeilen-magazine-issue-7-july-2009.html |journal=Zeilen |issue=7 |date=July 2009 |pages=32–35 |first=Laura |last=Dekker |title=Not a Crazy Action |others=Translated by Thomas Weber & 45N73W |access-date=10 April 2015}}

For her eighth birthday (in 2003), she received the book Maiden Voyage, Tania Aebi's memoir of her round-the-world sailing trip.

In the summer of 2006, after assisting her father in a 24-hour sailing race aboard a friend's Hurley 700, she received permission from the boat's owner to borrow it for personal use, in return for cleaning and maintenance. It was just at the {{convert|7|m|ft|abbr=on|adj=on}} limit below which Dutch law imposes on captains under the age of 16. Sailing it often, she christened this boat Guppy as well. In the summer of 2007, she took it on a more ambitious 6-week sailing tour of the Wadden Sea, accompanied by her dog Spot.

Over the following winter, Dekker searched for her own Hurley 700, and bought one with a loan from her father. This boat was also christened Guppy, and she spent her entire 2008 summer vacation aboard it, cruising around the Netherlands.

Over the following school year, she began preparing herself and Guppy for open-ocean sailing, with the goal of a round-the-world tour. In March, her father told her to gain some experience with the open sea by first sailing to England. This was intended to discourage her; the strong currents, rough weather, and heavy shipping make the English Channel notoriously difficult for sailboats.{{cite web |url=http://www.sailboat-cruising.com/sailing-across-the-english-channel.html |title=Sailing Across The English Channel |first=Mary |last=Swift |date=22 July 2001 |quote=Notorious as being one of the most heavily trafficked shipping lanes in the world, with a large tidal range and fast currents, you really do need to keep your wits about you. |access-date=2 July 2015}}

Dekker spent the next eight weeks preparing Guppy for that trip. On the evening of Friday, 1 May, at the beginning of a 12-day school vacation, she sailed away from Maurik without specifying a destination to her father. She sailed to the coast and arrived in Maassluis Saturday afternoon. Early Sunday morning, she set out across the Channel, but weak winds delayed her arrival until Monday morning. Docking in Lowestoft, she e-mailed word of her success from a local library. Local authorities requested her father to come and accompany her on her return voyage.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8227250.stm |title=Dreams scuppered for Dutch sailor girl |work=BBC News |first=Rob |last=Kievit |publisher=Radio Netherlands Worldwide |date=29 August 2009}} Her father responded that she could sail back on her own. Local authorities instead placed her in a children's home until he came to retrieve her. He returned her to her boat and then flew home. She left England on Monday, 11 May. With a strong wind this time, up to force 7, the return trip was much faster, reaching Rotterdam by the morning of the 12th and arriving home that evening.

In August 2009, Dekker announced her plan for a two-year solo sailing voyage around the globe in the Dutch national newspaper, Algemeen Dagblad. Her father was in support of her plans.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/20/AR2009122000642.html |title=Dutch teen who sought solo sailing trip disappears |agency=Associated Press |date=20 December 2009 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123073729/http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/europe/view.bg?articleid=1220125&srvc=next_article |archive-date=23 January 2012 |url-status=dead }} Dekker planned to sail a seagoing {{convert|38|ft|m|abbr=on}} Jeanneau Gin Fizz ketch,{{cite web|url=http://bluewaterboats.org/jeanneau-gin-fizz-37/|title=The Jeanneau Gin Fizz 37 Sailboat|work=Bluewaterboats.org|access-date=3 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006114844/http://bluewaterboats.org/jeanneau-gin-fizz-37/|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=dead}} also named Guppy. The boat was equipped for long-distance sailing and adapted for solo-circumnavigation. The planned route started from Portugal westwards, to cruise the Caribbean and then to go through Panama and past Indonesia. She then planned either to go past Somalia to the Mediterranean, or around Africa, should piracy become a serious concern.{{cite web |url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/laura-dekker-warned-steer-clear-gulf-aden |title=Laura Dekker warned to steer clear of the Gulf of Aden |publisher=Rnw.nl |date=9 February 2011 |access-date=19 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223071631/http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/laura-dekker-warned-steer-clear-gulf-aden |archive-date=23 February 2011 |url-status=dead }} Her plan was to make around 26 stops.{{cite web |url= http://www.lauradekker.nl/Op_koers.html |title=Op koers |access-date=31 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425062911/http://www.lauradekker.nl/Op_koers.html|archive-date=25 April 2012|website=lauradekker.nl}} The original plan called for Dekker to be met at some locations by family, which also would help her along difficult spots such as the Panama Canal. In actuality, for cost reasons, people from home (mostly family members) met her only two times, although she was given some assistance by other leisure sailors she met, for example through the Panama Canal. The plan said she would not be sailing for more than three weeks between stops. However, after Australia, she decided to skip some stops, which meant completing two 6- to 7-week-long legs.

An Iridium Communications tracking system onboard allowed the family in the Netherlands to monitor her course closely. She planned to avoid the stormy Roaring Forties, although the South Africa route gave her at least one big storm.{{cite web|url=http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/2842/Laura-s-zeilreis/article/detail/2071033/2009/09/19/Laura-mag-ik-met-je-mee-op-wereldreis.dhtml|title=Laura, mag ik met je mee op wereldreis?|work=AD|access-date=3 November 2014}}

Her education was conducted through the Wereldschool (Worldschool), an educational institution that provided her with material for self-learning.

From the beginning of her solo circumnavigation in late August 2010, Dekker wrote a weekly column for the Algemeen Dagblad of Rotterdam. English{{cite web|url=http://zeilmeisje-lauradekker.blogspot.com/ |title=Zeilmeisje Laura Dekker |access-date=24 January 2012}} and German translations of her columns are available.

The local authorities at Wijk bij Duurstede, her place of residence, objected and the Child Welfare Office became involved. A family court judgment was obtained that placed Dekker in shared parental custody with the Council for Child Care who stopped her departure.{{cite web |url=http://www.spiegel.de/schulspiegel/ausland/0,1518,668173,00.html |work=Spiegel |title= Weltumseglerin Laura Dekker verschwunden|language=de |date=20 December 2009|access-date=21 December 2009}}{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/28/dutch.teen.sailor.court/ |publisher=CNN |title=Dutch court halts girl's solo sailing plans|date= 28 August 2009| access-date=20 December 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2009/10/teen_solo_sailor_laura_made_a.php/ |title=Teen solo sailor Laura made a ward of court |publisher=Dutchnews.nl |date=30 October 2009 |access-date=19 November 2010}} 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.{{cite news|title=Dutch court delays schoolgirl's round-the-world bid|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jlK4vRIJORlJ_94Gf16EISGSkiaw|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714062755/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jlK4vRIJORlJ_94Gf16EISGSkiaw|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 July 2010|access-date=17 June 2010|newspaper=Google News|date=17 June 2010|agency=Agence France-Presse}}

Dekker's plan and the intervention by the government received extensive international attention.{{cite news|first=Karla|last=Adam|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Dutch Delay 13-Year-Old's Dream of Sailing the World|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/29/AR2009082902297.html |date=30 August 2009}}{{cite news|newspaper=The Times|title=Court bans teen sailor Laura Dekker from record-breaking voyage|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6813281.ece |date=29 August 2009 | location=London | first=Tom | last=Whipple | access-date=7 May 2010}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news|publisher=CNN |title=MainSail Social workers threaten to thwart teen sailor's record bid|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/27/dutch.teen.sailing.bid/index.html |date=30 August 2009 | access-date=7 May 2010}}{{cite news|title=Laura Dekker, 13, must wait before trying to sail around the world alone|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/08/laura-dekker-has-to-wait-before-sailing-around-the-world-alone.html |date=29 August 2009 | work=Los Angeles Times | access-date=7 May 2010}}

According to Dutch inland shipping regulations, it is prohibited for a captain younger than sixteen years to sail a boat longer than seven meters in Dutch waters; thus Dekker would not be allowed to use the boat for any solo excursions within the Netherlands until 2012.{{cite web|url=http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0003628/geldigheidsdatum_21-11-2011|title=wetten.nl – Wet- en regelgeving – Binnenvaartpolitiereglement – BWBR0003628|publisher=Wetten.overheld.nl|access-date=3 November 2014}} She still did 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.

On 18 December 2009, a member of Dekker's family reported her missing to the police. A farewell letter was left for her father, although her boat remained in the port of Maurik.{{cite web|url=http://www.omroepgelderland.nl/web/Nieuws/nieuwsartikel/454211/Zeilmeisje-Laura-Dekker-vermist.htm |title=Zeilmeisje-Laura-Dekker-vermist |access-date=20 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109144145/http://www.omroepgelderland.nl/web/Nieuws/nieuwsartikel/454211/Zeilmeisje-Laura-Dekker-vermist.htm |archive-date=9 November 2013 }} On 20 December, Dekker was found safely on Sint Maarten.{{cite news|url=https://www.twitter.com/BreakingNews/status/6872475452|title= Update – BNO News reports that teen Dutch sailor Laura Dekker is found safe on Saint Martin.|publisher=BNO News|date=20 December 2009|access-date=20 December 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2009/12/solo_sailor_girl_found_on_cari.php |title=Solo sailor girl found on Caribbean island |publisher=Dutchnews.nl |date=21 December 2009 |access-date=19 November 2010}} Two days later, she returned to Amsterdam where she was questioned by the police.{{cite web| url=http://law.gaeatimes.com/2009/12/22/teenage-dutch-sailor-laura-dekker-sees-life-unravel-after-court-blocks-dream-voyage-19170/ |title=Teenage Dutch sailor Laura Dekker sees life unravel after court blocks dream voyage|

first=Mike |last=Corder |agency=Associated Press |date=22 December 2009}}

On 26 December 2009, it was reported that another court in the Netherlands overruled the objections of the social workers and permitted her to begin her circumnavigation in September of the following year when she turned 15.{{cite web| url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10617456 |work=The New Zealand Herald |title=14-year-old given permission to sail around world| date=26 December 2009 |access-date=30 December 2009}}

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."{{cite news|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/07/dutch-court-oks-bid-by-14-year-old-to-sail-solo-around-the-world/1 |title=Dutch court OKs bid by 14-year-old to sail solo around the world |publisher=Content.usatoday.com |date=27 July 2010 |access-date=4 August 2010 |first=Douglas |last=Stanglin}} Dekker reported that she would depart "within two weeks".{{cite web |url=http://www.spitsnieuws.nl/archives/binnenland/2010/07/laura_niet_langer_onder_toezic.html |title=SpitsNieuws : Laura gaat rond de wereld zeilen |publisher=Spitsnieuws.nl |access-date=4 August 2010 |archive-date=30 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100730103157/http://www.spitsnieuws.nl/archives/binnenland/2010/07/laura_niet_langer_onder_toezic.html |url-status=dead }}

Dekker later commented about the authorities in an interview, saying "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."{{cite web |url=http://www.allatsea.net/caribbean/15-year-old-laura-dekker-crosses-atlantic/ |title=15 Year Old Laura Dekker Crosses Atlantic |publisher=Allatsea.net |date=February 2011 |access-date=19 March 2011}}

While in Australia, Dekker gave an interview{{cite web |url=http://jeugdjournaal.nl/item/274210-de-boot-is-even-belangrijker.html |title=The boat is more important |publisher=Jeugdjournaal.nl |date=20 September 2011 |access-date=31 October 2011 |archive-date=17 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217062839/http://jeugdjournaal.nl/item/274210-de-boot-is-even-belangrijker.html |url-status=dead }} in which she admitted that she was not doing much schoolwork since she was busy with sailing, maintenance, customs procedures and other tasks related to her journey. This led to press and other commentators suggesting that she had quit school and thrown the school books overboard.{{cite web |url=http://jeugdjournaal.nl/item/292504-laura-dekker-gestopt-met-school.html |title=Laura Dekker gestopt met school (Laura Dekker dropped out of school) |publisher=Static.nos.nl |date=19 September 2011 |access-date=31 October 2011 |archive-date=17 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217063431/http://jeugdjournaal.nl/item/292504-laura-dekker-gestopt-met-school.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/schulspiegel/ausland/0,1518,787288,00.html |title=Schulbücher über Bord (School books overboard) |newspaper=Der Spiegel |date=20 September 2011 |publisher=Spiegel.de |access-date=31 October 2011}} She tried to correct this by saying that she had not stopped studying totally and would continue her academic studies after returning to the Netherlands.{{cite web |url=http://jeugdjournaal.nl/item/274210-de-boot-is-even-belangrijker.html |title="De boot is even belangrijker" (The boat is more important) |publisher=Jeugdjournaal.nl |date=20 September 2011 |access-date=31 October 2011 |archive-date=17 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217062839/http://jeugdjournaal.nl/item/274210-de-boot-is-even-belangrijker.html |url-status=dead }}

On 14 October 2011, Dekker was nominated for the Conny van Rietschoten Trophy, a very prestigious Dutch sailing award, in the ocean sailing category.{{cite web|url=http://www.vanrietschotentrofee.nl/genomineerden-2011 |title=genomineerden Conny van Rietschoten Trofee |publisher=Vanrietschotentrofee.nl |access-date=31 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015034141/http://www.vanrietschotentrofee.nl/genomineerden-2011 |archive-date=15 October 2011 }}

Preceding Dekker's journey, the sailing press appeared rather sceptical, but became more positive during the journey, and acclaimed her after the Indian Ocean crossing and the Cape of Good Hope passage.{{cite web|url=http://www.sail-world.com/USA/Laura-Dekker,-16-year-old-super-solo-sailor,-on-her-final-leg/91922 |title=Laura Dekker, 16-year-old super solo sailor, on her final leg (Sail World, 16 Dec 2011) |publisher=Sail-world.com |access-date=29 January 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://bwsailing.com/cc/2011/12/21/laura-dekker-sets-out-on-last-leg-of-circumnavigation/ |title=Laura Dekker Sets Out on Last Leg of Circumnavigation |publisher=Blue Water Sailing |date=21 December 2011 |access-date=29 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426070159/http://bwsailing.com/cc/2011/12/21/laura-dekker-sets-out-on-last-leg-of-circumnavigation/ |archive-date=26 April 2012 }} General media in countries she visited have often also been impressed, at least on later stages.{{cite web|first=Caryn |last=Dolley |url=http://www.sundaytribune.co.za/courageous-laura-braves-cape-of-storms-1.1187602?ot=inmsa.ArticlePrintPageLayout.ot |title=Courageous Laura braves Cape of Storms (Cape Times, 28 Nov 2011) |publisher=Sundaytribune.co.za |date=28 November 2011 |access-date=29 January 2012 }} General media in the Netherlands mostly avoided writing about her during the journey, since the journey went mostly as planned. An exception was the newspaper Algemeen Dagblad which had a weekly column about her{{cite web|url=http://zeilmeisje-lauradekker.blogspot.de/p/lauras-column-logbook-for-algemeen.html|title=Zeilmeisje Laura Dekker: Algemeen Dagblad – English|publisher=Zeilmeisje-lauradekker.blogspot.de|access-date=3 November 2014}} and displayed a standing link on the front web page to a collection of articles about the teenage sailor.{{cite web|url=http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/2842/Laura-s-zeilreis/index.dhtml |title=AD Laura's zeilreis |publisher=Ad.nl |access-date=19 March 2011}} However, on 4 January 2012, Dutch and German press started to write much more about her,{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?q=%22laura+dekker%22 |title=News search on 4–5 Jan 2012 |access-date=29 January 2012}} both about the fact that she soon was expected to finish the circumnavigation,{{cite web|url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2012/01/dutch_teen_sailor_nears_end_of.php |title=Dutch teen sailor nears end of round-the-world voyage |publisher=Dutchnews.nl |date=4 January 2012 |access-date=29 January 2012}} and about the fact that she did not want to return to the Netherlands, but to settle in New Zealand.{{cite web|url=http://www.dutchdailynews.com/sailing-girl-laura-dekker-not-planning-to-go-back/ |title=Sailing girl Laura Dekker does not want to live in the Netherlands anymore |publisher=Dutchdailynews.com |date=5 January 2012 |access-date=29 January 2012}} After the arrival on 21 January 2012, there were articles in newspapers all over the world.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?q=%22laura+dekker%22#q=laura+dekker&hl=en&safe=off&tbas=0&prmd=imvnso&sa=X&ei=Ek93T52gEKfb0QGTh_S1DQ&ved=0CA0QpwUoBw&source=lnt&tbs=cdr:1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F21%2F2012%2Ccd_max%3A1%2F25%2F2012&tbm=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=f09fc51661aef1f1&biw=991&bih=547 |title=News search on 21–25 Jan 2012 |access-date= 31 March 2012}}

File:Segeljacht Guppy in Den Osse.jpg

Dekker used a French-built {{convert|12.3|m|ft|adj=on}} two-masted Jeanneau Gin Fizz ketch,{{cite web|url=http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/About_Guppy.html|title=LauraDekker.nl de Jongste solozeiler ter wereld! – ◦ About Guppy ◦|website=www.lauradekker.nl|access-date=23 March 2015|archive-date=15 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215092932/http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/About_Guppy.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite journal |url=http://zeilmeisjelauradekkerarchives2.blogspot.ca/p/voiles-et-voiliers.html |issue=494 |journal=Voiles et Voiliers |date=April 2012 |first=Jean-Luc |last=Gourmelen |title=The Young girl and the old Gin Fizz |access-date=10 April 2015 |others=Translated by Thomas Weber and 45N73W}} A detailed description of Guppy as fitted for the trip. which she named Guppy, same as her earlier boats.{{cite magazine|first=Richard |last=Durham |url=http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/news/447601/dutch-girl-14-planning-world-cruise |title=Dutch girl, 14, planning world cruise | Sailing news |magazine=Yachting Monthly |date=22 March 2010 |access-date=4 August 2010}}

Dekker sailed from Den Osse, Netherlands, on 4 August 2010, headed for Portugal.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baRwvEorvGU |title=Youtube video, departure from Den Osse |publisher=Youtube.com |access-date=19 November 2010}} This segment did not constitute part of the solo circumnavigation, as her father was on board to coach her and test the new boat. The published plan was that the solo voyage would commence from Lisbon. Instead, Dekker and her father sailed to Portimão, arriving on 15 August. She sailed with others from Portimão to Gibraltar on 18–20 August, because according to Portuguese law, she was too young to be formally qualified to captain her ship{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/laura-dekker-14-sets-off-round-world-sail/story?id=11452447 |first=Dean |last=Schabner |title=Laura Dekker, 14, Sets Off on Round-the-World Sail |publisher=ABC News |date=21 August 2010 |access-date=19 December 2010}} (Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory subject to British law, though Dekker made her departure from Gibraltar in secret in order to avoid both the press and any maritime police).

2010–2012 solo circumnavigation progress:

• Departed Gibraltar on 21 August 2010.{{cn|date=May 2020}}
• Arrived at Lanzarote on 25 August.
• Stayed in the Canary Islands for several weeks because of the Atlantic hurricane season.
• Departed Gran Canaria on 10 November for Cape Verde.
• Commenced Atlantic crossing from Cape Verde to Sint Maarten—a distance of {{convert|2200|nmi|km mi}}—on 2 December; finished when she reached Simpson Bay Lagoon on 19 December;{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/40741399/ns/world_news-americas/t/teen-sailor-solo-voyage-reaches-st-maarten/#.WPeZr4jyiUk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003154123/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/40741399/ns/world_news-americas/t/teen-sailor-solo-voyage-reaches-st-maarten/#.WPeZr4jyiUk |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 October 2016 |first=Judy |last=Fitzpatrick |title=Teenage sailor on solo voyage reaches St. Maarten |newspaper=Washington Post |date=19 December 2010 |access-date=19 December 2010}} having encountered calm weather on this leg of her journey, used the engine for two days in order to arrive on time.{{cite web|url=http://www.lauradekker.nl/Basis.aspx?Tid=5019&Sid=5042&Hmi=5042&Smi=0&STARTPOS=50|title=LauraDekker.nl de Jongste solozeiler ter wereld! – ◦ News ◦|publisher=Lauradekker.nl|access-date=3 November 2014|archive-date=3 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103183600/http://www.lauradekker.nl/Basis.aspx?Tid=5019&Sid=5042&Hmi=5042&Smi=0&STARTPOS=50|url-status=dead}}
• Served as crew member for ten days on the tall ship Stad Amsterdam, departing from Sint Maarten on 5 January 2011.
• Departed Sint Maarten on 20 January; visited the islands of Îles des Saintes, Dominica, Bonaire and San Blas Islands, all located in the Caribbean.
• Flew home on 27 February; stayed to 10 March to speak at a boat show and other places, now a figure of considerable media attention in the Netherlands.
• Completed the passage of the Panama Canal on 11 April 2011;{{cite web|url=http://www.lauradekker.nl/Basis.aspx?Tid=2&Lid=12&Lit=VIEW|title=LauraDekker.nl de Jongste solozeiler ter wereld!|publisher=Lauradekker.nl|access-date=3 November 2014|archive-date=13 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113235616/http://www.lauradekker.nl/Basis.aspx?Tid=2&Lid=12&Lit=VIEW|url-status=dead}} visited Pearl Islands thereafter.
• Crossed the Equator on the evening of 25 April; reached the Galápagos Islands the following day.
• Departed the Galápagos Islands on 7 May and arrived at Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands on 25 May, having sailed about {{convert|2960|nmi|km mi}} in 18 days, the longest leg so far; encountered open sea only, with no islands near the route.
• Sailed from Marquesas Islands to Tahiti between 1 and 8 June, a journey of {{convert|770|nmi|km mi}}; demanding leg of the journey with shifting winds, many reefs, ships, and little sleep.{{cite web |url=http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/News.html |title=de Jongste solozeiler ter wereld! – ◦ News ◦ |publisher=Lauradekker.nl |access-date=31 October 2011 |archive-date=15 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115162740/http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/News.html |url-status=dead }}
• Visited Moorea and Bora Bora, and then sailed the {{convert|1400|nmi|km mi}} journey to Vavaʻu, Tonga in 12 days, where she arrived 8 July.
• Arrived 17 July 2011 at Suva, Fiji, having sailed for four days, and on 30 July at Port Vila, Vanuatu after having sailed for three days.
• Sailed from Vanuatu on 8 August, heading for Darwin, Australia; arrived in Darwin on 25 August after one of the toughest legs of her journey, which included passage through Torres Strait, filled with reefs, islands and large ships; father visited her in Darwin, their first meeting since she had visited the Netherlands in March 2011; together, undertook a major overhaul of the boat; celebrated Dekker's 16th birthday.
• Departed Darwin on 25 September, heading west; published information about this leg of her journey in her blog following about two weeks delay, because of security concerns regarding Indian Ocean pirates.
• Sailed to Durban, South Africa, arriving 12 November, after 47 days at sea non-stop; reported wind varying from dead calm to hard wind that often shifted direction; sometimes encountered rough waves (distance Darwin–Durban is {{convert|5540|nmi|km mi}}).
• Arrived at Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on 18 November.
• Passed Cape Agulhas, South Africa, on 26 November, southernmost point on the African continent, and southernmost point of her journey; sailed thereafter a northerly course for the first time on her journey from the Netherlands.
• Passed the Cape of Good Hope on 27 November in rough weather; reached Cape Town the same day; father and journalists{{cite news|url=http://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/courageous-laura-16-braves-cape-of-storms-1.1187616 |title=Courageous Laura, 16, braves Cape of Storms |newspaper=Cape Times}} and the boats of the Volvo Ocean Race met her there.
• Sailed from Cape Town on 12 December, heading northwest.
• Reached the longitude of her unofficial starting point in the Netherlands on 20 December; had already crossed all longitudes in the course of her circumnavigation; faced another {{convert|4800|nmi|km mi}} for her official completion.{{cite web|url=http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/News.html|title=LauraDekker.nl de Jongste solozeiler ter wereld! – ◦ News ◦|publisher=Lauradekker.nl|access-date=3 November 2014|archive-date=15 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115162740/http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/News.html|url-status=dead}}
• Arrived in Simpson Bay on Sint Maarten on 21 January 2012 at approximately 3 p.m. local time, after a non-stop journey of {{convert|5600|nmi|km mi}} from Cape Town, thus completing her full circumnavigation of the world, at the age of 16 years, 123 days.{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/youngest-sailor-to-complete-solo-trip-around-the-world/article2310517/ |title=youngest sailor to complete solo trip around the world |access-date=21 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120124021357/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/youngest-sailor-to-complete-solo-trip-around-the-world/article2310517/ |archive-date=24 January 2012 }}{{registration required}}. The Globe & Mail (AP), 21 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/21/teen-ends-globecircling-v_n_1220940.html|title=Laura Dekker, Teen Ends Globe-Circling Voyage In St. Maarten|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=3 November 2014}}
• The trip took 518 days or 74 weeks or 1 year, 5 months.

Maidentrip (2013), mostly shot by Dekker and directed by Jillian Schlesinger, is an 82-minute documentary video about this trip.

• In March 2013, Maidentrip, a film about Dekker's circumnavigation had its premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in the United States.Mark Olsen: [https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-xpm-2013-mar-16-la-et-mn-sxsw-2013-short-term-12-and-the-short-game-win-audience-awards-20130316-story.html SXSW 2013: 'Short Term 12' and 'The Short Game'] Los Angeles Times, 16 March 2013
• During the summer of 2013, she took part in the recording (in Morocco) of the reality television show Atlas, which was broadcast in the Netherlands in August–October 2013.
• In autumn 2014, she took part in the Dutch reality show Expeditie Poolcirkel in north Scandinavia (broadcast 2015), which she won.[http://tvwatchers.nl/laura-dekker-wint-expeditie-poolcirkel-2015/ Laura Dekker wint Expeditie Poolcirkel 2015] (in Dutch)
• In November 2014, Dekker's book One Girl, One Dream was published.{{cite web|url=http://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2014/laura-dekker-one-girl-one-dream-author-tour/wellington|title=Laura Dekker 'One Girl, One Dream' Author Tour|website=Eventfinda|date=5 November 2014 }}
• On 20 February 2015, she obtained a Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate (also becoming the youngest person to do so in the process).[http://www.lauradekker.nl/lauradekker/upload/1021yachtmaster-ocean.JPG Photograph of Yachtmaster certificate, including date of issue 20/02/2015].
• She has been working towards doing long-distance educational sailings with children. She founded Laura Dekker World Sailing Foundation.{{Cite web|url=https://lauradekkerworldsailingfoundation.com/world-sailing-foundation/about-wsf/|title=About World Sailing Foundation}} She obtained a 21 meter long ship (named Guppy). In November 2020 Dekker and a young crew took away from Spain, heading for the Caribbean islands, and back.{{Cite web|url=https://lauradekkerworldsailingfoundation.com/voyages/atlantic-rountrip/|title=Atlantic Roundtrip}}

A February 2018 interview with the American Sailing Association announced "Dekker has donated her beloved Guppy, the very boat she did the trip on, to LifeSail." LifeSail is a Los Angeles non-profit organisation that uses sailing as a vehicle to teach life lessons to children.{{Cite web |url=https://www.lifesail.org/ |title=LifeSail |website=www.lifesail.org}}{{cite web |last1=Reynolds |first1=Pat |title=Laura Dekker Interview, Part 1 |url=https://asa.com/news/2018/02/06/laura-dekker-interview-pt1/ |website=www.asa.com |date=7 February 2018 |publisher=American Sailing Association |access-date=22 March 2019}}

On 20 August 2018, Dekker announced that Guppy was wrecked on a reef in the Pacific Ocean by LifeSail during its trip to Los Angeles.{{Cite web |url=https://www.hartvannederland.nl/nieuws/2018/laura-dekker-rouwt-om-haar-guppy/ |title=Zeilster Laura Dekker rouwt om haar zeilboot Guppy |access-date=22 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822113810/https://www.hartvannederland.nl/nieuws/2018/laura-dekker-rouwt-om-haar-guppy/ |archive-date=22 August 2018 |url-status=dead }} The boat was a total loss.{{cite web |last1=Dekker |first1=Laura |title=Laura's blog 11-09-2018 |url=http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/News.html |quote=Picture's from three weeks ago.. by now she is fully submerged and confirmed a total loss :'( |access-date=3 June 2011 |archive-date=15 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115162740/http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/News.html |url-status=dead }}

LifeSail released a public statement in March 2019 with a timeline of events{{Cite web|url=https://www.lifesail.org/post/delivery-and-loss-of-guppy|title=Delivery and Loss of Guppy|date=22 March 2019|website=website}} that stated Dekker originally donated Guppy as a requirement to receive funds from a third party. Those funds would be used for her new boat, Guppy XL.{{Cite web | last1=Dekker | first1=Laura | title=About Guppy XL | url=https://lauradekkerworldsailingfoundation.com/world-sailing-foundation/the-ship/ | website=lauradekkerworldsailingfoundation.com}} Dekker blames LifeSail and Matt Schulz, alleging they broke their contract by sailing the vessel with inexperienced crew and mooring in unsafe locations. She claimed compensation for the loss of Guppy, as the donation contract with LifeSail specified that in the case of a total loss all insurance compensation would go to her, less any value added by LifeSail.{{Cite web | url=https://lauradekkerworldsailingfoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LifeSail-ALL-pdf.pdf|date=25 March 2019 |title=A report of the stranding of Sailing Vessel Guppy early August 2018 on a reef in Manihiki Island, Cook Islands |access-date= 12 December 2019}}

On 28 March 2015, when she was 19, Dekker married Daniel Thielmann, also resident in New Zealand.{{cite web|url=http://blog.jetsettingmagazine.com/news/laura-dekker-married |title=Laura Dekker Married! |work=Jetsetting Magazine |date=22 May 2015 |access-date=12 September 2018}} They have since divorced.{{cite web|url=https://lauradekkerworldsailingfoundation.com/a-new-chapter-in-my-life/ |title=A new chapter in my life :) |work=Laura Dekker World Sailing Foundation |date=30 March 2019}} She is now in a relationship with boat builder Sander Vogelenzang, with whom she has a son born in 2018. They had a second child in June 2022.{{cite web|url=https://lauradekkerworldsailingfoundation.com/world-sailing-foundation/the-crew/ |title=The Crew |work=Laura Dekker World Sailing Foundation}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Laura Dekker}}

• [http://www.lauradekker.nl/ Official website of Laura Dekker]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj3ArISJwII Radio interview, 11 minutes, in January 2011]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20141006114844/http://bluewaterboats.org/jeanneau-gin-fizz-37/ Laura Dekker's boat, the Jeanneau Gin Fizz 37]
• [https://www.sailingeurope.com/blog/laura-dekker-youngest-sailor The latest interview with Laura Dekker, SailingEurope, 2019]
• Books by Laura Dekker: Een meisje, een droom (in Dutch) {{ISBN|90-5961-089-X}}, Ein Mädchen, ein Traum (in German) {{ISBN|3-7688-3546-4}}, One Girl, One Dream (in English) {{ISBN|1-77554-045-6}}.

{{Youth solo sailing circumnavigations}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dekker, Laura}}

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