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Dutch teen sets sail on solo world trip
Fox Sports ^ | Updated Aug 21, 2010 | Staff.

Posted on 08/21/2010 9:24:05 AM PDT by golux

A 14-year-old Dutch sailor departed in secrecy from Portugal Saturday on her quest to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world, avoiding the media because her manager said she didn't want the attention.

Laura Dekker said goodbye to her father and friends at an undisclosed Portuguese port enroute to Spain's Canary Islands or Portugal's Madeira Island despite almost windless conditions in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal, according to manager Peter Klarenbeek.

(...) The attempt has been criticized by Dutch child protection authorities who questioned the wisdom of a child risking the world's oceans alone.

(...) Laura had been scheduled to depart from Portimao, and photographers and television crews from around the world were at the resort in southwestern Portugal but ended up with no images of the departure.

(...) The girl's website features links titled "My Coordinates" and "Where is Laura," but neither was working Saturday, and a porthole-shaped counter of the days of her voyage stood at zero.

(...) One of the voyage's sponsors, Ferry Dammers, showed up in Portimao with a banner to display on her boat as it left - but he ended up hanging around with the media crowd and never got to mount his banner on the "Guppy."

"I am disappointed, I have the banner here but when I spoke to Klarenbeek he informed me Laura had already set off on her journey," said Dammers, whose company supplied Laura with wax for the hull of her sailboat.

A Dutch court last month released Laura from the guardianship of Dutch child protection agencies who had tried to block her voyage because of fears about her safety and psychological health.

(...) She also used as evidence her successful solo trip across the North Sea to England.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.foxsports.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: circumnavigation; dutch; sailing; solo
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1 posted on 08/21/2010 9:24:08 AM PDT by golux
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To: golux
The girl's website features links titled "My Coordinates" and "Where is Laura," but neither was working Saturday, and a porthole-shaped counter of the days of her voyage stood at zero.

Sank already?

2 posted on 08/21/2010 9:29:21 AM PDT by humblegunner (Pablo is very wily)
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To: golux

I remeber a 16 year old sailed solo around the world back in the 60s. He was featured prominently in a series of articles in National Geographic at various points along the way. I think he was 18 when he finished.


3 posted on 08/21/2010 9:37:13 AM PDT by Hugin (Remember the first rule of gunfighting...have a gun..-- Col. Jeff Cooper)
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To: golux

Great. More of this nonsense.


4 posted on 08/21/2010 9:43:10 AM PDT by Psycho_Bunny (Hail To The Fail-In-Chief)
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To: Hugin

Yes. I read the book. The name of the boat - and the book - was “The Dove.”


5 posted on 08/21/2010 9:45:24 AM PDT by golux
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To: golux

Oh boy....I can already see crowds of homeowners association types coming out of the woodwork to rant about what an epic dangerous stunt this is.


6 posted on 08/21/2010 9:47:36 AM PDT by dragnet2
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To: Hugin

http://www.bluemoment.com/dove.html
You have a great memory.


7 posted on 08/21/2010 9:48:55 AM PDT by Slicksadick (Go out on a limb........Its where the fruit is.)
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To: dragnet2
homeowners association types

LOL

8 posted on 08/21/2010 9:51:36 AM PDT by cerberus
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To: dragnet2

Here’s a hot tip: People are allowed to disagree with your opinion.


9 posted on 08/21/2010 9:58:28 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (If Bam is the answer, the question was stupid.)
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To: dragnet2

So, apparently you do not think that parents have a responsibility to raise their children in a safe manner, and to protect them as best they can from doing idiotic unsafe things?

Call me what you will, but this is one adult who thinks the parents should be arrested for child engangerment.


10 posted on 08/21/2010 10:25:44 AM PDT by CdMGuy
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To: CdMGuy

Sorry, last word should have read “endangerment”.


11 posted on 08/21/2010 10:27:15 AM PDT by CdMGuy
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To: CdMGuy

Maybe her parents have a better understanding than you of her maturity and what she can handle.


12 posted on 08/21/2010 10:41:28 AM PDT by Hugin (Remember the first rule of gunfighting...have a gun..-- Col. Jeff Cooper)
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To: Hugin; CdMGuy
Maybe her parents have a better understanding than you of her maturity and what she can handle.

14 year olds can't drive, marry or vote but they can sail alone around the world? There's some twisted logic.

13 posted on 08/21/2010 10:54:27 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (If Bam is the answer, the question was stupid.)
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To: golux
Could somebody ping me when the headline reads

Three Year Old Set Adrift In The Atlantic On A Dinosaur Shaped Float Toy, Hopes To Circumnavigate The Globe By Eighteen

14 posted on 08/21/2010 11:32:47 AM PDT by seowulf ("If you write a whole line of zeroes, it's still---nothing"...Kira Alexandrovna Argounova)
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To: seowulf

You realize it will only be a year or two, right?


15 posted on 08/21/2010 11:47:21 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (If Bam is the answer, the question was stupid.)
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To: DJ MacWoW
14 year olds can't drive, marry or vote but they can sail alone around the world? There's some twisted logic.

And you are mixing apples and oranges. Driving for example involves the lives of others, not just the driver. Voting is about public policy, not personal choice. And historically many people did get married at 14. Moreover in many staes 14 year olds can become emancipated and marry in exceptional circumstances. Exceptionalism is really what this story is about, IMHO. The laws you cite are good guidelines for the vast majority. I certainly don't think the average 14 year old is mature enough to do any of those things, but if this girl has already sailed across the North Sea by herself she is obviously an exceptional young lady. If her parents have decided to encourage rather than stifle her, I would trust their judgement, since they seem to have done a good job so far. As for endangering her, is it any more dangerous than letting a teenager go around by themselves in a big city? Danger is a part of life. IMHO kids being over sheltered is a bigger problem than kids being exposed to dangers.

16 posted on 08/21/2010 12:01:15 PM PDT by Hugin (Remember the first rule of gunfighting...have a gun..-- Col. Jeff Cooper)
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To: golux

What a tragedy for this child folks around her are saying she is beyond her years.


17 posted on 08/21/2010 12:34:02 PM PDT by GatĂșn(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)
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To: seowulf

“Could somebody ping me when the headline reads… Three Year Old Set Adrift In The Atlantic On A Dinosaur Shaped Float Toy, Hopes To Circumnavigate The Globe By Eighteen”

Good one Seawolf. I agree.


18 posted on 08/21/2010 12:39:13 PM PDT by GatĂșn(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)
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To: Hugin
And you are mixing apples and oranges. Driving for example involves the lives of others, not just the driver.

Ohhhhh! I see. As long as she only can kill herself, it's ok. Got it.

As for endangering her, is it any more dangerous than letting a teenager go around by themselves in a big city?

Are there other people in the middle of the ocean to help her should she need it? Talk about apples and oranges. And I wouldn't let a 14 year old wander around a big city by themselves.

Danger is a part of life.

Which does not mean you endanger a child for a useless unofficial record. Although I hear some think it's "brave".

19 posted on 08/21/2010 12:57:04 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW (If Bam is the answer, the question was stupid.)
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To: DJ MacWoW
You might read the blogs of these kids who undertake these round-the-world sails. The ones I've followed recently have all been 16 year-olds. And they're obviously much more educated than you average (supposed) honors 16 year-old HS student. By and large, their writing quality is excellent, and the repairs they describe making as they travel along are just amazing.

More and more, I'm coming around to John Taylor Gatto's view that our schools are really just disguised prisons for our country's young.

We'll see what happens with this Laura Dekker. So far her writing seems much less sophisticated to me than the others, but she is two years younger than the others and English is only a second language for her. I'm willing to cut her some slack and watch her mature.

ML/NJ

20 posted on 08/21/2010 1:35:59 PM PDT by ml/nj
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