Laura Dekker's Circumnavigation

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by MacG

It doesn' t work that way.

@Nick

These people are "van God los" - I don't understand that they can employ such arrogance and sheer stupidity.

Edit: I feel the urge to trash this scum publicly.

Ehrmm... when they swipe my passport at immigration services they see "aboard sailing yacht Jedi" as my official address. But that doesn't make it equal to living in the country of the ensign displayed.

Child Care: it'll fit well with the socialist future of Holland... get tf out of there!

ciao!
Nick.

[MacG]

It is for me already a passed station. I am 65+ (just) and lives of my assets.
Just finishing the boat and I am off.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by MacG

It is for me already a passed station. I am 65+ (just) and lives of my assets.
Just finishing the boat and I am off.

Finishing the boat?! When you're done, please come over and finish mine

Boats are never finished... Just get her sea-worthy and liveable and do rest on the way... better weather and cheaper too

ciao!
Nick.

[MacG]

To put things straight, firstly I bought her from the scrapheap. She is quite ok now having new engine, etc. read my earlier comments.

Your boat is divine compared to mine. But too big for the soloist I am.
As soon as I can get hold of my share in our residence, I' ll buy something that is up to my taste. Or, maybe not. You know Jan de Hartog. I met him once. We talked boats. Here on CF we share a bit of the same. Big boats, small boats, the overall LOA is not so important.
He ferried his Tjalk over to the US as deckcargo, afterwards he sailed the ICW.
That book he wrote (about that trip) is magnificent reading.

Tonight we saw the arrival of Laura in St Maarten. Everyone can see that she matured long before her age. It was good to see her mother and father together and that's so the better for Laura' s piece of mind.

Hope you agree with me.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by MacG

To put things straight, firstly I bought her from the scrapheap. She is quite ok now having new engine, etc. read my earlier comments.

I know, no worries. All I mean is not to prepare the boat too long because time slipped away is lost forever. I've been working on my boat for 10 years now and still not finished

ciao!
Nick.

[MacG]

That the above is recognised and established is an absolute.

" A heroine of our time" - according to The Guardian

Full article: Laura Dekker: a heroine for our times | World news | The Guardian

[deckofficer]

It was quite an arrival, lucky for the media shy Laura, she chose the out of the way place of Simpson Bay.

The last few miles


The small vessel parade


Step off to terra firma


Reunited with family


Island dignitaries


And she cleans up better than most of us after a 4400 nm leg.


pictures snagged from LauraDekker.nl de Jongste solozeiler ter wereld! -

[MacG]

Nice Bob,
Did you notice the boats flag? That girl doesn' t come back to Holland.

[deckofficer]

She said that her Dutch flag was in taters, and she hoped people would not read into it not being flown as a "statement" on her part.

[MacG]

I cannot answer that. When I sail I never carry a flag. Only approaching port I hoist visitor's and country.

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

And she cleans up better than most of us after a 4400 nm leg.

Very nice indeed!

That's awesome that she went out there and did what she wanted to do even though so many were against her. I'm going back to searching for my first boat now.

[Hirophant]

I'm glad she made it round ok but it's sad that she'd become so estranged from her country, I hope it gets sorted out. I recall the judge in the court case said specifically that the social services were harming not helping her mentally, but they still don't seem to have grasped this despite having had 18 months for the judges comments to sink in! (See this article from July 2010 for instance: "Since the intervention of child care authorities in her life, the girl suffered 'a serious emotional setback,' said the judge.")

Anyhow, it's a really nice looking boat she has, and red is a much better colour for a boat than (ahem) pink! I hope she keeps sailing Guppy and doesn't make a quick buck by selling it to a museum like a certain other teenage record holder did.... boats should not live in museums except perhaps for ones that are old and unseaworthy like dug up Viking longships et al.

[Astrid]

It seems she still has plans for her boat. According to her blog site:

Then in early March I will be back in the Netherlands to attend the HISWA [ Amsterdam Boat Show, March 6 to 11, Amsterdam, HISWA RAI Amsterdam | Home ]. And then I want to sail some more with 'Gup' over to the Panama Canal again and the Pacific to New Zealand as my final destination.

[Ozbullwinkle]

Originally Posted by Hirophant

Anyhow, it's a really nice looking boat she has, and red is a much better colour for a boat than (ahem) pink! I hope she keeps sailing Guppy and doesn't make a quick buck by selling it to a museum like a certain other teenage record holder did.... boats should not live in museums except perhaps for ones that are old and unseaworthy like dug up Viking longships et al.

Firstly congratulationa to Laura for completing her circumnavigation but I could not let the above very unfair comment go by without responding.

1. Jessica Watson did not make a "quick buck" by selling her boat. Are you aware that she turned down an offer of more than $1 million from an American buyer? Hardly the actions of someone trying to make a quick buck.
She sold her boat for $300,000 and the buyer was the Queensland and Australian Federal government. The boat is housed at the Queensland Maritime Museum. Its $300,000 price tag will only just cover Jessica's debts. Jess was in a lot of debt, having bought the boat herself.

2. Jessica's circumnavigation was non stop. She chose a route that is a traditionally recognised path and distance for ‘around the world sailors’. As this was a Southern Hemisphere voyage the significant landmarks were the southern tips of the American and African continents, as well as some of the most challenging oceans a sailor will ever face. She chose a route that is a traditionally recognised path and distance for ‘around the world sailors’.

3. Laura's voyage included several stops and island hopping where she was able to get refreshed and meet up with family & support crew and was nowhere near as gruelling both from a mental & physical aspect as a non stop circumnavigation including the Southern Ocean. She even flew home in the middle of the voyage to speak at a boat show and at other engagements.

4. The route followed by Laura cannot be compared to that followed by Jessica. Yeah, Laura may now be the youngest circumnavigator but the challenge was nowhere near as tough.

As you will note my very first comment was to congratulate Laura so I give credit where it is due but let's be fair here as we are not comparing apples with apples.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Dan_78

Very nice indeed!

That's awesome that she went out there and did what she wanted to do even though so many were against her. I'm going back to searching for my first boat now.

Cheking the vessel she is on in this photo she should have no issue with future funding.