Maidentrip - Laura Dekker

[crazyoldboatguy]

The admiral and I saw it a few months ago in a local theater in Chicago. It is clear Dekker had a lot of experience having previously sailed from Holland down thru the English Channel to Spain, I think.

The admiral is recently retired as an attorney representing abused and neglected children, so she has the chops to opine on whether or not the father was neglectful in any way allowing this young lady to circumnavigate. The admiral was impressed with the Dekker and her level of skills and saw nothing to indicate the father doing anything rash. Clearly there are dangers in blue water cruising but they were minimized by the proper planning, a proper well found vessel, and a well seasoned sailor.

Now, the issue of Dekker letting her studies slide........that's a different story.

[theway]

Wonderful film. I highly recommend it.

[DeepFrz]

I also found it interesting that at the beginning of her journey, she said how she wanted to see so many places, and cultures. And yet, in the movie, it showed her only really stopping a few times. I think I counted 4 stops.. and then the rest of the time she was on the ocean.

Of course she also had the goal to sail around the world single handed and be the youngest person to do that. Because of the court delays she had to keep moving in order to accomplish her goal. She was a very accomplished sailor at an early age.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Netflix also has Wild Eyes, the Abby Sunderland story. What a contrast between the two girls! Abby is always looking totally stressed out and on the satphone to her parents, while Laura looks like she is having fun.

I can't get Netflix

I honestly don't think it fair to contrast the two sailors. They are both very accomplished and both did exceptionally well. But they were also doing different things. Abby was in a non stop for the publicity. Nothing wrong with that. But Lauren clearly thought nothing of publicity and still doesn't. Her trip was not non stop, nor speed related.

And you also can't tell much from a 60 minute movie of what a sailors demeanour is like. It's six months or 24 months respectively crammed into 60 minutes. You could make the same accusation of our Australian girl being 'stressed'. The reality is they filmed themselves and the film was edited. I'm absolutely certain Lauren was also stressed and scared witless at times.

[accomplice]

Watched it last night with my wife. We both enjoyed the movie, but had very different takes on it. I found Laura to be an inspiring and impressive person, both in her maturity and competence. My wife found it sad that she was neglected by her family, and was in part searching for a home because she didn't feel she had one. My wife remarked that unfortunately suffering seems to often to be the origins of greatness. I found it interesting as a sailor and a father of two girls to ponder what if...?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[deckofficer]

Your wife saw something that I sure missed. What I saw was she and her dad were tight, both shared a love for boats. They both admit they didn't have much money or material possessions and others at the marina viewed them as boat bums. Laura did own her own boats from an early age, and that was all she needed. Her mom and little sister lived their own life in Germany, mom as a circus clown and Kim a trapeze performer. Laura says they are closer now since her voyage. Not a conventional upbringing for a divorced family, but I sure didn't see neglect in the story she presented in her book and many interviews. The only emotional hardship was the Dutch government involvement.

[accomplice]

I understood that when she was younger, her mother moved away leaving Laura's father as her only caregiver. The movie described that her father worked very long hours, and suffered a nervous breakdown. I do not consider this in any way neglectful, but I must agree that this represents less parental involvement than many modern families. Personally, I was impressed; but others felt more sadness about her childhood. For me, that is "par."

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[robert sailor]

Almost all families are dysfunctional in one way or another. Sounds like she has a pretty good grip on life. Personally my feeling is that many of today's helicopter parents are going to do more to screw up kids than the previous generation.

[crazyoldboatguy]

=== Almost all families are dysfunctional in one way or another ===

Yep

Put a magnifying glass up to any family - or YOURS. See how it matches up. Another person noted - "unfortunately suffering seems to often to be the origins of greatness". Why "unfortunately"? This is how we grow. Thru adversity, failure and struggle. That is the human reality - something to be accepted and learned from, not to be lamented. That leads to efforts to limit risk in the world - make everything safe and easy.

Where's the fun in that?

[deckofficer]

No matter her upbringing, she is flying high now.

[sardinebreath]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

And you also can't tell much from a 60 minute movie of what a sailors demeanour is like. It's six months or 24 months respectively crammed into 60 minutes. You could make the same accusation of our Australian girl being 'stressed'. The reality is they filmed themselves and the film was edited. I'm absolutely certain Lauren was also stressed and scared witless at times.

Yea, most of us are scared of something. But my sense is that one thing Dekker wasn't scared of, was the ocean. Of course that could change. When I was young I was pretty sure that I was immortal. Death or physical harm weren't among the things I fretted about and I did a lot of really dangerous stuff. I feel a lot more vulnerable these days, both because I am physically far less resilient than I used to be, and because years of watching people get picked off around me have finally impressed upon me just how fragile human beings can be. I feel death's warm breath on my neck now and realize that it was always there, I was just distracted with other things.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by accomplice

My wife found it sad that she was neglected by her family, and was in part searching for a home because she didn't feel she had one.Sent from my Nexus 7 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

What a strange assessment and conclusion to make from an hour video. I'm certainly not at all confident she would agree with such an assessment. Perhaps read the book and see if your wife still feels this.

[deckofficer]

Originally Posted by sardinebreath

Yea, most of us are scared of something. But my sense is that one thing Dekker wasn't scared of, was the ocean. Of course that could change. When I was young I was pretty sure that I was immortal. Death or physical harm weren't among the things I fretted about and I did a lot of really dangerous stuff. I feel a lot more vulnerable these days, both because I am physically far less resilient than I used to be, and because years of watching people get picked off around me have finally impressed upon me just how fragile human beings can be. I feel death's warm breath on my neck now and realize that it was always there, I was just distracted with other things.

That applies to me too. I no longer do many of the things I did in my youth.

[accomplice]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

What a strange assessment and conclusion to make from an hour video. I'm certainly not at all confident she would agree with such an assessment. Perhaps read the book and see if your wife still feels this.

On your recommendation, I'm getting the e-book now. I expect that I'll continue to be greatly impressed with Laura and her accomplishments. I also expect that my wife will still be saddened.

One of the things I found interesting was how two people could view the same story so differently. It drove home to me how subjective perception is and how our experiences and expectations strongly influence perception.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by accomplice

One of the things I found interesting was how two people could view the same story so differently. It drove home to me how subjective perception is and how our experiences and expectations strongly influence perception.

Yes. Watching the movie 'All is lost' ( which I'm not a great fan of) I was and still am mystified that the difference between those who believe he died at the end of the movie and those who believe he lived is roughly 50/50. Yet to me, it's obvious.