Laura Dekker

[bengtinge]

Originally Posted by slomotion

I think a lot of people still mistakenly believe that Laura is attempting a Jessica/Abby type nonstop unassisted voyage. As a result she probably gets a lot of wacko hate mail from the misinformed.

The truth is that this is planned as a multi-stop almost cruise-like voyage using the canals and requiring only a couple of long ocean passages. She does not intend to round the Great Capes, and she will never be in the Southern Ocean. Her boat's design is a proven world cruiser. And if they get it reasonably right at the outset, she has a very good chance of completing her mission with multiple opportunities to repair/modify/reprovision the boat as needed along the way.

The nasty mails are based on her age 14 I assume, like it was for Jessca and Abby. A multi stop journey is not much safer. She will still have to cross some oceans, and will still do more than 25,000 nm sailed distance. Abby planned four ocean crossings.

Lauras plan is better when it comes to repair needs, but a non-stop traveller can also stop if needed which Abby did. Many sailors have tried non-stop but done stops anyway.

One thing that is safer with short legs of a few days is ablity to predict the weather and stay in port until several good days is predicted, if you have that time. Laura's two year schedule is probably based on that.

Still, according to her plan, 17500 nm (more than half) will be on legs more than 1000 nm.

It is of course PR wise better to say in advance that you will to stop for repair, compared to try non-stop and stop anyway, since that will look like a failure. A loser is always criticized harder than someone who makes the plan. But in my opinion it is a sail adventure, to sail around the world, not a PR thing.

[Hirophant]

The guest book has been reactivated but I can't get it to accept a message, it keeps telling me I got the captcha code wrong ("De bevestigingscode is onjuist"). There are plenty of Dutch people managing to post though.

[slomotion]

Originally Posted by bengtinge

A multi stop journey is not much safer.

Well, I disagree with this simply because stopping is not the only difference. The route is dramatically different, makes stops easier, and is inherently safer. But, I agree with you 100% - it is still an ocean crossing adventure with plenty of risk. And if she pulls it off, it will be a tremendous achievement.

[Hirophant]

It appears Ms. Dekker has arrived in Portugal, despite her voyage being dogged by dolphins and whales. If the Sail World photo is to be believed she hasn't changed her pink shirt since she last talked to the press in the Netherlands! And oddly enough, the marina behind her has exactly the same boats moored in it as the Dutch one! Is she some kind of pied piper? . . . or could this be a stock photo ...
Sail-World.com : Laura Dekker arrives Portugal, set to start solo circumnavigation

[MacG]

Fun.

Apparently a stockphoto. (and not a bad one)

A compliment to Sailworld - a good report, dry and stripped from any fantasmagloria.
Portimão - nice place although not the cheapest.

Regarding safety:

I would say that the dangers she might expect are mostly provoked by the two-legged specimens that cruises the sea on the hunt for valuable assets.
A yacht with a solo sailor is a very likely victim. The red hull of the boat a very
conspicious object.
The bottleneck are the approaches to the Red Sea. Both Yemenites and Somali's
are 'working' their parts of the Indian Ocean, the Somali's very well equipped with motherships and 'catchboats'.
And that is some danger where even the very large yachts which are well prepared suffer from unavoidable attacks.
That are her real dangers, among others ........

Where is Michiel de Ruyter?
(In that era, Holland knew how the handle the muslim pirates)

[speakeasy]

I can't imagine a worse mistake for the Somali pirates than to seize Laura's boat. Talk about bringing the world's attention and military heat down on themselves.

[MacG]

Not that long ago, a 60 mtr Lürssen, on her way to Dubai, barely, barely escaped from being captured.

The yacht stumbled on a mothership that launched her catchboats immediately after sighting this 'goldcolored' prey.
Well prepared for the 'event' the captain issued a may-day and asked for military assistence. Quite fortunately a naval vessel was in the neighborhood and promised to send a helicopter (gunship?).
Sighting the helicopter, the catchboats pulled down their planned raid and returned to their mothership.

I do not have to mention the British couple that was hold for ransom although they obviously did not belong to the 'riches' of this world.

Do not expect any consideration from these pirates.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by speakeasy

I can't imagine a worse mistake for the Somali pirates than to seize Laura's boat. Talk about bringing the world's attention and military heat down on themselves.

I could not see a better boat for them to take. A 14 year old girl would be worth MILLIONS to them!!!!!!!!!

[MacG]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

I could not see a better boat for them to take. A 14 year old girl would be worth MILLIONS to them!!!!!!!!!

That is exactly what we fear.
Somali pirates are very well organised. They have their lookouts posted and they follow all VHF & radio traffic. They have their motherships cruising along the well known routes and are getting bolder and bolder.

I know that the whole issue is not a favorite one but frankly speaking there is no yacht that can possibly escape when it comes in sight of one of the motherships.
Let's be clear about that.

[Hirophant]

Well I think this is all a bit overblown, AFAIK there are no reportings of Somali pirates operating off Portugal or anywhere in the Atlantic. Furthermore, it has been reported elsewhere on these forums that no yachts at all have been seized by Somali pirates so far this year*.

Having said that I would agree that on a stopping voyage Laura may face two-legged dangers as well as aqueous ones, although the media attention she gets will probably work in her favour I suspect, since it would be hard for white slave traders et al to kidnap a girl when there are TV crews camped on the jetty. Out at sea she should generally be safe, consider that Jessica Watson's parents took three attempts to find her using a plane as she passed Cape Horn despite knowing exactly where she was.

*Edit:
my mistake! In fact there have been no yachts seized by pirates AT ALL this year, not just Somali pirates, see Sail-World.com : IMB reports: Zero pirate attacks against yachts this year

[MacG]

The other girls were attempting to set a non stop record - and took therefore the obligatory roaring 40's route. The only one commonly used.
Nothing to do with Laura who makes a trip that will bring her somewhere next year in the risky waters.

Pirates are holding at least 16 ships and hundreds of crew members, including a British couple who were seized from their yacht last October.
Situation as per today

The Lürssen yacht was only a week or so ago but the attack could be timely stalled thanks to the availability of a navyvessel plus helicopter that was in the near vicinity.
And the year is not over.
A fact is however that the efforts of British, US and other warships are paying off. Piracy along the approaches of the Gulf of Aden fell 18% this year.
Laura's trip back home is planned through the Suezcanal and subsequently the Med. So the Red Sea is an unavoidable leg of her trip.

http://www.yachtpiracy.org/en/the_new_peril.htm

You might check this site. It might give some idea.

[Hirophant]

Originally Posted by MacG

Laura's trip back home is planned through the Suezcanal and subsequently the Med. So the Red Sea is an unavoidable leg of her trip.

It's not unavoidable, since as previously noted she has a Plan B route via the southern indian ocean and Cape of Good Hope which she will take if piracy is still too much of a problem when she reaches that part of the world in a year or so's time.

[Barth]

Originally Posted by MacG

The other girls were attempting to set a non stop record - and took therefore the obligatory roaring 40's route. The only one commonly used.
Nothing to do with Laura who makes a trip that will bring her somewhere next year in the risky waters.

Pirates are holding at least 16 ships and hundreds of crew members, including a British couple who were seized from their yacht last October.
Situation as per today

The Lürssen yacht was only a week or so ago but the attack could be timely stalled thanks to the availability of a navyvessel plus helicopter that was in the near vicinity.
And the year is not over.
A fact is however that the efforts of British, US and other warships are paying off. Piracy along the approaches of the Gulf of Aden fell 18% this year.
Laura's trip back home is planned through the Suezcanal and subsequently the Med. So the Red Sea is an unavoidable leg of her trip.

Yacht-Piraterie - Information Centre for Bluewater Sailors

You might check this site. It might give some idea.

Hi,
On Laura's site, there is a document about the planned route.
http://www.lauradekker.nl/lauradekke...saat_Route.pdf

It has 2 options: Option 1 is through the Suezcanal, and the alternative option 2 is Mauritius-Durban-Capetown-Saint Helena. The decission which route to take will be made when Laura arives at Bali, and has to do with the situation in Gulf of Aden and the risks of Piracy at that moment.
Laura will not sail trough the Gulf of Aden if it is too risky. She will follow the same route as other yachts at that moment, and also the guidelines of the International Sailing Federation for yachts.

She is flexible in the plan.

greetz

[sigmasailor]

Laura has departed from Portugal this afternoon.

All I can find is an article in Dutch; those who have still not learned to understand Dutch will have to use Google translate.

Article

[MacG]

That news is not so significant.

More significant is the fact that lawyer Peter did not advise father Dekker and daughter Laura about the Portuguese law that forbids the minor to sail away solo from Portugal's soil.
Her father is therefore obliged to accompany her to the borderline of the 12 mile zone, till she is in international water.

People, people, make you homework!