dinsdag 20 september 2011
Laura Dekker celebrates her 16th birthday in Australia.
The New Zealand-born and Dutch-raised teenager left Gibraltar just short of her 15th birthday. She has already crossed two oceans and expects to finish the journey by May 2012 - when she will still be three months younger than Australia's Jessica Watson who currently holds the unofficial record.
"You might think a birthday is no big deal for someone who has already experienced more adventure than most people will see in a lifetime, but turning 16 is a milestone and she is looking forward to celebrating."
Laura will celebrate with her father Dick, who travelled from The Netherlands to spend time with her during the three week Australian stopover.
Manager Lyall Mercer give's Laura a New Zealand flag for her birthday - something the young sailor has been asking for.
"Her Dutch flag is on its last legs and Laura is very proud of her New Zealand heritage, so she'll fly the flag of her birth nation for the duration of her journey."
Laura to chat to supporters on Twitter
Unlike former teenage sailors Watson and American Abby Sunderland, Dekker has shunned much of the publicity, preferring a lower-key trip.
Lyall Mercer said he is trying to respect her desire for less media attention while fielding countless enquiries from across the world.
To help connect with her supporters, Laura has recently established an official Twitter account and while this is usually maintained by Mercer's company, she will be on Twitter chatting live and answering questions on Thursday September 22. To chat to Laura Dekker follow her on Twitter @Laura_and_Guppy and log in at 4pm Australian time (8am European - Paris and Amsterdam time) on September 22.
The New Zealand-born and Dutch-raised teenager left Gibraltar just short of her 15th birthday. She has already crossed two oceans and expects to finish the journey by May 2012 - when she will still be three months younger than Australia's Jessica Watson who currently holds the unofficial record.
"You might think a birthday is no big deal for someone who has already experienced more adventure than most people will see in a lifetime, but turning 16 is a milestone and she is looking forward to celebrating."
Laura will celebrate with her father Dick, who travelled from The Netherlands to spend time with her during the three week Australian stopover.
Manager Lyall Mercer give's Laura a New Zealand flag for her birthday - something the young sailor has been asking for.
"Her Dutch flag is on its last legs and Laura is very proud of her New Zealand heritage, so she'll fly the flag of her birth nation for the duration of her journey."
Laura to chat to supporters on Twitter
Unlike former teenage sailors Watson and American Abby Sunderland, Dekker has shunned much of the publicity, preferring a lower-key trip.
Lyall Mercer said he is trying to respect her desire for less media attention while fielding countless enquiries from across the world.
To help connect with her supporters, Laura has recently established an official Twitter account and while this is usually maintained by Mercer's company, she will be on Twitter chatting live and answering questions on Thursday September 22. To chat to Laura Dekker follow her on Twitter @Laura_and_Guppy and log in at 4pm Australian time (8am European - Paris and Amsterdam time) on September 22.
donderdag 8 september 2011
In weer en wind: Dutch teen sailor Laura Dekker's steadily progress...: Dutch teen sailor Laura Dekker's steadily progressing solo tour of the world. www.lauradekker.nl She might Skype a lot, but she's still...
Dutch teen sailor Laura Dekker's steadily progressing solo tour of the world.
www.lauradekker.nl
She might Skype a lot, but she's still alone.
It wasn't that long ago that the sailing world was obsessed with the ambitions, preparedness, and parental strategies associated with Jessica Watson, Abby Sunderland, and the teen boys (Zac Sunderland and Mike Perham). So when then-14 year old Laura Dekker started making noises about a solo voyage, too, and got held up by a Dutch court before finally be allowed to go sailing, it seemed as if we were in for another round of kiddie craziness. Except a funny thing happened on the way to the brouhaha. Laura Dekker quietly showed she is a competent, solid, sailor. With her father's help, she and her boat Guppy are well-prepared. And, most importantly, she has made her way across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal, and across the Pacific to Darwin, Australia, without drama or disaster, and seems more interested in the amazing experience of sailing westabout around the world than she is in setting a record.
www.lauradekker.nl
Teen-aged tune-up.
In other words, this is a voyage that's easy to applaud. No pushy, spotlight-happy, parents. No slick, conniving PR managers, angling for a big score. Sure, she is getting plenty of media attention, someone is making a film, and maybe she will end up on some version of Dancing With the Stars. But if you read her blog, what you see is a cheerful, determined, resourceful kid having an adventure that will change her life in untold ways. Her father's faith in her ability to pull this thing off seems justified, or at least reasonable. That doesn't mean that something terrible won't happen. But if it does, it will happen because bad things can happen anytime someone goes to sea, not because she is a teenager.
How many of us wish we had a slideshow like this from our teen years? (And how awesome is the Dutch version of "Piano Man"? )
She still has a long way to go to get back to the Atlantic and close the circle on her voyage. And she's been honest about the tough times she has had so far, rating the crossing from Bora Bora to Tonga—where she had no wind, or tons of wind, got sick, and faced nasty seas—as her worst (she rated the Vanuatu to Darwin leg second most difficult, and the Atlantic crossing third). But she is about to turn sixteen, and she doesn't seem in a huge rush to move on as long as there is something fun and interesting happening ashore. If nothing goes wrong, she will probably complete her circumnavigation before she turns 17, which would in fact make her the youngest ever. The beauty of it is I don't think she will really care that much. She set out to do something very different than Abby Sunderland and Jessica Watson, who made pure record attempts (and non-stop is a completely different animal). And what Dekker's voyage has truly been about is perfectly summed up in a recent blog entry: "The days just fly by, and I haven't had time to be bored, not even for one second." Too bad more teens don't live, and talk, like that.
www.lauradekker.nl http://solozeilster.hyves.nl/
www.lauradekker.nl
She might Skype a lot, but she's still alone.
It wasn't that long ago that the sailing world was obsessed with the ambitions, preparedness, and parental strategies associated with Jessica Watson, Abby Sunderland, and the teen boys (Zac Sunderland and Mike Perham). So when then-14 year old Laura Dekker started making noises about a solo voyage, too, and got held up by a Dutch court before finally be allowed to go sailing, it seemed as if we were in for another round of kiddie craziness. Except a funny thing happened on the way to the brouhaha. Laura Dekker quietly showed she is a competent, solid, sailor. With her father's help, she and her boat Guppy are well-prepared. And, most importantly, she has made her way across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal, and across the Pacific to Darwin, Australia, without drama or disaster, and seems more interested in the amazing experience of sailing westabout around the world than she is in setting a record.
www.lauradekker.nl
Teen-aged tune-up.
In other words, this is a voyage that's easy to applaud. No pushy, spotlight-happy, parents. No slick, conniving PR managers, angling for a big score. Sure, she is getting plenty of media attention, someone is making a film, and maybe she will end up on some version of Dancing With the Stars. But if you read her blog, what you see is a cheerful, determined, resourceful kid having an adventure that will change her life in untold ways. Her father's faith in her ability to pull this thing off seems justified, or at least reasonable. That doesn't mean that something terrible won't happen. But if it does, it will happen because bad things can happen anytime someone goes to sea, not because she is a teenager.
How many of us wish we had a slideshow like this from our teen years? (And how awesome is the Dutch version of "Piano Man"? )
She still has a long way to go to get back to the Atlantic and close the circle on her voyage. And she's been honest about the tough times she has had so far, rating the crossing from Bora Bora to Tonga—where she had no wind, or tons of wind, got sick, and faced nasty seas—as her worst (she rated the Vanuatu to Darwin leg second most difficult, and the Atlantic crossing third). But she is about to turn sixteen, and she doesn't seem in a huge rush to move on as long as there is something fun and interesting happening ashore. If nothing goes wrong, she will probably complete her circumnavigation before she turns 17, which would in fact make her the youngest ever. The beauty of it is I don't think she will really care that much. She set out to do something very different than Abby Sunderland and Jessica Watson, who made pure record attempts (and non-stop is a completely different animal). And what Dekker's voyage has truly been about is perfectly summed up in a recent blog entry: "The days just fly by, and I haven't had time to be bored, not even for one second." Too bad more teens don't live, and talk, like that.
www.lauradekker.nl http://solozeilster.hyves.nl/
zaterdag 27 augustus 2011
In weer en wind:
Solo sailor Laura Dekker after two ocean crossing...: Solo sailor Laura Dekker after two ocean crossings
'Laura’s journey so far - two oceans down, but still a long way to go.' ....
Solo sailor Laura Dekker after two ocean crossing...: Solo sailor Laura Dekker after two ocean crossings
'Laura’s journey so far - two oceans down, but still a long way to go.' ....
| Solo sailor Laura Dekker after two ocean crossings |
15-year-old solo sailor Laura Dekker has arrived in Darwin, her first stop after crossing the Pacific. With a shredded sail and only half an hour sleep in the last 48, the young sailor who will become the youngest ever solo circumnavigator if she completes her journey within a year from now, arrived into Darwin on Friday, after one of her most difficult legs so far. After staying awake to endure the long-winded processes that are the lot of any boat arriving into Australia from the Pacific, Laura was torn between enjoying some human company and getting some sleep. 'But I also longed to sleep... a long sleep in one stretch.... A night without shredding sails, without islands, without reefs or sandbanks, without buoys or ships... How wonderful! But my brain was still running at full speed... then slowed down, slowed down until this most active part of myself fell asleep, fell asleep into a deep and long sleep…' Laura, who will turn 16 on 20th September, still has a little over a year to sail from Darwin back to the Mediterranean to become the youngest ever circumnavigator. The most vexed question is whether she has time to avoid the pirate zone around the Gulf of Aden and take the longer route around Africa. All authoritative bodies are advising cruising sailors to avoid a large portion of the western Indian Ocean, making it impossible to reach the Red Sea and the very much shorter route.
http://www.lauradekker.com |
In weer en wind: A few photos taken by Laura Dekker as she sailed t...: A few photos taken by Laura Dekker as she sailed through the treacherous Arafura Sea to Darwin http://solozeilster.hyves.nl...
A few photos taken by Laura Dekker as she sailed through the treacherous Arafura Sea to Darwin
http://solozeilster.hyves.nl/
http://solozeilster.hyves.nl/
vrijdag 26 augustus 2011
In weer en wind: Solozeilster Laura Dekker is gisteren aangekomen i...: Solozeilster Laura Dekker is gisteren aangekomen in Darwin Solozeilster Laura Dekker is gisteren gezond en wel in Darwin aangekomen en ve...
Solozeilster Laura Dekker is gisteren gezond en wel in Darwin aangekomen en veel eerder dan verwacht. Wel met een gescheurd grootzeil, nadat op het traject door de gevaarlijke Torres Strait ook al haar genua aan flarden was gezeild. Met maar een half uurtje rust in 48 uur en het nodige papierwerk kon ze het toch nog opbrengen om ons iets te laten horen voordat ze aan haar welverdiende slaap begon.
Ze leverde weer eens een fantastische prestatie Go Laura Go!!
http://www.lauradekker.nl
http://solozeilster.hyves.nl
zaterdag 9 juli 2011
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zondag 3 juli 2011
NATUURLIJK NEDERLAND: Wilde Bloemen, Beestjes & Vogels
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zondag 19 juni 2011
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