Laura Dekker Close to Finishing Solo Sail Around the World

Laura Dekker is about to become the youngest woman to ever sail around the world.

At the end of this month, the Dutch 16-year-old is expected to arrive at the island of St. Maarten, from where she began her trek around the globe on January 20, 2011.

Laura celebrated the New Year aboard her boat, Guppy. On her blog, she wrote that the moon, the stars, and safety light-sticks were as good a substitute as any for New Year’s fireworks.

In 2009, when Dekker first announced plans to circumnavigate the globe by boat, Dutch authorities intervened and insisted she finish school first. Child welfare authorities brought the case to court and a judge ruled that the then-13-year-old was too young to make the trip on her own.

Laura then ran away and took a plane to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, where she was arrested and sent packing back to the Netherlands.

Finally, in July 2010, a judge granted her permission to carry out her voyage – provided she agreed to a number of conditions, including continuing her secondary-school education through an online teaching program set up for Dutch-speaking children abroad.

Laura Dekker is on pace to reach port in Philipsburg on or around January 24, according to her lawyer Peter de Lange.

Her journey began about two months after Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old American girl, had to be rescued in the Indian Ocean during her own attempt sail around the world. Australian Jessica Watson completed a 210-day solo trek at age 16. Dekker is now on day 508 of her epic journey.

You can check out some photos from her trip here.

Related articles

• Teenage sailor nears end of trip around the world (foxnews.com)
• Laura Dekker nears end of world solo voyage as she sails towards St Maarten (repeatingislands.com)
• Teenage Sailor Nears End of Trip Round the World (abcnews.go.com)