Meet Laura Dekker, the world’s youngest solo circumnavigator. She was born on September 20, 1995 in New Zealand, during a seven-year sailing trip by her parents. During these years, her father, Dick Dekker, worked as a boatbuilder and her mother, Babs Müller, was a street performer. They traveled for another five years before returning to Holland.
Dekker started sailing alone at the age of 6 and as she got older, she sailed in competitive dinghy races and offshore later on. She has owned several boats, all named “Guppy.” In May 2009 she sailed Hurley 700, a 7 meters seaworthy boat, alone across to England. After that journey, she wanted to achieve one of her biggest dreams, to sail around the world.
In 2010, at a tender age of 15, she set off on a journey to sail solo around the world, with the consent of her parents and Dutch government. After one year and five months of almost non-stop sailing, she successfully completed her solo circumnavigation in her 38ft Ketch sailboat.
Today, Dekker serves as a motivational speaker, professional captain, author and world traveler, sharing her passions and life lessons to everyone and inspiring young people to follow their dreams.
