One Girl, One Dream

Laura Dekker (2014)

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THE A5 BOOK REVIEW

One Girl, One Dream is the autobiographical account of the youngest person ever to sail alone around the world. After persuading her father to let her go and then fighting with Dutch authorities for months to approve the trip, Laura Dekker started her extraordinary journey in 2010 at the age of 14 on her 38 foot two-masted ketch named Guppy. The trip took about 17 months in total, and the story of Dekker's motivation and her fortitude is of course inspiring. She had to face wild seas and long stretches of boredom, twice being alone on the boat for over six weeks at a time. The book is written in her own words, providing a real life view into what it was like day to day and to why this adventure was so important to her. All in all, One Girl, One Dream is an inspirational story, both for young women and for all those moved by independence and the will to succeed.

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OTHER A5 RECOMMENDATIONS ON PEOPLE WHO SAILED AROUND THE WORLD

While Joshua Slocum might have been first to create the youth-who-sailed-around-the-world genre, there are several other great books. Each has its own appeal, and it is also interesting to see how these young sailors were affected by those who went before them.

book cover of Sailing Alone Around the World

book cover of The Boy Who Sailed Around the World

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GREAT QUOTES FROM ONE GIRL, ONE DREAM

“The day has finally dawned. I'm actually leaving today and Guppy will be my home for the next two years. When I wake up at six in the morning and look outside, I notice that there are a couple of camera crews in motion again. Sigh. There are just a few to start with, but soon there are dozens. Even the Russian state television is present. There is also a growing crowd in Den Osse. Everyone wants a glimpse of Guppy and me. Hmm. I say farewell to my family for the upteenth time, and then walk onto the quayside just after nine. Surrounded by dozens of journalists, photographers, and television crews who are pushing me closer to the water's edge, I give a short interview. I answer the same questions over and over again in both Dutch and English. They ask me if I'm scared of pirates (no), how long I'll be away (two years), and if I think I'll succeed in being the youngest sailor ever to sail single-handedly around the world (well, I'm about to find out!).”

INTERESTING LINKS:

Laura Dekker got a copy of Maiden Voyage, the amazing story of the around the world sailing trip taken by Ameican Tania Aebi in 1985. (source: Wikipedia). This perhaps partially inspired her trip and the name of the documentary film, Maidentrip, produced in 2014.
Wikipedia also has a great list of teenagers who have sailed around the world. Note that A5 Travel Books highlights three of these kids: Robin Lee Graham (The Boy Who Sailed Around the World Alone), Tania Aebi (Maiden Voyage), and of course Laura Dekker.
Learn more about Laura Dekker at the Laura Dekker World Sailing Foundation.