A helicopter hovers over Guppy as she heads under full sail to Simpson Bay and there are an increasing number of boats sailing in company. I recognise Dad and Mum, who are on a mega-speedboat. They are amongst a number of people I know, and, after having to look twice, I recognise my little sister, Kim, who now has bright-red hair and is waving like crazy. I wave back and my face breaks into a satisfied grin. I lower all the sails just before I get to the bridge, while the cameras follow me. I slowly steer Guppy through the same bridge that I sailed through a year ago with an enormous string of boats trailing behind.
There are a lot of people who are apparently there for me. I’m so overwhelmed that I can’t distinguish between dream and reality half the time. The whole afternoon goes by in a haze of activity, embraces and interviews. That evening we enjoy a meal on board the Sherikan, a luxury mega-yacht that we’ve been invited to.
After a good night’s rest, I manage to see the world around me with more clarity the next morning. But the feeling — the very normal feeling that I’ve sailed around the world on my own — still hasn’t changed. I take it easy in the days that follow my amazing reception, and spend much time with my family. I swim, run along the beach with Kim, walk through Philipsburg and am not too bothered about the mess I’ve left Guppy in.
My mum and sister go back to the Netherlands after almost a week on the island. Slowly, but surely, I get Guppy ready for departure, and once my Gran and Granddad are on their flight back home I sail from Saint Martin for Bonaire together with Dad. There’s a strong breeze and we are getting the most out of Guppy who has a huge white smile on her bow as she takes off. We cover the 470 miles in two and a half days! We leave Guppy in Bonaire while I fly to the HISWA Boat Fair in Amsterdam to give some presentations that will help to fill the boat’s kitty.
After this I really want to carry on sailing with Guppy; through the Panama Canal for a second time and then across the beautiful Pacific with New Zealand as my destination — the country in which I want to build my life. I may travel through Australia and backpack my way around South America; or go to Iceland or Alaska. I may even sail to Antarctica to see if the infinite white gives me the same sense of peace as the ocean. Plenty of dreams to fulfil, but I know one thing for sure — and that’s that I will always continue to sail and enjoy being at one with nature.
Picture Section
Since I was very little, I could always be found on the water
Lanzarote
The first big ocean crossing: the Atlantic
Îles des Saintes
Arrival in Saint Martin
Dominica
San Blas Islands
Bonaire
Panama Canal
Equator crossing
Galápagos
3000 nautical miles in 18 days
Reception on Hiva Oa
Moorea
Bora Bora
Homemade cookie
‘This is Guppy, over. . .’
Too much chitchat?
Messy arrived one night during a squall, and stayed with me for several days
This mat was a gift from the people of Vava’u
Darwin
An approaching squall
Departing from Port Elizabeth
The day before the storm
Chaos after the storm
Cape Town
Christmas at sea
Atlantic Ocean
Guppy is welcomed into Saint Martin
Afterword
One of the questions I was asked the most after finishing my trip was: ‘What are you going to do now?’ I had, of course, thought about this a lot myself during the trip, but never had a very good answer. And when the trip was over, I still didn’t have a great answer. I felt like people wanted me to say I was going to sail around the world again, or go to Alaska, or maybe to the moon. They wanted to hear about my next exciting goal, but I wasn’t able to give them anything exciting, and I still can’t. Well, I guess that depends on what you find exciting, but it surely wouldn’t be the equal of sailing around the world at 16. Honestly, what could I possibly do to top that?
It was, and is, of no great importance to me. I didn’t set out to break a record, or to seek recognition. I simply wanted to do it; it was a dream, a great adventure through which I wanted to explore my boundaries, and get to know nature and myself. I found all those things and much more I never could have imagined. What came next may not seem as exciting to others, but it is to me. You’d think after sailing around the world, everything else would seem easy by comparison; but actually trying to settle somewhere, to enter the real world, was a lot harder.
After my trip had officially ended in Saint Martin, I gave myself a week off with family and friends. After that week I sailed with my father to the island of Bonaire, where I stayed for a while to clear my head. I had such a jumbled mix of emotions at that time: I was happy that I had achieved my goal of sailing around the world, but was still trying to process it. At the same time I was sad, because the great journey was over. Then there were feelings of liberation: I had proven that I could actually do it, and there was no need to prove anything to anyone any more; no more rules, no more people telling me what to do and what’s best for me.
This was true in some sense, but eventually I realised that — having been the centre of attention for so long — people would always have an opinion about me. This was not an easy thing to accept. At first I hated all the attention, as I had very much hoped to live a quiet life after the trip’s end. But when that attention just didn’t go away, I decided it was better to tell my story myself, rather then try to vanish from the public eye and leave people wondering what had happened to me.
I started giving presentations all over the world for all kinds of audiences. And, to my great surprise, sharing my story has brought me a lot of joy. I’ve received many positive comments from people who had been inspired by my voyage and now wanted to fulfill their own dreams.
After the break in Bonaire I began to pursue my next dream: sailing to New Zealand. I followed the same route I had taken on my trip, through the Panama Canal towards French Polynesia. From Tahiti I sailed straight to my birth place, Whangarei, New Zealand, where I arrived on 1 September 2012. New Zealand had been a place I had wanted to go to for a very long time, and getting there was very special. It didn’t take much time before I’d decided that this was going to be my home base.
But I had never remained in one place for a long time, and wasn’t about to start now. I stayed in Whangarei for a while, but my urge to keep moving grew stronger. I worked for a scuba-diving company in the North Island for a time, bought myself a car and road-tripped through the whole of New Zealand with some new-found friends.
After that, many more land-based travels followed: through Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and many more places. I never liked the overland travels more then the ocean, but I found them more interesting in many ways. Land brings man-made things, but also animals, and an amazing amount of nature. At sea, though, I was given the opportunity to learn a lot about myself, and about the beautiful ways of nature. I learnt to accept being a small meaningless dot alone out in the open, with the winds and strong seas ruling over my life. I learnt to find happiness in little things. I learnt to get by on the bare necessities of life.
Between my travels I return to Guppy, who is now berthed in the marina of Whangarei. We’ve done some shorter trips around New Zealand and up to Norfolk Island, but she mainly functions as my home now, waiting faithfully for me while I am gone, and greeting me with many good memories when I come back. I try to travel in the New Zealand winters, when living on board Guppy can get a little fresh!
There are many ideas in my head of what to do next, and more come every day as I travel to all corners of the world and come across the different cultures and lifestyles that influence me. After bouncing around for two and a half years, I am starting to realise that it doesn’t really matter where I am; being in a certain place doesn’t br
ing me happiness. One place might bring more joy then another, but it certainly doesn’t bring happiness. Neither does money, fame or having achieved many goals. I am happy if I am able to appreciate the basic essentials of life, like having a dry, non-salty place to sleep, food and hopefully some good souls around me to share the experience with. I hope to inspire other people to pursue their dreams, and to stand up for what they feel is right.
August 2014
Appendix: Guppy
Copyright
HarperCollinsPublishers
First published in Dutch in 2013
by Alk & Heijnen
First published in English in 2014
by HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
harpercollins.co.nz
ONE GIRL ONE DREAM. Copyright © Laura Dekker 2013, 2014. Laura Dekker asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. This work is copyright. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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National Library of New Zealand cataloguing-in-publication data:
Dekker, Laura, 1995–
Ein Mädchen, ein Traum. English
One girl, one dream / Laura Dekker.
ISBN 978 1 77554 045 8 (paperback)
ISBN 978 1 77549 082 1 (ebook)
1. Dekker, Laura, 1995– — Travel.
2. Voyages around the world.
3. Single-handed sailing.
I. Title.
910.41—dc 23
Translated from the original Dutch by Lily-Anne Stroobach
Maps and boat diagrams by Michiel van der Eijk
All cover and internal images courtesy of Laura Dekker with the exception of the following: here bottom left and here bottom courtesy of Mike Ruel; here middle and here bottom left courtesy of Jillian Schlesinger; here middle courtesy of Uwe Moser; and here top courtesy of Karel Heijnen.
Cover design by Christa Moffitt, Christabella Designs
Typeset in 11.5/15pt Bembo Std by Kirby Jones
Printed and bound in Australia by Griffin Press
The papers used by HarperCollins in the manufacture of this book are a natural, recyclable product made from wood grown in sustainable plantation forests. The fibre source and manufacturing processes meet recognised international environmental standards, and carry certification.
One Girl One Dream Page 36