Finally there...
January 21, 2012
Dutch teenager Laura Dekker has ended a solo boat journey lasting just over a year, claiming to be the youngest ever sailor to circumnavigate the globe.
The 16-year-old's aim of entering the record books came to public attention after Dutch authorities tried to block her trip, saying she was too young.
Dekker arrived in port at the Caribbean island of St. Maarten cheered on by crowds, breaking the current record by some eight months.
The previous claim to the record was held by Australian Jessica Watson, who finished her journey three days before turning 17. Dekker, who will not be 17 until September, originally won a court case to make the trip alone in July, 2010.
Court battle, change of plan
Dutch authorities had tried to prevent the Dekker's attempt, saying it would stunt the teenager's social and emotional growth and that she should be in school.
She set out to make the journey from Gibraltar in August of that year, but a change of course meant she had to begin again, from St. Maarten, on January 20 last year.
Unlike Watson, who made a non-stop voyage, Dekker sailed from port-to-port and was never at sea for more than three weeks.
Guinness World Records have said they will no longer recognize such records out of concern that it would encourage dangerous attempts. The World Sailing Speed Record Council, the official body for such records, has also refused.
Author: Richard Connor (AP, dpa)
Editor: Spencer Kimball