linda collison's Sea of Words
charting a course from imagination to publication
Tonight as I prepare our Christmas dinner on land I find myself thinking of Laura having her Christmas dinner in the Atlantic Ocean, with only her thoughts and dreams for company (and of course her sailboat, Guppy, a French-built 11.5-metre (38 ft) two-masted Jeanna Gin Fizz ketch.)
This sixteen-year-old circumnavigator is no stranger to boats and large bodies of water; Laura was born on a boat in the port of Whangarei, New Zealand, during a seven-year sojourn by her European parents (who later divorced.) By the time she was six years old Laura was making solo passages in a dinghy across the lake. At thirteen, she made her first major solo voyage from the harbor of Maurik in the Netherlands making landfall in Lowestoft, England (where the authorities contacted her father to come accompany her on the return voyage.)
Dekker’s plan to circumnavigate solo when she was fourteen received extensive international attention and Dutch authorities intervened, prohibiting her from doing so, but Laura was not to be so easily dissuaded. She hopped a plane for the Caribbean.
When the Dutch court ended supervision of Dekker in July, 2010, announcing it was “up to the girl’s parents to decide whether she can make the trip,”Dekker reported that she would depart “within two weeks.” She later commented about the authorities in an interview, saying “They thought it was dangerous. Well, everywhere is dangerous. They don’t sail and they don’t know what boats are, and they are scared of them.” Wikipedia
Laura’s Christmas Eve blog:
24-12-2011
“At dawn today the sunlight promised a cloudless day. I should have touched wood because Guppy is now surrounded by curtains of rain and dark clouds again… But I can spend hours just watching the sky and its fascinating creations. Today it was dark and threatening clouds next to white clouds and grey clouds with some scattered spots of blue sky here and there… which in the evening created an amazing sunset made of beautiful sunlight rays. Yesterday the clouds gathered in an arch that reached down to the sea far on the horizon and when the sun came down floating in the water it turned the arch into a barrel vault of lights, which was just wonderful to see… But now the waves have taken some very annoying patterns as the wind shifted, making for cross seas making us wallow heavily at times. Even though the sea may be calm for half an hour or so, it would be a mistake to leave things lying around thoughtlessly otherwise… Woosh! Oh yes, another mega-wave comes and then you better duck because here comes the frying pan flying at you in a murder attempt … or alternately it bring a rice pack to fall out of a locker to kiss the floor… You get three guesses to figure how I spent the rest of the day today 
”
Laura
Here is Laura’s approximate position on Christmas Eve, 2011. (From her official blog) She is bound for Saint Martin in the Caribbean (see Rick Spillman’s Old Salt Blog)
Merry Christmas and Godspeed, Laura!
A tallship experience for Coast Guard cadets 
I first saw this YouTube video on The Fiddeye Guide, Joe Follansbye’s remarkable website, an encyclopedia for the lover of American maritime history. The video is an excerpt from a 1999 documentary following new cadets on their voyage aboard the U.S. S. Eagle, a Coast Guard sailing vessel used to teach team building as well as the history and traditions of the maritime profession to select cadets.
I was thrilled and proud to see so many young American women alongside the men aboard the Eagle. When it comes to climbing the rigging, the differences between men and women are equalized. It does not require brute strength but a willingness to overcome a natural fear of heights, attention to safety and instruction, and self-confidence.
Watching this video I was reminded of my 3 weeks aboard HM Bark Endeavour in 1999, when I was a voyage crew member and one of the foremast watch along with my husband Bob, who served for a week as Captain of the Tops. I learned what it’s like to do a man’s work aboard a ship, and I began to think about what it might have been like to have been a woman in disguise working aboard a ship in the age of sail… (In all honesty, it was a lot of hard work. When I wasn’t bloody exhausted I was hungry, or terrified. OK, terrified is a bit extreme. Let’s say I vacillated between moderately anxious and fearful for the first two weeks. By week three I was actually enjoying the whole experience, even climbing aloft and going out on the foot rope like a circus performer, to make or furl sail. (watch the video!)
Watching this U.S. Coast Guard clip I feel admiration for these fresh-faced, confident young women and men who are serving our country and gaining an appreciation for the discipline and teamwork required to sail a traditional vessel. My fictional Patricia MacPherson would find her place at last in this 21st century, when as a woman she could be a surgeon or a sailor — if she could prove herself. (Well, at least in America or Britain she could. There are many countries and cultures where that is still not possible, where women are still chattel.)
Now that reminds me of 9/11, and that attack on the United States makes me fear for the freedom of women everywhere. Yes, men too. But particularly for women. Our own freedoms came about gradually as the rights of most of the population of the United States (women and blacks) were not included in the original Constitution of the United States. Blacks – and women of any color – were not yet citizens in 1776. ”Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” were not intended for us.
At the time of the American Revolution there was no system of public education for women in the United States. Married women had no legal status, could not vote, sign contracts or bequeath property. We weren’t quite slaves, yet we were property of a sort and our options as females were limited.
In my historical fiction novels one of the themes I explore is what it might have been like to have been a British born woman in the 18th century, trying to survive in a man’s world; a world that could be brutally harsh even if you were a man. Or a woman pretending to be a man…
Teens have always been notorious risk-takers. Still, it’s difficult for us to imagine our teenage daughters and sons setting out to sail alone around the world. Yet the world was discovered, conquered, settled, and populated largely by teenagers. And why not girls? There have always been women who took to the water, who made ships and boats their home, although history has largely downplayed their efforts and contributions. I’ve always thought there have been far more extraordinary women than we’ve ever heard about.
Godspeed, girls!
From Richard Spillman’s Old Salt Blog
One year ago, Laura Dekker, now 15, set sail on her attempt to sail around the world alone. If she continues at her current pace, she will be the youngest person to ever complete a solo circumnavigation. Perhaps the most interesting thing about her voyage is that setting records doesn’t seem to be the primary goal.
In May of last year Jessica Watson, 17, became the youngest person ever to circumnavigate non-stop after completing an 8 month marathon sail. Abby Sunderland attempted to replicate Watson’s accomplishment. In order to finish the sail, however, while still younger than Watson and thereby be able to claim the title of “youngest,” Sunderland had to sail late in the season and was dismasted in an Indian Ocean storm.
Laura Dekker’s voyage began with an extended court battle over whether or not the then 14 year old should be allowed to sail alone. Her actual sail, by contrast, has been relatively drama free. Last August, she sailed from Gibraltar to the Canary Islands, where she prudently waited out the hurricane season before crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean. Rather than rounding Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope, she transited the Panama Canal. After a leisurely sail across the Pacific she is now in the Coral Sea, bound for Darwin, Australia. To reach Darwin she must navigate the infamous reef-strewn Torres Strait between Papua New Guinea and Cape York Peninsula in northeast Australia. The last major passage of her trip will be across the Indian Ocean.
If Dekker completes her voyage and becomes the youngest to sail around the world alone, Jessica Watson will still hold the title of the “youngest non-stop circumnavigator.” Nevertheless, Laura Dekker’s voyage has never appeared to be about titles and records, in any case.
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