Laura Dekker at the age of 16 years and four months, became the youngest person to sail around the world by herself.
The Dutch teen reached the Caribbean island of St. Martin on Saturday afternoon, according to The Daily Telegraph. She left just over a year ago on Jan. 20, 2011. “It’s a dream, and I wanted to do it,” she told reporters.
Dekker said that through the many difficulties and multitude of challenges of the solo voyage, there were times she wondered what she was doing. “But I never wanted to stop,” she said.
“I became good friends with my boat,” she said. “I learned a lot about myself.”
Dekker initially wanted to set sail at age 13, but was stopped by Dutch social services that claimed that she would be harmed emotionally and socially by the voyage. She finally won the court battle and was allowed to sail on condition that she used a bigger boat with better navigation equipment, learned more survival skills, and kept up with her studies.
Dekker was born on a yacht off the coast of New Zealand during her parents’ seven-year-long world trip.
Guinness World Records said they would stop recognizing records for “youngest” sailors due to the controversies over encouraging unsafe practices, so her voyage will not be noted.
Dekker beat Australian Jessica Watson’s unofficial record who finished a solo journey in 2010 just before turning 17.
