Maidentrip (2013)

Would you allow your 14-year old daughter to sail around the world by herself?

It was a question which many parent in the Netherlands asked in 2009 when Laura Dekker wanted to do this. When a civil servant heard about her plan, which would mean a big impact on her going to school, he made a note of it, which finally ended up in a court case. She was placed under responsibility of the state and with that her plan to sail around the world seemed to be merely a dream she would never be able to realise.

Everyone had an opinion about it and many thought it was irresponsible of the parents to have their daughter make such a long and dangerous journey by herself. Many based this on very limited knowledge of the case. Finally Laura Dekker won her court case and could start her journey. This movies documents that trip around the world.

Besides her journey it also shows how Laura grew up. Her parents loved to sail and she grew up doing that. When her parents separated she chose to live with her father who stimulated her passion for sailing. It meant she quickly knew her was around a ship and gained a lot of experience. Before she started her big journey around the world she had already sailed to the UK and back. The boat she uses, Guppy, was in bad shape when she got it. Together with her dad she restored it and because of it knows the boat very well.

She started her attempt to be the youngest girl to have ever sailed around the world on August 21st 2010 and reached the finish line on the 21st of January 2012. During almost two year she filmed most of the documentary herself. The result is an interesting travel documentary, not only of that journey, but also of her growing up, from a girl to a young woman. Sailing allows her to think a lot about what she wants out of life. One of the decisions is to never return to the Netherlands again, changing the flag of her ship from Dutch to the flag of New Zealand as she was born there.

This documentary shows her journey in a playful way (by use of a map) where it is all about her experiences. Not much is shown about the hardships of sailing itself, with the focus mainly on Laura and her personal story. Although she wants to make the history books she also makes sure to visit various countries to gain life knowledge and spend time with other sailors. If there is one thing that becomes clear, it is that Laura Dekkers was born to live on sea and doesn’t want to do anything else. Life on a sailboat offers her freedom which she really cherishes. The kind of freedom most of us do not have and it is inspiring to see there is another way to live your life.