PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten (AP) — A Dutch teenager attempting to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world has arrived in the Caribbean territory of St. Maarten.
Fifteen-year-old Laura Dekker has docked her twin-masted sailboat Guppy in Simpson Bay Lagoon.
Dekker arrived Sunday in St. Maarten, the last stop in the Atlantic Ocean-crossing phase of her journey. She sailed 2,200 nautical miles (2,532 land miles, 4,074 kilometers) from the Cape Verde Islands off West Africa.
Dekker’s venture stirred a debate about whether young people should be allowed to sail the world’s oceans alone.
A Dutch court originally blocked the voyage until she bought a sturdier boat and took courses in first aid and coping with sleep deprivation.