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Teenage sailor on solo voyage reaches St. Maarten

The Columbian
Published: December 19, 2010, 12:00am

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.

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