One Record and Three Strong Competitors

New Related Posts here:

http://www.womansmojorisings.com/woman-speak/2010/3/31/abby-sunderland-just-took-cape-horn.html

And here:  http://www.womansmojorisings.com/woman-speak/2010/4/15/jessica-watsons-mainsail-rips-sailor-worn-but-optimistic.html

http://womansmojorisings.com/woman-speak/2009/8/26/laura-dekker-a-living-pippi.html

 Above is the link to my first post on Laura Dekker back in August that has more information on her court woes. I had promised to update and yet when the news hit of her running away... I laughed deeply.  She had left her father a note, left her sailboat, Guppy, sitting in dock and took a ton of cash for a kid out the bank and if someone hadn't recognized her...well she would of covered a pretty good distance by now.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/20/laura-dekker-missing

A teenager who went missing from her family home in the Netherlands after authorities thwarted her attempt to become the youngest person to sail single-handed around the world has been found alive thousands of miles away on a Caribbean island.

I know there are many people that aren't on board with a 14 year old girl sailing around the world.  There are pirates, tsunami, earthquakes and all kinds of nautical lingo of things that raises a land- lover's eyebrows and evidently a government's. However...

• This is not an ordinary girl. This is a remarkable girl and she is not alone in this dream.  There are two young women out sailing for all they are worth to set their records right NOW, Jessica Watson, from Australia should finish first, followed by, Abby Sunderland, from Marina Del Rey, California.
• This is an interference in parental rights.
• This is holding her against her will and her custodial parent's will in the Netherlands, she holds citizenship in two additional countries. They won't let her travel.  And if she does, they are revoking her father's parental rights.
• It was ruled by the court that she is skilled and mature enough; she was denied her trip because they felt she would not get her education or be able to handle the psychological aspects of being alone that long. There is no better education.  And if they were concerned about the psychological, perhaps they should have thought about the stress of parents without rights and threats of no rights and holding her in a country against her will. 

  

 http://www.LauraDekker.nl  Laura's website is great! She is looking for sponsors and it all set for for her shot at the record.

 

Above:  This a new picture posted from Jessica Watson's website blog dated March 4, 2010  

Jessica turned 16 on May 18, 2009. She has a great website and her own clothing line, drop in and have a look!

http://jessicawatson.com.au/index.htm   and Jessica on Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/watsonjessica   

Above: Abby Sunderland 16 (born October 19,1993) who began her voyage on Jan 23, 2010 and estimates she will arrive back in June 2010.

Abby has a daily blog on Blogger:  http://soloround.blogspot.com and two website addresses:

http://www.abbysunderland.com  and http://www.abbysunderland.org  They are different, I found the focus on the photographs taken of Abby by photographer Lisa Gizara are quite beautiful on the .org.