Meet Laura Dekker, the youngest person to sail solo around the world

Laura Dekker holds the world record for being the youngest person to sail solo around the world. She began her journey in August 2010 when she was 14 years old and finished in January 2012 when she was 16.

In this conversation, we talk about what prompted her to take on a voyage this challenging, how she navigated (and eventually won) her fight with the Dutch government, and how she plans to use the lessons she learned as a young sailor to parent her own kids.

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TIME STAMPS:

00:00 - Intro
00:36 - Her passion for sailing
01:26 - Her parents' divorce
03:57 - Her school experience
05:53 - Learning through apprenticeship
08:22 - Sailing from England to Holland at age 13
14:33 - Deciding to sail around the world solo
17:58 - Taking on the Dutch government
24:43 - What her parents thought about her sailing solo
25:51 - The reason behind the voyage
27:01 - Was she nervous about doing it alone?
29:22 - Coping with the loneliness
32:47 - Why she didn't undertake a commercial trip
34:30 - Celebrating two birthdays by herself
35:47 - What she learned about herself
38:12 - The hardest part of the journey
39:51 - The most dangerous situation at sea
41:37 - What do you do after achieving your dream at such a young age?
44:27 - Would she let her kids take on a similar challenge
46:20 - Teaching her kids to be entrepreneurial
49:23 - How Laura defines success