PORTIMAO, Portugal — A 14-year-old Dutch sailor departed in secrecy from Gibraltar on Saturday on her quest to become the youngest person to sail solo around the worldavoiding the media because, her manager said, she didn’t want the attention.
Laura Dekker, left, was in good spirits as she started sailing her 38-foot ship, “Guppy,” from the British territory bordering the southwestern tip of Spain, on a trip expected to last a year or more, said her manager, Peter Klarenbeek.
The attempt has been criticized by Dutch child- protection authorities, who questioned the wisdom of a child risking the world’s oceans alone.
“She said goodbye to her father and friends, and she sailed away into the horizon,” said Holland’s MasMedia company, which has exclusive TV rights to film her voyage. She is en route to Spain’s Canary Islands or Portugal’s Madeira Island, depending on the wind, said Marijke Schaaphok, MasMedia’s director. The Associated Press; Getty Images file photo
