Helena Frye
Laura Dekker, the youngest person to sail around the world alone, has had a number of adventures on the high seas. Her boat, Guppy, has been through a lot, including being wrecked on a reef in the Pacific Ocean. In one of her blog posts, Dekker describes the cockpit of Guppy being underwater regularly as she sailed through huge waves. Despite the challenges, Dekker and her crew have also experienced the beauty of the ocean, including sailing through patches of phosphorescence and enjoying the sight of flying fish jumping around.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Did Laura Dekker's boat go underwater? | Yes, the cockpit of Laura Dekker's boat, Guppy, went underwater regularly. |
| Date | 24 August 2018 |
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Reason | Breakers gathering height in the dark and crashing over Guppy with force |
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What You'll Learn
- Laura Dekker's boat, Guppy, was wrecked on a reef in the Pacific Ocean in 2018
- Guppy was donated to LifeSail, a non-profit organisation that teaches children life lessons through sailing
- Laura Dekker is the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the world alone
- Laura Dekker founded the Laura Dekker World Sailing Foundation
- The Guppy crew have adjusted well to the start of the crossing, despite the rolling
Laura Dekker's boat, Guppy, was wrecked on a reef in the Pacific Ocean in 2018
In April 2018, Guppy left New Zealand with a crew of four, including the delivery captain who was supposed to sail the boat to Los Angeles. However, during the trip, someone else skippered the boat, and it was wrecked on a reef in the Cook Islands. The yacht was bounced up and down for several days before being thrown further onto the reef during another squall. During rescue attempts, the yacht's bow was completely underwater, and it sustained significant damage, including several holes in the hull, water damage to the batteries, electronics, wiring, engines, and interior.
Dekker had donated Guppy to LifeSail, a Los Angeles non-profit organisation that uses sailing to teach life lessons to children, in late 2017. On 20 August 2018, Dekker announced that Guppy had been wrecked on a reef in the Pacific Ocean during its trip to Los Angeles. LifeSail expressed heartfelt regret to Dekker and prioritised preventing environmental impact during the salvage effort.
Guppy was a wet boat, with decks that would get wet and water in the cockpit in anything over 10 knots of wind. This caused the boat to sail slowly and roll heavily on the ocean swell. Despite this, Dekker had previously described Guppy as feeling like it was on a roller coaster as it was hit by large waves during her solo voyage around the world.
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Guppy was donated to LifeSail, a non-profit organisation that teaches children life lessons through sailing
Guppy, the boat that Laura Dekker sailed around the world in, was donated to LifeSail, a non-profit organisation that teaches children life lessons through sailing. Guppy was wrecked on a reef in the Pacific Ocean during its trip to Los Angeles. Dekker described the experience of sailing Guppy through the Indian Ocean: "It feels as though Guppy has been on a roller-coaster all night. I hear the breakers gathering height in the dark, but only see them when they crash over Guppy with force. The cockpit is underwater regularly."
LifeSail uses sailing as a vehicle to teach life lessons to children. Laura Dekker has been working towards doing long-distance educational sailings with children herself, founding the Laura Dekker World Sailing Foundation. In November 2020, Dekker and a young crew set off from Spain, heading for the Caribbean islands.
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Laura Dekker is the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the world alone
Laura Dekker is the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe alone. She completed the voyage in 2010-2011 on her boat Guppy, a 40-foot Jeanneau Gin Fizz.
Dekker founded the Laura Dekker World Sailing Foundation, which aims to do long-distance educational sailings with children. In November 2020, she and a young crew set sail from Spain to the Caribbean islands and back.
Dekker donated Guppy to LifeSail, a Los Angeles non-profit organisation that teaches life lessons to children through sailing. Unfortunately, Guppy was wrecked on a reef in the Pacific Ocean during its trip to Los Angeles in 2018.
Dekker's voyage was not without challenges. She wrote about the experience of sailing through the Indian Ocean, where the cockpit of Guppy was underwater regularly due to large waves. Despite the difficulties, she persevered and made history as the youngest solo circumnavigator.
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Laura Dekker founded the Laura Dekker World Sailing Foundation
Dekker has worked towards doing long-distance educational sailings with children. In a February 2018 interview with the American Sailing Association, Dekker announced that she had donated Guppy to LifeSail, a Los Angeles non-profit organisation that uses sailing as a vehicle to teach life lessons to children.
Dekker's voyages were not without incident. In one instance, she described how the cockpit of Guppy was underwater regularly, with breakers gathering height in the dark and crashing over the boat with force. In another instance, in August 2018, Dekker announced that Guppy had been wrecked on a reef in the Pacific Ocean by LifeSail during its trip to Los Angeles.
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The Guppy crew have adjusted well to the start of the crossing, despite the rolling
The Guppy crew have made good progress, sailing over 160nm in 24 hours. They've even had time to make vegetable lasagne. The nights are dark but clear, and without light pollution, they've been rewarded with beautiful starry nights. They've also sailed through big patches of phosphorescence, with a big trail of green blobs and dots forming behind the boat.
However, the crossing hasn't been without its challenges. Laura Dekker wrote about how Guppy had been on a roller-coaster all night, with breakers gathering height in the dark and crashing over the boat with force. The cockpit was underwater regularly, and all the hatches had to stay shut tightly, making it very stuffy inside. Despite this, the Guppy crew have persevered and adjusted well to the start of their crossing.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the cockpit of Laura Dekker's boat, Guppy, was underwater regularly during her voyage.
No, Guppy did not sink, but it was wrecked on a reef in the Pacific Ocean in 2018.
Yes, during her Atlantic Crossing, Laura Dekker saw the Milky Way and sailed through big patches of phosphorescence, which she described as "underwater stars".
