Column-Logbook for the Algemeen Dagblad
Thursday, November 18, 2010

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each week in her column-logbook for the Algemeen Dagblad Laura Dekker will relate her journey around the world aboard her sailboat Guppy on her attempt to become the world's youngest circumnavigator.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Skype sometimes makes me feel that I am not away from home


"I hope to arrive in Sao Nicolau, a small Cape Verdean Island, within a few hours. Again the distance away from home has increased by many hundred nautical miles. But it does not always feel that far as I keep in contact often using my communication equipment onboard the boat. I have a satellite phone that I can use to call all over the world but with a little delay on line. I also have a radio on board. While at sea other ships may pass by and then it is nice to have a little chat. And I have a mobile phone I use when I am ashore, I just buy a SIM card for the local telephone net. With this card I do not have to pay for the calls coming in from the Netherlands. And then I usually have a working internet access in my ports of call. I receive and write e-mails and use Skype so I have seen my dog Spot a few times. He barks when he hears my voice and then searches for me at home, he does not really understand where I am. So, things are much easier for me as a sailor than it was for my parents during their world trip. They wrote very long letters and spent hours with phone calls once ashore after being at sea for several weeks. Even though it is easy and fun to be able to communicate like I do, I find it somewhat irritating to be reachable during the day...or night. Via Skype I can see inside the people's living room wich is almost like being there with them. It makes me feel like I am not away from home. But I have no wish to step into The Netherlands through the screen. Surely not while it is so cold and wet there now, brr...

Viva Africa!

Laura