January 20, 2011
Translation for Zeilmeisje Laura Dekker on Facebook
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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.
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A cartoon character


An animation movie about me is in production. In the days after I left the clipper Stad Amsterdam a group of young American filmmakers has been following me around. They filmed a few scenes and from time to time I had to make a comment in front od the camera. Those takes will alternate with drawn pictures in the film. I am curious about the result. To me this is a very funny idea and really how will I look as a cartoon hero? Anyway I don't see myself as a real hero of any kind. Now that I have seen each and everyone of Sint Maarten's palm trees it is time for me to sail on and head for the Îsles des Saintes today. So yesterday I was busy making Guppy presentable but I did not really succeed. My cleaning attempt ended in an even bigger mess than if I hadn't tried. But I did do all the other things on my checklist. I stored my dinghy and checked all the sails again, I refilled with diesel fuel and the fresh water, I made food provisions and I went to the Customs Office for clearance, that is how it is officially called. That was necessary because I am going to a different country ... to France! Well OK, not mainland France but to Îles des Saintes in Guadeloupe. It is just 28 hours of sailing from here so it will be a small leg for me. But in any case I am eager to sail the sea again. From there I will go island hopping until I reach Bonaire sometime around February 10th. But I still have another task to do before my departure and that is to clean Guppy's hull under the waterline because it is full of marine growth. So I will sail to an anchorage further at sea and go underwater swimming to remove with a scraper the seaweeds, snails, shells and all the other stuff that I want to be sure is not there anymore. Happily, some friends will come over to help me so even thought it is kind of a dirty job it might become fun after all.

So until next week - probably from Dominica then,

Laura