Column-Logbook for the Algemeen Dagblad
May 05, 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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I can go into shark infested water without fear


Something special happened to me... I am over with my phobia of sharks. Since I was eight years old I was extremely afraid of them. I was always a bit so-so about swimming in salt water and as soon as there was a little movement next to me I would just get out of the water. But now that I am in the Galápagos it is past history. There are so many sharks here, some of them much bigger than the ones that were swimming near by my boat last week. And so now I know that a diver can safely go into the water to watch them as they just swim below you... I will be staying here for a few more days...Anyway, I also have learned to surf and today I will go with a girlfriend to an island where there are real Galápagos penguins, and that mkes me curious. I am also making preparations for the crossing to the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia). So with flippers on, diving goggles and armed with a scraper, I cleaned the underwater hull from algae and shells. This is not fun work but it has to be done once a month in the tropical waters because it all grows very quickly. This leg will take longer than it took to cross the Atlantic Ocean. But I have now experienced being alone for several weeks, with storm or rain, amd being rocked by high waves, with good winds and no winds... I know about it all. It was exactly one year ago that we launched Guppy and that I sailed the first few meters with her. It strikes my imagination when I think that she has now brought me 78,809 nautical miles away from home. So, until next week!

Regards,
Laura