Solo sailor chases record

THE manager for 14-year-old Dutch sailor Laura Dekker says she will set off today on her venture to become the youngest person to make a solo voyage around the world.

Peter Klarenbeek says Dekker will depart from the southern Portuguese port of Portimao, but did not give the exact timing.

Speaking from Dekker’s yacht yesterday, Klarenbeek said the teenager was at sea doing final equipment tests before her approximately year-long journey.

Dekker won a legal battle last month when a court released her from the guardianship of Dutch child protection agencies who had tried to block her venture because of fears for her safety and psychological health.

She arrived in Portugal on her red-hulled, 11.5-metre ketch Guppy on August 14 in a docking kept under wraps from the media at her own request.

The girl wants to break the record for the youngest world solo sail set in May by Australian teenager Jessica Watson. Watson completed a non-stop, unassisted round-the-world trip a few days before her 17th birthday.

Dekker turns 17 on September 20, 2012.