Laura Dekker, who at 15 is attempting to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone, has been warned by a top NATO official not to follow one of her planned routes through the piracy-plagued Gulf of Aden.
The Dutch adventurer, who is presently in the Caribbean and has before her a daunting Pacific Ocean crossing, had been considering a course that would require entering the Gulf of Aden from the Indian Ocean off notorious Somalia.
From there she'd pilot her 38-foot vessel through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea, toward Europe. She reportedly had planned to sail through the gulf in the company of support vessels.
Rear Admiral Hank Ort, speaking this week on Radio Netherlands Worldwide, cautioned all sailors, including Dekker, to avoid what he described as an "extremely dangerous area."
Ort said that while sailors sometimes request NATO or European Union protection during this particular crossing, it cannot be guaranteed because both agencies are busy trying to safeguard merchant shipping operations from Somali pirates.
Dekker's team has a long time to consider its options. The most obvious would be rounding the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa, but that's known for its treacherous seas and would add considerably to the length of her trip.
The intrepid adventurer, whose voyage has been highly controversial in her homeland, is presently at port on the Dutch island of Bonaire, working toward the Panama Canal. So far the trip, which is marked by a succesful Atlantic crossing, has gone remarkably well.
But her situation is expected to become far more serious after she passes through the canal, with the Pacific and Indian oceans to contend with.
-- Pete Thomas
Image courtesy of Laura Dekker, via her website
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