Tag archives for Sailing
Posted by National Geographic Adventure has chosen their ten Adventurers of the Year. Readers are now encouraged to vote for their favorites for the People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year. One of the adventurers, 16-year-old Jessica Watson, circumnavigated the globe solo this May. It took 210 days, but she did it–and became the youngest person to make the journey while she was at it! Raised on sailboats, Jessica had been training her whole life to make this difficult voyage, with the support of her parents.
Sometimes the journey was scary, but Jessica says there were plenty of good moments, too. “The Pacific was easy sailing, smooth and fun. In the Southern Ocean, around Cape Horn, the albatrosses were just amazing, surfing down the face of the waves. One of the great things about sailing is no two days are really the same.”
What was your best adventure in 2010? Leave a comment below and tell us!
Read about all of the 2010 nominees, then vote for your favorite on National Geographic Adventure.
Want to read more about kids having adventures? Check out the Hands-On Explorer blog.
Photograph by Sergio Dionisio, Getty Images
Adventurers of the Year Chosen
National Geographic Adventure has chosen their ten Adventurers of the Year. Readers are now encouraged to vote for their favorites for the People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year. One of the adventurers is only 12 years old: Matt Moniz, a mountain climber. Matt’s big 2010 adventure was this summer. In less than two months, Matt climbed the highest point in all 50 states with his dad.
Matt thinks it’s really important that kids get outside. “It’s important to try to encourage kids to go outside and protect public land. In another 30 years, if we had a president who just grew up in the city and played video games all his life, he might not be as focused on protecting our land,” he says.
What was your best adventure in 2010? Leave a comment below and tell us!
Read about all of the 2010 nominees, then vote for your favorite on National Geographic Adventure.
Want to read more about kids having adventures? Check out the Global Bros blog.
Photograph courtesy Matt Moniz
Last year, a Dutch court ruled that Laura Dekker was too young to sail around the world by herself. Laura is now 14, and she is on her way to Portugal on her yacht, Guppy. In September, Laura will begin her official attempt to break the record for the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe sailing solo. The current record holder, Jessica Watson, broke the record in May at the age of 16.
Would you want to sail around the world alone?
Read more about Laura in the Associated Press article.
See a video of Laura on the the BBC.
Photograph by Bas Czerwinski, AP
Photograph by Bart Muhl/AP
Laura Dekker is a girl with a dream–to be the youngest person to circumnavigate (sail around) the world alone in her yacht, Guppy. Laura isn’t new to sailing. She was born on a boat in New Zealand, and was sailing solo on lakes when she was six years old. She sailed across the English Channel to England and back at her father’s insistence that she prove herself before tackling the open ocean. Laura is 13 years old.
A Dutch court has ruled that Laura is too young to make the trip alone, and has placed her under state supervision for two months to make sure she stays on dry land.
Do you think 13 is too young to sail solo around the world? How old do you think someone should be before sailing such a huge distance alone?
Read more about Laura Dekker on the BBC.
Read about a man’s attempt to circumnavigate the world on his own power on National Geographic Kids.
