<p>Dutch teen Laura Dekker has became the youngest sailor to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world, a year after going to court for the right to try.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 16-year-old completed her solo round-the-world journey when she sailed into harbor on the Caribbean island of St Martin, which is shared by Netherlands and France, at 3:00 pm (0030 IST).<br /><br />Dekker, who left the island nearly a year ago to the day -- January 20, 2011 -- beat the previous record by some eight months.<br /><br />As she turns 17 on September 20, she had to complete her journey before September 16 to beat the record for the youngest sailor to make an unassisted world tour.<br />"I can't really take in what I've done," the young sailor told a press conference held just minutes after her return to dry land.<br /><br />"Sometimes I've asked myself what I was doing," she added after an emotional reunion with her parents and sister.<br /><br />"The sailing was always nice... I often saw dolphins. I enjoyed it a lot and I'm very happy," Dekker said.<br /><br />"I'll spend the next few days cleaning the boat," the 11.5 metre-long (about 38 feet) ketch, called Guppy.<br /><br />After that it's back to school, she added.Her parents were among a 400-strong crowd of well-wishers -- on shore and in small boats -- who welcomed the teen, dressed in a black tee-shirt and beige shorts.<br /><br />Just to get to the starting line, Dekker had to fight her way through the Dutch courts, who at first blocked plans for her to cast off a year earlier -- when she was just 14.<br />The court ordered her placed in the care of welfare officers on the grounds that she was too young to guarantee her safety at sea.<br /><br />She ran away to St Martin, and police had to escort her back home.She finally won her court battle with Dutch child welfare authorities in July 2010 -- after 10 months -- and set sail, originally from Gibraltar on August 21, 2010 in her yacht Guppy.<br /><br />But a change of her planned course led her to make the starting point from her trip St Martin instead.<br /><br />Born on a boat in New Zealand of a seafaring family, Dekker also lived on a boat in the Netherlands with her father Dick and dog Spot before setting out on her voyage.<br /><br />The previous record holder was Australian Jessica Watson, who achieved it in May 2010, three days before she turned 17.<br /><br />But unlike Watson, who circumnavigated non-stop, Dekker sailed from port-to-port and was never at sea for more than three weeks.<br /><br />Dekker's achievement will not be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records however, as it has refused to recognize records by minors which are considered "unsuitable."</p>
<p>Dutch teen Laura Dekker has became the youngest sailor to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world, a year after going to court for the right to try.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 16-year-old completed her solo round-the-world journey when she sailed into harbor on the Caribbean island of St Martin, which is shared by Netherlands and France, at 3:00 pm (0030 IST).<br /><br />Dekker, who left the island nearly a year ago to the day -- January 20, 2011 -- beat the previous record by some eight months.<br /><br />As she turns 17 on September 20, she had to complete her journey before September 16 to beat the record for the youngest sailor to make an unassisted world tour.<br />"I can't really take in what I've done," the young sailor told a press conference held just minutes after her return to dry land.<br /><br />"Sometimes I've asked myself what I was doing," she added after an emotional reunion with her parents and sister.<br /><br />"The sailing was always nice... I often saw dolphins. I enjoyed it a lot and I'm very happy," Dekker said.<br /><br />"I'll spend the next few days cleaning the boat," the 11.5 metre-long (about 38 feet) ketch, called Guppy.<br /><br />After that it's back to school, she added.Her parents were among a 400-strong crowd of well-wishers -- on shore and in small boats -- who welcomed the teen, dressed in a black tee-shirt and beige shorts.<br /><br />Just to get to the starting line, Dekker had to fight her way through the Dutch courts, who at first blocked plans for her to cast off a year earlier -- when she was just 14.<br />The court ordered her placed in the care of welfare officers on the grounds that she was too young to guarantee her safety at sea.<br /><br />She ran away to St Martin, and police had to escort her back home.She finally won her court battle with Dutch child welfare authorities in July 2010 -- after 10 months -- and set sail, originally from Gibraltar on August 21, 2010 in her yacht Guppy.<br /><br />But a change of her planned course led her to make the starting point from her trip St Martin instead.<br /><br />Born on a boat in New Zealand of a seafaring family, Dekker also lived on a boat in the Netherlands with her father Dick and dog Spot before setting out on her voyage.<br /><br />The previous record holder was Australian Jessica Watson, who achieved it in May 2010, three days before she turned 17.<br /><br />But unlike Watson, who circumnavigated non-stop, Dekker sailed from port-to-port and was never at sea for more than three weeks.<br /><br />Dekker's achievement will not be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records however, as it has refused to recognize records by minors which are considered "unsuitable."</p>
