Maidentrip

Enjoyed Laura's adventure very much and for several different reasons. Her focus is sharp and unique for a teenager. Most adults are not quite so capable. Maybe best of all, she changed quite a bit, became wiser, learned lessons, and allowed the spell to be cast. (Minor point reduction for small gaps in the details of the oceaneering).

Maidentrip is a beautiful documentary about Laura Dekker's year and a half voyage to be the youngest person ever to sail around the world. Dekker, who is Dutch, set sail from Gibraltar in 2010 and made the journey in a year and half, finishing a few months after her 16th birthday. Her route took her to St. Martins, Panama, the Galapagos Islands, Austrailia, the Cape of Good Hope, and back to St. Martins.

This movie is amazing first because of the premise--that a girl, 14, would even try such an amazing task. We learn that Laura is no ordinary girl--from an early age she loved sailing, and in fact would sail all over Holland by herself by the age of 10. In 2009, only 13 years old, she sailed across the English Channel from Holland and back by herself. When it became known that she intended to sail around the world, Dutch authorities attempted to remove her from her father's custody to keep her from making the trip. After a court victory, the way was cleared for her.

As we follow Laura on her journey, what we realize is that, however young she is, this is a remarkable person with a vision. The trip becomes something of a work of art--she photographs it all herself-- and so is really a sort of view of the entire world through her lens. Additionally, we get to know a story of her tumultuous past and how her voyage potentially can liberate her, and the story is compelling. Laura is involved in an immense but joyful struggle to see the world, show us her experience, and even fully create herself as a person. It is an amazing story.

Are we to believe she sailed around the world, without a support team? Why are there no news articles around January 2012? Why does she always have clean hair in her videos? I am sorry, but something is not quite right. David Blaine street magician can live under water for 100 days without oxygen, and make the Statue of Liberty disappear...

Served as crew member for ten days on the tall ship Stad Amsterdam, departing from St. Maarten on 5 January 2011. Departed Sint Maarten on 20 January; visited the islands of Îles des Saintes, Dominica, Bonaire and San Blas Islands, all located in the Caribbean.

Flew home on 27 February; stayed to 10 March to speak at a boat show and other places, now a figure of considerable media attention in the Netherlands.

Completed the passage of the Panama Canal on 11 April 2011;[59] visited Pearl Islands thereafter.

I actually watched this reluctantly because someone wanted to see it, and ended up loving it. Not for the plot - there really is no plot (documentaries do that at times) except for her voyage, and the events leading up to it. To me it was just amazing that a young girl could do such an adventure alone, while others of her age were much more worried about how many followers they had on Twitter.

Much of the photography sucks (not like a cell phone is a real professional camera) - but that also adds to the feeling of realism, and pushes home the fact that there were no followers, no camera crews around - she was totally on her own. Unlike so many of the pseudo-documentaries this one is not filled with fake drama.

Maidentrip is the story of a 14-16 year old girl who wants to sail around the world alone.

As anyone who has spent time sailing alone, that is an extremely powerful premise on itself. The film maker made a brilliant decision to focus on this premise and not go to deeply into the other interesting aspects such as the mechanics of sailing or the adventures ashore. This film focuses on the type of person who wants to tackle the oceans alone as while as the freedom, loneliness and adventure of such a trip.

Where this film really shines is that to shows instead of telling. It has scenes of her finding great comfort in the company of dolphins instead of scenes of her crying or complaining. It has scenes of her silently embracing the beauty of the exotic islands she visits instead of a tourists itinerary of her shore visits. Laura is also great on camera, showing her strength, vulnerabilities and quirky teenage personality without resorting to drama or shock value.

And then the last scene... This is what made me rate this movie a 10. After completing here around the world voyage she leaves the Caribbean to head for New Zealand. In the voice over she talks about how she found a crewmate to share this new voyage with and how if she doesn't like New Zealand she will just push off for another port. It starts as a close up on "Guppy" sailing confidently under full sail and pans out until the boat is but a small spec on the giant ocean. That scene really captured the power of a young girl determined to chart her own course in life.