After a year of preparing herself, Laura Dekker has been given permission to sail around the world．“I was so happy that I almost jumped into the river,” Laura said, after learning of the court’s verdict(判決)．
The 14-year-old was born on a ship in the South Pacific, and currently lives with her father on a boat．When child protection agencies heard about her plan to sail alone, they took the case to court and prevented her from making such a dangerous voyage．
Since the decision, though, Laura had been preparing with her father to convince the court that she was ready．Later on, she received the books and other materials she would need for school while she was at sea．She added safety equipment to a new, big ship．And she took her first aid course to learn several survival skills, like how to put out fires on the boat, take care of her own injuries and deal with lack of sleep．She also planned a safer course --- adding alternate routes(備用路徑)to avoid pirate attacks, and planning a course that would have her on dry land as she moved from port to port across the globe．
Even with all of the added preparations, the trip still has its risks．In early June, 16-year-old Abby Sunderland, an American, had to abandon(放棄)her attempt to become the youngest sailor to travel around the world．Her ship’s mast(桅桿)broke due to rough waters in the Indian Ocean, and she was rescued by a French fishing ship．
Laura plans to take longer than Abby for her voyage, and is using a larger and more stable boat．If she finished successfully in less than two years, she will take the title from current record-holder Jessica Watson, of Australia, who was 16 when she completed the journey．
