96. MAIDENTRIP

would you let your 14yo daughter sail solo around the world?  laura's parents did, but only after a court battle in defense of the parenting decision.  laura was born on a sailboat and lived her first 5 yrs of life on it.  after her parent's divorce, she went to live with her dad and continued sailing.  she got her own boat, the guppy, which she and her dad restored.  then she set sail from holland for a 2 yr adventure, covering like 90,000 nautical miles.  for the most part, the film doesn't really show anything harrowing, although there was definitely a rough patch around the cape of good hope. we don't see laura be worried, or homesick.  we don't see her obsessing about details of her trip.  we do see her mature.  we see her explore her port stops.  we see her befriend other sailors.  she was probably built exactly to do what she is doing.  it's likely she'll not live on land again for quite some time, and most likely never in holland, where she lived with her dad.  it's a coming of age story and the sense is that, although she broke a record in being the youngest to sail solo around the world, it was really more of a longing for the sea; a need to be on the water.  she is a girl with goals and the parents to allow her growth.  fascinating!