whitneyrennie 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.

TxMike I remember a few years ago when news of this planned trip was going around and, knowing nothing else, I too was one of those who said "The girl and her parents must be crazy." Now, after seeing this excellent film and learning more about the girl I have changed my mind completely. She was born on a boat, spent the first 5 years of her life sailing with her mom and dad, she has been sailing solo since she was 6, and even though she is small she is sailing-strong and sailing- wise. The trip she made certainly isn't for everyone but it was just right for her.Laura Decker announced her intention when she was only 13. Right away the Dutch government tried to stop her, even taking the case to court. But after almost a year of haggling the court finally did the right thing and said it was a decision Laura and her parents had to make.The yacht might seem large to some, but for sailing the mighty oceans a 40-foot boat is pretty small. But she and her dad, a boat builder, outfitted it specifically for the trip and sponsors gave instruments for her navigation. But I was impressed to see that she also had old-fashioned charts and a sextant so that she could navigate even if the instruments with GPS guidance failed.All the filming at sea was done by Laura herself. Often she would mount the camera at a strategic spot to film what was going on but the camera was not mounted rigidly and the slight to-fro movement added a lot of the sense of being there. Much of the filming was done in her cabin and kitchen area and in most respects what we see is your typical teenager, acting goofy like a typical teenager, but on a fantastic trip. And relishing the alone time.At times the water and winds were too calm for days at a time and boredom set in. At other times windy storms came up things get real exciting but Laura simply sailed smartly with no time for fear. And when she was on deck she always had on her harness and safety rope. It is very clear that she knew what she was doing.The other nice touch, she didn't try to sail around the world as fast as she could, instead she took almost 2 years and stopped along the way many times to spend time and enjoy the local sights and culture. By the time she got to Darwin, Australia her sails were ripped and several parts of the boat were damaged. Her dad flew there to meet her and together they spent most of 4 weeks completely renovating the boat for the rest of her journey.Laura Dekker is not your ordinary teenager, and as she was nearing completion of her trip at St. Maartens she decided she didn't want to return to Holland. Instead she kept going, until she arrived in New Zealand, a country she already had citizenship by virtue of her birth there. Getting a job to earn money and continue to become a better sailor.My thoughts would have been quite different if she had perished at sea, but she didn't. Some people are just born to do things that others would not. It reminds me of a young Charles Lindbergh who flew solo across the Atlantic in 1927, or a young Mozart who was composing before he was 10. Quite a nice film, I found my self watching it twice on Netflix streaming films.

steve-t-duffy I thoroughly enjoyed this film. As others have mentioned this movie is about the maturing of a young teenager into a young woman through her sailing journey. What I've enjoyed most about this film is the genuine aspect of her journey, she wasn't handed a million dollar sailing yacht with enough tech to sail itself around the world. Laura and her father picked up a relatively inexpensive and broken down boat and fixed it up themselves. At her launch there was only a handful of people seeing her off and her own mother didn't make it. There was no huge fanfare and you had the feeling that the general public never thought she would make it. Laura didn't have a camera crew or support boats following her around. The at sea filming was done by herself and very insightful as to what was going through her head at various stages of the journey. This film is a coming of age film and challenges us to rethink what is possible when we set our minds to a particular task.I've watched the Abby Sunderland and just couldn't compare the two. This film was inspiring as it was a great story.

intelearts This extraordinary documentary is a winner. Laura Dekker's story is one not just for marine enthusiasts but for everyone. It has the potential to inspire through its simple acknowledgment that boundaries are imposed by others and not by ourselves.The documentary is mainly just Laura and her boat, Guppy. It reminded this reviewer a lot of the same feeling as Redford's superb All is Lost, and is certainly way better than many other ocean sailing films and documentaries made at huge expense. Maidentrip is simple, clear, very well-edited, with some clever graphics, and it makes for a very good watch indeed.Above all, this is a film that you wish would be shown to Laura's age group - it demonstrates beyond doubt that allowed the chance they really can be an amazing generation.