Published on Thursday, 09 February 2012 21:58 | | 
At the age of 16, Laura Dekker has already fulfilled her childhood dream of sailing solo around the world. Not only did she battle with storms, sharks, isolation and the threat of pirates during her 500 day voyage; she also had to fight a legal battle with Dutch social services in the 2 years before, who said she was too young for such a trip.