Laura Dekker out on her own in Maidentrip (First Run Features)

She was called delusional, spoiled, insane. The authorities tried to stop her and pressed a court case for about a year, but failed. Nothing was able to get in the way of Laura Dekker’s journey to become the youngest person to sail around the world on a solo voyage. In her 38-foot ketch named Guppy, Dekker battled all sorts of obstacles, both on the sea and on the land. In her first feature, Jillian Schlesinger lets Dekker handle the camera and allows Laura to just be herself. While the documentary focuses on Laura’s journey, we also get a chance to see the 14-year-old Dutch girl grow and blossom in the place where she feels most at home—out on the open water.

She was born during her parents’ sailing trip around New Zealand, spent her first four years at sea, and at six owned her first boat, which she learned to sail herself. It was in 2009, at just 13 years old, when she announced that she would be going on her two-year solo sailing expedition around the globe. By her side was her father, who approved of the journey.

Schlesinger doesn’t really get into the legal issues all that much, but outlines the basic details of the court battle. Before she was able to go on her journey, Laura had to fight a Dutch court, who stepped in due to the objections of the local authorities. The Netherland’s child protection bureaucracy sought custody of Laura to prevent her from going on her trip. It took 10 months but a family court allowed Laura to finally get her journey started. As her father puts it, “They tried to break Laura down but she’s too strong.”

Once Laura’s journey begins, it’s pretty much just her and the audience going on a voyage all around the world: the Galapagos Islands, French Polynesia, Australia, St. Maarten, and South Africa. What makes Maidentrip such a rewarding experience is that she doesn’t just want to go out and break a record—she wants to see the world in all of its beauty and to meet people. It truly is inspiring to witness her voyage.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing (absolutely pun intended) though, as Laura certainly did have her struggles. For one, she goes through moments of missing her family. She also had to deal with the press at certain stops, and it’s easy to tell that she’s clearly frustrated with some of the questions thrown at her, and at certain points she just ignores them. But it’s also here where we, as viewers, have to step back and realize that she is still just a 15-year-old girl.

As for the actual sailing, there was only one real moment where Laura really feared for her well-being as well as for her boat. Sailing along the Torres Strait, which is one of the toughest places to navigate for any sailor, Laura has to avoid reefs, islands, and large ships. She was able to make it through the Strait but at a cost. Her father flew in to Australia and the time they spent together was to repair Guppy. Traveling through the Torres Strait destroyed the sails, broke the steering wheel, and damaged the boat as a whole.

When it comes down to it, Maidentrip isn’t just a documentary about a girl wanting to become the youngest sailor to go around the world. It’s a coming-of-age tale of a girl wanting to be her own person. Laura doesn’t want to be held down by anyone. When she finished her journey on January 21, 2012, in St. Maarten, she didn’t go home—she kept on sailing. In a time where strong female role models are popping up in film and television, Laura Dekker is an extraordinary, real(!) young woman, who could be a role model for many young girls.