Dutch Girl Laura Dekker, 14, Sets Off on Global Sailing Trip

(Aug. 4) -- She was born on a boat, she lives on a boat, and at age 14 she's determined to become the youngest ever to sail one around the world on her own.

Laura Dekker left the small Dutch harbor town of Den Osse this morning for Portugal, where her effort will officially get under way.

She was accompanied on the 38-foot yacht Guppy by her father, Dick, who said he went along on the ride just to make sure everything was in working order before Laura pulls up anchor in Lisbon and heads for the open seas alone.

"I am not really afraid," she told journalists and supporters who jammed the dock to see her off.

Marcel Antonisse, AFP / Getty Images

Laura Dekker, 14, waves Wednesday as she sets out for Portugal, where she is to launch her bid to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.

She's already won one battle, after a court order released her from the guardianship of child protection services last week and her mother withdrew her initial objection to the voyage. To gain the court's support, Laura took emergency training, finished another year of school and took a course in first aid.

"I can be sailing now, and that's great!" she told reporters.

The voyage drew extra concern after 16-year-old Abby Sunderland of California had to be rescued in the Indian Ocean last month after the mast of her yacht snapped as she attempted a solo trip around the world.

Laura's lawyer Peter de Lange said that after studying what happened in that incident, he had concluded that Abby was in the "wrong boat, at the wrong place at the wrong time," Reuters reported.

If Laura wants to beat the record, she will have to return to Lisbon by Sept. 16, 2012, and in a way time is on her side.

In May, 16-year-old Australian Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail nonstop and unassisted around the world, a journey she completed in 210 days.

But Laura's trip won't follow the same pattern. She plans to stop at ports along the way, and according to The Associated Press might even return home to catch up with her studies before getting back on deck.

She said she wasn't afraid of pirates that have been plaguing the Gulf of Aden because she expected to be accompanied by a protective convoy.

Laura, who was born on a boat off New Zealand during a seven-year world trip and lives with her father in the harbor she left this morning, had her own yacht at age 6 and went solo at 10, the BBC reported.

Is there anything she will really miss when she's sailing the seven seas?

Yes, she replied, her dog Spot.