Swedish women are among the most liberated in the world. Georgina Stojiljkovic takes out to sea as captain of her own boat for the June 2011 issue of Elle Sweden. Styled by Lisa Lindqwister in a wardrobe of practical fashion and captured by Andreas Sjodin, Georgina is a modern 21st century woman at sea.

Laura Dekker Update

Seeing this editorial reminded us to check in on Laura Dekker, the young Dutch girl sailing around the world. Laura has arrived in French Polynesia, crossing the Pacific, alone in Guppy, in the same time she crossed the Atlantic. The distance is 800 miles further, she writes in her blog.

Everyone is wondering how I could make the crossing within 17 days and 22 hours. Except for a big 66-feet yacht, I could not yet find another boat that did the crossing faster than Guppy. And during conversations the question is often raised about how I managed to be that fast. Mostly they conclude that I must have been towed by a whale - or that I am the “Flying DutchGIRL”.. Unfortunately being so fast did not prevent Guppy from collecting underwater growth on her hull on the way over here. And so I spent half of my day today under Guppy once again, armed with diving goggles and a scraper.

We’ll catch up with Laura tomorrow, but you can read her story and young woman determination to set sail, escaping the control of Danish social services, who were understandably concerned about her health and wellbeing. A majority of women judges set Laura free.

It seems that the expert sailor made the decision to take the long route, which will keep her clear of Somalia and its pirates. We’ll do our homework and report tomorrow. God speed, Laura!! Anne