Two weeks ago, sixteen year old sailor Laura Dekker arrived at her first South African port after successfully crossing the Indian Ocean - one of the world's most dangerous and unpredictable bodies of water.

Dekker, who was born on a yacht in New Zealand to a Dutch father and German mother, is the latest young sailor to embark on the journey to become "the youngest" to circumnavigate the globe solo.

While the Indian Ocean knocked her around, flooding the cabin of her boat "Guppy" several times, she avoided the fate that struck American teen sailor Abby Sunderland who was on the same quest in the same ocean when she was hit by a rogue wave in June 2010.

Yet Dekker's feat was not lost on Sunderland. "Congratulations to Laura Dekker for crossing the Indian Ocean successfully! It is a huge accomplishment and I couldn't be happier for her," she said by email via Dekker's manager Lyall Mercer.

Mercer - who is also Sunderland's publicist and guided her through the intense media pressure after her rescue - describes both girls as able sailors and rejects criticism of their parents.

"It's hypocritical for people who have no idea where their teenage kids are at nights to sit in judgement of the parents of Laura and Abby who have allowed their daughters to tackle great sporting challenges only after the highest level of training, preparation and support," he said.

While Sunderland is now tackling a college degree, Dekker has arrived at Cape Town where she'll catch up with her father Dick, who flew in from The Netherlands. She will leave Cape Town in approximately two weeks and is on target to overtake Australian Jessica Watson's "youngest" record.