Record-breaking Kids Fly, Sail & Climb to Success!
When you’re a kid you can’t wait to have a try at ‘grown-up’ things like driving, but these record-breaking kids take that sense adventure to the extreme.
Kids flying into the record books
In August 2022, British-Belgian teenager Mack Rutherford became the youngest person to fly solo around the world at the age of 17. In doing so, he beat the Guinness World Record set in 2021, by young Brit Travis Ludlow, who completed the challenge at the age of 18 years and 150 days.
During his epic trip, which was documented on the MackSolo website, Mack flew a ‘Shark’ ultralight aircraft across five continents and two oceans. Mack landed back in Sofia, Bulgaria right where his journey began five months earlier in March 2022. As part of the flight he even stopped off at Biggin Hill Airport in Kent – former RAF Battle of Britain airfield and home to Into The Blue!
This was not the first time Mack made history. At just 15 years and two weeks, he became the youngest pilot in the world to gain a pilot’s licence. Flying fever clearly runs in the family, as Mack’s parents are both pilots. Sister Zara is currently the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, a record which she achieved in January 2022 aged just 19.
Climbing the highest mountains as a kid
Another record-breaking kid is American climber Jordan Romero. He was just 13 years old when he reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2010. Obviously this was not achieved alone and his climbing party included his parents and a number of sherpas, who gave much essential help along the way.
The following year, he became the youngest climber in the world to complete the Seven Summits – the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. However, all of this was not without controversy, with some criticising Jordan and his family over concerns for the physical and mental demands of such trips on a child. You can read Jordan’s record-breaking story and decide for yourself what you think!
The last record-breaking kid to sail the world!
In an effort to dissuade ever-younger people from attempting risky voyages, record-breaking attempts by kids are no longer recognised in the sailing world. Therefore the last ‘official’ youngest round-the-world sailor is Dutch woman Laura Dekker, who completed her solo voyage at the age of 16 years and 123 days.
Laura was born in New Zealand to parents who lived on a boat and she first sailed solo aged just six. Her dream of crossing the globe began at the age of ten. The law courts in the Netherlands originally refused to allow Dekker to embark on the voyage at the age of 14, on the grounds that she was too young to look after herself at sea. In July 2010 she finally won her battle with the Dutch authorities and set sail onboard her boat Guppy for her year-long, record-breaking journey, which she completed in January 2012.
Nowadays Laura teaches sailing and runs sailing camps onboard Guppy 2 for kids of all ages through the Laura Dekker Sailing Foundation. And whilst they are not record-breaking, they are hugely motivating and fantastic fun for the children who do take part. Take a look at this video to see if it whets your kid’s appetite for adventure!
Break your own personal record…
But back to the rest of us. You might know a teen who is chomping at the bit to drive or fly. And whilst they may not have ambitions to be record-breaking kids, they’d love to get a head start right now. That’s why things like our best-selling First Drive lessons exist. They get little ones into driving before they can even apply for their provisional licence.
And let’s face it, learning to drive from a young age feeds that need for adventure and freedom, just like our record-breaking kids above in their own flying, sailing and climbing adventures!
And like we said, no need to attempt to break any records for the kids to have some serious adrenaline-fuelled fun. We’ve got everything from indoor skydiving and flying lessons, to driving a supercar or rallying at Into The Blue!