Oh great, now another teenager wants to sail around the world

In the U.S., we send our teen daughters off in boats to circumnavigate the globe like we’re sending the dog outside to fetch the paper. But things are a little different in the Netherlands. When authorities there get wind of your plan to let your young daughter sail solo around the world, they slap her into protective custody.

Laura Dekker, the 14-year-old Dutch sailor with hopes to be the youngest to circumnavigate the globe solo, is being held by child care authorities in the Netherlands. Dutch authorities argued in a Middleburg court yesterday that Dekker should be held in protective custody for another year.

Dekker’s mother, Babs Muller, describes the Dutch child protective bodies as “criminal organizations who want to crush my daughter’s spirit.”

California 16-year-old Abby Sunderland, of course, caused big waves last month when she had to be rescued in the Indian Ocean during her attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the globe. This caused a war of words between those who thought Abby was capable and on a grand adventure, and those who thought that allowing your child to set off like Magellan was eight different kinds of insane. In the end, Abby had to be plucked from the ocean by the Australian government and a French fishing vessel, costing everyone involved time, money and fish.
Now we have Dekker, who began plotting her solo trip at the age of 13. Her mother, showing some common sense, opposed the trip then. A year later, however, mom relented, and has given permission for Laura to sail. That’s when Dutch authorities stepped in. The Associated Press:

Dekker was made a ward of the state last year after her plan to try to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world raised concerns over her physical ability and her social development. Both her parents, who are divorced, back the plan.

Dekker was born on a yacht in New Zealand waters while her parents were sailing around the world and holds a New Zealand passport.

Dekker’s lawyer Peter de Lange told AP earlier she has obtained a first aid diploma and practised functioning while sleep-deprived. Last month, she sailed solo to England and back — 22 hours each way — to show her command of her small yacht and its seaworthiness, AP said.

The family court will decide next Tuesday whether the girl should remain under court supervision.

Last weekend, the girl’s mother Babs Muller wrote an open letter in the AD calling on the authorities to allow her daughter to make the trip. She described the child protection bodies as ‘criminal organisations’ which want to break her daughter’s spirit.

Simple rule in our house: Not old enough to drive, not old enough to sail solo around the globe. Also, you can tell by that photo that the dog wants no part of this. He has a nice warm dog bed at home and plenty of Snausages.
***
Dutch child care wants to keep control of sailor [Associated Press]
Teen sailor’s mom: ‘We can’t afford to pay back rescue costs’ [Out of Bounds]
Laura Dekker, Dutch sailor teen’s mom OKs solo trip, five weeks after Abby Sunderland rescue [New York Daily News]