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Is 13-year-old Dutch girl too young to sail solo around the world?
Let me think. What was on my mind at age 13? Homework and boys and fitting in at school, probably.Laura Dekker, a 13-year-old in the Netherlands, has bigger fish to fry. She wants to take on the world. In a sailboat. By herself.
She has her parents' permission. Now she just needs the Dutch government's.
The Dutch Council for Child Protection is in the process of asking for temporary custody of Laura to stop the trip, since her parents won't. They're concerned that this goal comes less from Laura's own drive, and more from the need to please her divorced parents--especially her father, who is an expert sailor and the parent with whom she lives. The decision will be made on Friday by the Utrecht District Court.
I'm a bit torn. I'm so impressed by her adventurous spirit and want to cheer her on. But at the same time, I'm worried for her safety. At what age would it be okay for her to go? I'd be happier if she had an adult with her, but, of course, that defeats the purpose of a solo trip.
But if anyone has the background for a trip like this, Laura does. She spent her first four years on the ocean because her parents were on an around-the-world sail. She's been sailing solo since she was six, and dreaming of her own around-the-world trip since she was ten.
If she wins her court case on Friday, Laura would start her two-year trip in September.
Filed under: Europe, Netherlands, Transportation, News
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
john pasmore Aug 26th 2009 3:30PM
granted she was virtually born on a boat -- but she should give it a couple of years. In the mean time she should read legendary sailor Bernard Moitessier (http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Bernard-Moitessier/dp/0924486848/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1) who dropped out of an around the world race because it was contrived way to engage in sailing..
...he said, "I shall always cherish the memory of these gigantic waves, of this incredibly beautiful sea." What was waiting for him in Plymouth was also the other side of glory, the tumultuous crowds, the lack of respect for the individual, prying indiscretions. The rape of his realized dream he could not accept this.
If nothing else this is a perspective worth understanding from one of the greatest sailors of modern times...
john pasmore
http://www.very.fm
Kelly Aug 26th 2009 5:02PM
You're missing a part of this story: Laura was born on a yacht off the coast of New Zealand, and as such has a Kiwi passport. Laura and her family are now trying to launch her adventure from here, but they are being tangled up in red tape as no one in NZ thinks letting a 13 yr old go off on her own like this to be a particularly good idea either.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10593448
Ronan Aug 26th 2009 7:05PM
Mike Perham, aged 17, is set to become the youngest person in the world to sail solo around the world. He is about 3 day away from completing his voyage. I to would question how sensible it is to let a 13 year old to try break the record. Having grown up sailing i am still to this day learning. How can a 13 year old be expected to handle a boat during a hurricane?
crystal Aug 27th 2009 10:12AM
I just wonder................if she dies doing this would her parents try to sue someone............even after they were warned. That seems to be the trend these days. Other than that, I personally do not think that it is a great idea, but if she is competent, it is ultimately her parents decision. I wish her the best of luck no matter what she, and the courts, decide!!!
Will Gibson Aug 27th 2009 12:55PM
No thirteen-year-old has the mental development to do what this youngster is proposing. Her physical brain is immature; her physical body is immature; her emotional state is immature snd her motivation is all wrong. The Dutch Social Services are acting entirely correctly, as the Dutch usually do.
If Ms. Dekker is allowed to proceed and she successfully circumnavigates she will be the focus of a brief media hailstorm, then an even younger person will attempt the same stunt if only to get on the books. Sooner or later this will end in tragedy and the youngest person will be so only because a younger person died trying.
Please, Ms. Dekker, stay is school. Become an adult and join us. You have no need to prove anything.