7:43 PM Fri 30 Oct 2009 GMT
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'Laura Dekker in court - Photo by Valerie Kuypers'
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14-year-old Laura Dekker has been barred from departing on her planned circumnavigation until July next year by the Dutch court that has again put her under the guardianship of child protection authorities.
The decision by judges at Utrecht children's court means Laura Dekker, who was first blocked from attempting the trip in August, will remain with her father but her parents will have to check with child protection officials about any major decisions in her life.
Mariska Woertman, a spokeswoman for the family, who were not in court, told reporters that the teenager was 'disappointed that the court does not have faith in her to leave now.' Woertman said the way was now open for Dekker to begin the voyage next summer, meaning she could still set the record for the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe alone.
However, if Laura is not allowed to leave before July next year, she cannot cross the Atlantic until the end of the hurricane season in November, meaning that she will already be the great age of 15 by the time she starts to make serious miles. If her trip, as she originally planned, is to take around two years, this puts her at 17 by the time she finishes.
Her lawyer told reporters after the initial hearing that the young sailor had received numerous sponsorship proposals, as well as offers to make a 'reality television' show of her attempt.
'The good news . is that we have established Laura is capable of making this voyage,' said her lawyer, Peter de Lange. He said Dekker could still set the record despite the enforced delay, 'but the record is not her primary goal. Laura just wants to sail.'
Laura's parents are divorced and she lives with her father, Dick Dekker, who supports her ambitions. However, Laura's mother Babs Muller has been reported as saying she considers Laura too young for the risky journey.The court said today that the mother agreed to the voyage 'so long as she has assurances about the safety measures. At the moment, as far as she is concerned, they are insufficient.'
Most of the court debate centred not on Laura's sailing ability but on the risks, including whether it would damage her psychological development to spend more than a year alone on a boat at her age.The court said that while Dekker's sailing skills were adequate and a psychological report concluded that the voyage would not harm her social or emotional development, there were questions about safety and her ability to continue her schooling while at sea.
Dekker's parents are both sailors, and Laura spent her first four years on a boat. She was born in New Zealand.
She has been sailing solo since she was six and says she began dreaming of sailing around the world when she was 10
The Guinness Book of Records currently shows Mike Perham, a 17-year-old Briton, as the record holder for the youngest to complete such a journey. He completed his trip in August.
16-year-old Australian Jessica Watson, sailed out of Sydney harbour on a planned solo global circumnavigation two weeks ago. She has passed Norfolk Island, is expected to pass the 1500 mile mark today, and is headed for the equator. It should be uneventful sailing for her until she approaches the Southern Ocean, where she will have to venture far enough south to round Cape Horn.
No comparison:
However, Jessica's goal of a non-stop unassisted passage is quite different from Laura's goal of a cruising journey such as her parents completed, simply sailing from anchorage to anchorage, with the ability to repair the boat en route.
Except that they are both teenagers, the two are hardly comparable. Jessica's voyage is more akin to that proposed by her Californian alter-ego Abby Sunderland, who also wants to complete her trip non-stop and unassisted, and is planning a departure in November.
by Nancy Knudsen
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