Dutch Court Rules Against Laura Dekker's Sailing Odyssey

The final verdict is in: A Dutch court has decided to bar 14-year-old Laura Dekker case from setting sail around the world solo.

“Concerns for her safety are so grave that they constitute a serious threat to her interests should she set sail now,” the presiding judge ruled in the Utrecht district court in the central Netherlands.

“Laura Dekker is hereby placed under the care of child care services until July 1 2010.”

She’ll be forced to remain where she is for now, at least until the end of the school year in eight months when the court’s order expires.

Laura, at least, seems to be taking the decision fairly well:

“It’s probably the most prudent if I just finish this school year” which ends in May, she said, citing the arrival of winter weather and a need for preparations before she departs on her 26-foot (8-meter) boat named “Guppy.”

As for me, I’m thinking up a whole host of cuss words to call the Dutch courts. That the need for adventure, risk and exploration doesn’t register in their minds as having an equal weight along with psychological and emotional well-being is, I think, a disheartening tragedy.

Children need to take risks, explore their unknown, and experience adventure in order to live fully.

Oct 30, 2009 :: Tagged under: adventure, free range kids, laura dekker, risk, sailing :: #