Dutch sailor girl put into care

[jannyk]

Source: BBC

A Dutch court has put a 13-year-old girl into state care for two months, stalling her bid to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.

The decision by three Utrecht judges means Laura Dekker's parents, who support her plans, temporarily lose the right to make decisions about her.

A child psychologist will now assess her capacity to undertake the voyage.

Laura's father, Dick Dekker, had earlier had a request for her to miss two years of school turned down.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8226196.stm

---

Anyone remember the little 7 yr old girl from Santa Cruz that tried to fly around the world, aand crashed?

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dipsydoodle]

2. 13 year old boys

fought on deck at the Battle of Trafalgar.

[Demeter]

3. Thousands of children died in coal mines, too

Those are not the times we want to return to.

The proper question is where are her parents?

[marshall]

5. And 13 year old girls are married off to aged lechers in some countries

It doesn't mean the Netherlands has to follow suit.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. Try 10 year olds recently and 6 years old if you look historically at the founder of a certain

religion.

[No Elephants]

10. Oh, I get it. But at first, I thought you meant the Mormon sects. Or the cult

in which River Phoenix was raised.

[marshall]

18. Take your pick

The further you go back in history, the more widespread you will find the practice. Thankfully today some areas have moved beyond it, while a few still cling to the old ways.

[redqueen]

8. deleted

[avaistheone1]

27. like Afghanistan, India, Saudi Arabia and so on.

How miserable for these girls. There childhood and lives are snatched away from them.

[struggle4progress]

33. And even here in the US at one time. Wasn't Edgar Allen Poe's wife 13?

[TwilightGardener]

4. Sanity reigns. Any parent who wants their kid to miss two years of school

to do something ridiculous and dangerous deserves to lose their child until they get their heads screwed on straight.

[chascarrillo]

9. The state takes a child away because she wants to sail around the world. That's insane.

That is insane. That is absolutely disgusting. I am so fucking ashamed of humanity that anyone could defend such a thing.

[No Elephants]

11. Sail around the world SOLO and miss two years of school. And it's only two months for

evaluation.

Overreaction on your part.

[Turbineguy]

21. It takes years of experience and skill

to do that. Just look at those who actually do it.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

25. Dove was real inspirational to a lot of people.

Interesting reading, even today http://www.amazon.com/Dove-Robin-L-Graham/dp/0060920475/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1251492317&sr=8-1

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. They haven't 'taken her away'; from the link:

Miss Dekker, who was not at the court, will continue to live with her father, Dick Dekker.
...
"The parents are going to have to negotiate all important decisions regarding Laura with the child protection services," said a court statement.

"This means that Laura cannot start her round-the-world trip without their (child protection services) agreement."

Miss Dekker has been put under the guardianship of the Utrecht Youth Care agency - which will not allow her to set sail - and the case will be reviewed after two months.

You think a 13 year old girl should automatically be allowed to spend months at a time alone, in a dangerous situation with only herself to rely on, just because she wants to?

[chascarrillo]

32. If the mods here agree that a child can be taken away from her parents for this, then fuck this site

And don't be disingenuous. Although she's technically with her parents, CPS now has custody of her.

How dare you defend this. How fucking dare you.

I'm through with this abortion of a site.

[MadMaddie]

35. What do the Mods have to do with the discussion?

I have no opinion either way on this topic but observing the conversation you disagree with other posters and vice versa, that is the essence of DU.

Not everyone is going to agree with you or me everday. Everyone here has had to thicken their skin, and everyone has been attacked at one point or another but they are still here.

There will be other topics and other discussions and that is the way it goes.

If you want a site where everyone is going to agree with you 100% of the time, than you are right this is not the site for you.

Well good luck to you!!

[roody]

36. Adios.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

37. Oh dear, this "abortion of a site" will surely miss you

How dare the state evaluate the fitness of a 13-year old to sail solo around the world.

It's almost like the state deciding who is capable to have a driver license. The nerve.

:hi:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. I have friends who did just that with their children

Home schooling in the middle of the Atlantic is not typical, but it works. Took them three years. Kids are incredibly mature and well grounded for their ages.

[kiva]

14. I think the main problem here is that she would be sailing solo.

Doubt that the Dutch government would have any problem with her spending two years with her family, sailing around the world, but doing so alone is a whole different adventure. I suspect it's the risk to her life and concerns about her mental state--a long time for a 13 year old to be alone, even if her family would be (I assume) meeting her when she was in port. Even with modern methods of communication that's a lot to consider.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

16. LIke I said,elsewhere, lets see the whole story, not just a newsbite.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. I would really want to know more before I took sides on this

I let my kids do a lot of things early on that horrified other parents, particularly urbanites. There were adequate safety precautions, but still some twittered.

[No Elephants]

13. When was the last time you allowed your 13 year old to sail around the world solo, while

missing two years of school?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

15. If it was escorted, would it be so bad? If they could navigate, they have mastered most HS math

Do you remember the story of the Dove? Like I said, I would like to see the whole story, not just a newsbite.

We let ours do a number of odd things growing up and did not always go along with the local school system program. Made for well rounded and much better educated adults. They also short circuited much of the US educational process for the better.

[No Elephants]

20. Escorted would make all the difference in the world. Seriously, what part of SOLO

do you not get?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

24. Like I said, I would like to see the full story, not a news bite

[RamboLiberal]

29. There are no escorts

Read the account of the youngest so far Mike Perham. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/sailing/article6809755.ece

A teenager will become the youngest person to sail solo around the world when his yacht returns to British waters this week, nine months after he set out.

Mike Perham, who is 17, tackled 50ft waves, broken rudders and gale-force winds during his 30,000-mile voyage, and will tonight have to endure the remnants of Hurricane Bill before he makes it safely back to land.

The young sailor had hoped to make it a continuous journey, but technical difficulties meant that he had to make a number of stops for repairs. His yacht has been battered by gale-force winds and he has had to scale the mast to make impromptu repairs. He said: “I wanted to go non-stop at first. It’s been very hard.”

Mike, from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, was 16 when he set sail. He told The Times: “You get used to being alone. The first two weeks are always the hardest. But at times you enjoy it. I much prefer being with other people, but that is what makes it a challenge. It will be nice to be back on dry land.”

Mike's website: http://www.totallymoney.com/sailmike/

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. Define 'solo'.

Will there be a 'guardian' vessel in the area? Wouldn't it count if she was the only person on the boat for the duration of the voyage, even if there was a cruiser tagging along - with her parents on it?

As for missing school - big whoop. In two years at sea she could read through my entire 200 volume 'Great Works', from Plato to Freud. 80% of school is marking time while the teachers deal with all the other students. A modern sailboat has this thing called a 'radio' where she could talk to other people, and even a 'fax machine' with which she could get her lessons.

I think it would be a great adventure. I wish I'd had such a chance when I was a kid.

BTW - there is a HUGE difference between a 13 year old and a 7 year old. The 13 year old is the person who is old enough and responsible enough to babysit the 7 year old. Personally, I'd rather sail solo than babysit, any day.

[Posteritatis]

22. Solo trips are almost always escorted, I think

It's not like they're launching the kid off the dock and not paying attention for the next couple of years, to be sure. Hauling the kid into state care strikes me as a wee bit of an overreaction, though the parents' motives should probably factor into the decision.

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. She's still going to live with her father

what they've said is that the parents are not allowed to make this decision for her, or pull her from school etc., until they've have people like psychologists work out if she can handle a solo voage of many months at that age.

[RamboLiberal]

28. Solo means exactly that - "Solo" - no escort boats

Every account I've ever read of these trips there are no escort boats.

Looks like there's a race on to see who can be the youngest. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/aug/28/laura-dekker-around-world-sailing

Reminds me of the mania back in the 90's when it was the youngest pilot craze till 7 year old Jessica Dubroff was killed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Dubroff

[onlyadream]

23. I won't even let my 13yo go to the mall without an adult

is that bad? I just love her and don't want anything bad to happen to her. I do let her ride her bike around the neighborhood and go to the movies (during the day with a friend)- so I'm not too overprotective.

[24601]

30. We are considering how may girls our daughter can have over for

her 14th birthday party. Will a court, ANY court, please, please her off our hands, make this decisions and then feed, house & educate her. Be forewarned, she wants a new cell phone, boarding high school and Princeton, so the the bill might not be cheap.

[JonQ]

34. There's a reason we have a legal definition

for adult/juvenile.

Adults can make these decisions for themselves, even if it means their deaths. Juveniles cannot.

Simple enough.

Granted some people are ready before 18, and others won't be ready for years if at all. But some distinction has to be made. We've set the line at 18, and that seems to work alright.

[Dr_Willie_Feelgood]

38. Yes it is a bad idea!

Five more years, go for it!

She may be more mature and capable now than people three, even four times her age. But still, it is morally inexcusable to allow someone as young as her to do something this dangerous. Beyond the physical risk is the emotional and psychological risk of isolation.

Family trip, home schooling on the boat, it is still dangerous, but an amazing educational opportunity. Solo, no way!