A 13-year-old Dutch girl's attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the globe was blocked on Friday by a court which placed her under state supervision for two months, Reuters reported. Laura Dekker, an experienced sailor who was born at sea on her parents' boat in New Zealand, had planned to set sail on a two-year voyage on Sept. 1 on her 8.3 metre (27 ft) yacht Guppy. Child protection authorities argued it would be irresponsible to let her depart, and the court in Utrecht agreed, saying the trip would put Dekker's psychological development at risk. She will remain with her parents, who will share custody with the state. The court voiced "serious concerns" about Dekker's mental and physical development on the boat, and ordered a psychologist and child protection authorities to examine how she would cope with loneliness, sea winds, lack of sleep and schooling, as well as her general physical safety. On Thursday, British 17-year-old Mike Perham became the youngest person to sail around the globe single-handed after spending nine months at sea, eclipsing the record set by American Zac Sunderland last month. Dekker's lawyer, Peter de Lange, said he was confident the issue could be resolved and that her trip would go ahead. "She is happy with the ruling, and now we can prepare this (journey) in a mature and responsible way," De Lange said, adding that Dekker was out sailing on Friday. Her father was in court for the verdict, but did not speak to reporters. Dekker, whose parents support her trip, had warned before the ruling she would emigrate to New Zealand, where she can also claim citizenship, if the court prevented her from attempting the voyage. But Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reported her New Zealand passport had expired. Presiding Judge M. Oostendorp said the court decided against taking custody away from Dekker's parents, but that a hearing would be held on Oct. 26 to discuss the results of the inquiry into the teenager's ability to cope with the challenges of a trip. Reading out the ruling, Oostendorp said the court assumes Dekker's "psychological development and her health could be endangered if she would leave shortly and her development would be then seriously threatened". A court spokeswoman said if the psychological assessment shows the teenager would be unable to cope with the journey, she could be placed under permanent supervision of welfare authorities. Richard Bakker, a spokesman for the Dutch Council for the Protection of Children, welcomed the ruling and said the assessment would be completed on time. Dick Dekker, who reportedly ran into problems before with British police over his daughter's solo sailing activities, previously had a request for her to miss two years of school dismissed by Dutch authorities. Dekker plans to undergo self-schooling while on board her yacht, but Deputy Education State Secretary Marja van Bijsterveldt also weighed into the debate, telling the Dutch Parliament recently she should not be allowed to depart.
