A court in the Netherlands has ruled that 13-year-old Laura Dekkercannot sail around the world by herself next month as she'd hoped andhas put her in the temporary care of Dutch authorities while it makes afinal decision.
Forthe moment, Laura Dekker's dream of becoming the youngest person tosail solo around the globe has been put on hold. She was not in court,but her father was present for the judges' decision.
Citingpotential harm to her development, judges ruled that Laura could stilllive at home but only under court supervision while an independentchild psychologist assesses whether she's able to make the two-yearjourney.
Laura, who has the support of her parents, had hopedto set sail next month but she now has to wait until at least the endof October when judges will make their final decision based on thechild expert's report. The court stopped short of taking custody awayfrom Laura's father as child protection workers had wanted.
Theyhad argued that the trip was far too dangerous for a young teenager tomake on her own - from the physical dangers and pirate-infested waters,to emotional isolation and even missed school. Laura dismissed thosearguments, saying she would do her schoolwork via e-mail and rest inports to avoid bad weather.
The experienced sailor wants tosail her 26-foot boat, called Guppy, through the Canary Islands, theCaribbean, Australia and Sri Lanka before returning to Dutch shores in2011. Just this Thursday, a 17-year-old English boy broke the recordLaura's aiming for when he sailed into Cornwall after 282 days at seaand became the youngest person to sail around the globe by himself.Laura may still make her goal, but for now, her story is one of a dreamdeferred.