Teen sailor Laura Dekker left the Netherlands in late August in her quest to become the youngest to circumnavigate the globe alone. She set out in her 38-foot yacht Guppy from the southern Dutch harbor of Den Osse with her father Dick Dekker, who has supported Laura’s ambitions to enter the record book as the world’s youngest round-the-world sailor.The family court in nearby Middelburg ruled that Laura’s preparations appeared adequate and it was up to her parents to decide whether to let her make the attempt. Her mother, Babs Mueller, who is separated from her father, recently withdrew her opposition.”It’s great that I can now officially say it will happen,” she wrote.
Her attempt is now possible only after Dekker won a prolonged battle when a court released her from the guardianship of Dutch child protection agencies that had blocked her attempts to leave last year when she was still 13. The authorities said being alone and absent from school for so long would be harmful for her education and psychological development.
She’s now in Pasito Blanco, Gran Canaria and hopes to depart in the comming weeks.
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