Young Dutch Sailor Laura Dekker in Police Custody in St. Maarten

This Aug. 24, 2009 file photo shows, from left, Dick Dekker, his daughter Laura Dekker and her lawyer Peter de Lange during a news conference in the courtroom in Utrecht, Netherlands.14-year-old Dutch sailor Laura Dekker is safely in policy custody in St. Maarten, after being turned in to authorities by a local woman who recognized her global search photo.

Dekker is determined to be the youngest person to circumnavigate the world alone in a boat. Laura has been in the legal custody of the Netherlands, but living with her father, in an attempt to control her efforts to sail at such a young age.

She seemed to accept the court’s deferral of her journey, saying that it would give her eight additional months to train properly. It should be noted that while Laura Dekker — and others like her — sail ‘alone’, we shouldn’t have visions of the young woman alone on the sea for months on end without supervision.

Dekker would be followed from port to port by another, faster yacht, that overtakes her during each leg of her voyage and is waiting for her as she arrives in port.

Laura’s father, her primary custodian since her parent’s divorce when she was a young girl, was 12 when he first sailed from Ijmuiden harbour into the North Sea.

After the Dutch court ruled against Dekker, forbidding her to embark on her journey, Laura’s lawyer Peter de Lange was highly critical of Dutch authorities and their decision. However, de Lange said there was a positive element in the ruling: The psychologist says she can cope. It is very interesting what a child at that age can do. Now, what remains are only practical aspects, not personal,” he said. via London times