Dutch teenage sailor Laura Dekker 'missing'

[Dyflin]

Dutch police say teenage sailor Laura Dekker - who seeks to be the youngest person to sail solo around the world -has been missing since Friday.

Police say the 14-year-old's boat is moored at its berth and she appears to have left her father's home on her own.

Spokesman Bernhard Jens told the Associated Press news agency no criminal activity was suspected - but the authorities were concerned.

She was placed under state care after a Dutch court blocked her sailing bid.

Miss Dekker had planned to set off on her solo voyage in September, but the Utrecht District Court said concerns for her safety were too grave.

It placed her under state supervision until July 2010, but allowed Miss Dekker to continue living with her father.

Dutch police say they have issued an alert to airports in neighbouring countries for the missing teenager.

At the time of the court ruling in October, Miss Dekker's spokeswoman said she was disappointed, but that the teen could still set the record if she were to sail next year.

Miss Dekker is a seasoned sailor who was born on a yacht off the coast of New Zealand during a seven-year world trip.

She had a yacht by the age of six and began sailing solo when she was 10.

Her father, Dick Dekker, supports her attempt at the record, while her mother has expressed some concerns.

Miss Dekker had planned to spend about two years aboard her 26ft (8m) boat, Guppy, to break the record set in August by a 17-year-old UK boy.

Mike Perham tackled 50ft waves, gale force winds and technical problems during the 28,000 mile (45,000km) circumnavigation, which took him nine months.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8423325.stm

 

[TamarMike]

She has apparently turned up safe & well on the Caribbean Island of St Martin. It is not clear how she travelled to St Martin. She will be returned to the Netherlands in the next few days. [BBC News]

 

[Dyflin]

Seems like a fairly unhappy story.

She turned up on Sunday on the Dutch side of St Maarten, which is jointly shared by the Dutch and French, after conflicting reports that she had been seen by a local who was aware of the international search.

But afterwards it transpired that she had telephoned her social worker in Holland to assure her she was safe. Her parents are divorced and her mother lives in Germany.

The teenager, who has been living with her sailing-fanatic father – who managed to raise thousands of euro in sponsorship for her solo round-the-world bid – is thought to have used sponsorship funds to get to the Caribbean.

There was mystery about how she managed to board a flight. The Dutch military police issued a statement saying she had not left from a Dutch airport. She also has Dutch and New Zealand nationality.

Devastated that she could not take up the sailing challenge, Laura, acknowledged as a brilliant young sailor, had threatened to leave Holland for New Zealand and try from there to fulfil her dream.

Child protection agency sources in Utrecht said yesterday the courts had made the correct decision in preventing her from taking up the world record-breaking attempt. By running away, Laura had shown she was in need of adult guidance, they said.

Utrecht police said she would be questioned on her return to the Netherlands later today about how she managed to leave without parental support or that of an adult. A spokesman said that a criminal investigation was not at this stage being mounted.

source

 

[Thistle]

"By running away, Laura had shown she was in need of adult guidance, they said."

Sad story, yes. But this quote seems to sum it up for me.

 

[V1701]

Guess we'll never know the full story, just wish her well and hope all of it doesn't stop her sailing...

 

[dvideohd]

God Bless Laura....

Thistle said....
"By running away, Laura had shown she was in need of adult guidance, they said."

Sad story, yes. But this quote seems to sum it up for me. "
****************

Well... I guess that myself and a lot of other people on this board need ADULT GUIDANCE as well.. Mr Bowditch and Mr. Garmin provide a good bit of that guidance...

A lot of us tend to share Laura's values. She wants to do something that we all know is very tough and very grueling - and she has this vision thing...

I suppose her parents are being denied any say so... and "well meaning" officials - who likely have never gotten their feet wet - are the "ones that adult guidance" will come from.

How about some qualified adult guidance?

***********************

She surely does want to do a dangerous thing... but from all said, she has the skills and parental support.

I don't suppose that these "adult guidance" people have ever read Romeo and Juliet, or the Jungle Book, or really considered what Scouting is about.

It would be nice if the sailing community gathered and stood up for someone who so obviously shares our values and visions.

**************

I truly believe that adult guidance is needed allright, but it is for those who squandered the capital and fortunes of so many people - both in the US and UK. A LOT of adult guidance could have help stave off unemployment for millions of people. But to be objective, young girls are much easier to bully than fat cats with fatter bonuses...

--jerry

just a question... where the hell are the New Zealand officials and why aren't they at work?? They have one of their own being held against the will of their citizen and the citizen's parents?