By running away, Laura Dekker proved she’s ready to sail around the world. It’s about time the Dutch courts get out of her way.
When most teenagers are grounded, their parents tell them to stay in the house. Not so for 14 year-old Laura Dekker–when she proposed an attempt to become the youngest sailor to circle the globe solo, her government ordered her to stay in the Netherlands.
Just to be sure, they placed Laura under state supervision through (at least) next July. Maybe the government thought they’d settled things. But imagine if your government ordered you not to travel. Life would get itchy, fast.
According to her dad, the scrutiny led to a “negative spiral.” The sailor sank until last Friday, when she grabbed $5,000 cash and disappeared.
Not that there wasn’t warning: In response to being stifled, Laura said she’d try to capitalize on her dual citizenship with New Zealand and attempt the record from there. However, it’s unclear whether she fled with hopes of launching her journey, or if she just flipped out and bounced.
Unfortunately for Laura, she’s not very good at hiding. Mere hours after an international alert announcing her disappearance, she surfaced in St. Maarten. She’d crossed an ocean, but still was easy to find.
That alone should be enough to persuade the Dutch government to let her sail.
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Nice one. This is the first time I heard of her and yet again, something made me feel….what a waste have I been for so long.