Update on 14-year old sailor Laura Dekker

by Kraig Becker on

Yesterday we posted a story about 14-year old Laura Dekker, a Dutch girl who has dreams of sailing solo around the world in an attempt to claim the title of youngest person to achieve that goal. Several months back, the Dutch government ruled that she would have to stay in port while they reviewed her case and considered if she was too young to make such a journey. Frustrated with that decision, the teenager ran away from home this past weekend, only to turn up on the island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean, where it appears she was attempting to set sail on her own.

Laura was taken into custody by local officials, and sent back to Holland, and today judges there ruled on her case, once again, taking her current actions into account. Despite the fact that youth social services requested that she be put into foster care with family friends, the judges allowed Laura to return home to her father, who has strongly defended her right to circumnavigate the globe, and supports her wholeheartedly.

Furthermore, the judges ordered the girl to begin taking steps that would further prove she is ready to sail solo around the world. They are requiring her to complete a first aid course, and make several long distance sailing trips abroad, to gain valuable skills necessary for her journey. They told her to view these requirements as a set of challenges, and if she is successful, she could set out on her solo journey in as little as three months time.

So there you have the update. By March of 2010, a 14-year old girl could quite possibly be sailing solo around the world. Does that seem like a good idea?

What ever happened to the missing 22-year-old American teacher in Germany?

by Jamie Rhein on

Reading that Laura Dekker has been found safe and sound in St. Maartin made me think of Devon Hollahan, the American teacher living in Prague who disappeared after a Portugal and the Man concert in Frankfurt, Germany. When his friend’s back was turned, Hollahan went missing.

I wrote about Hollahan in a post about the worst nightmares of parents whose children travel overseas. I’ve been busy these last few weeks, so I forgot about him until I read about Dekker.

Hollahan’s story is not so splashy as Laura Dekker’s. It might be because his family seems like most of us. They appear to be normal, regular people whose lives tend to flow through the days like anyone else’s unless something bad happens on a slow news day. On a slow news day, normal people’s stories can make the international news. Hollahan’s bad news story was a fleeting blip on the media radar. A day or two after he was reported missing, he didn’t show up again in a big news way.

Amanda Knox’s story has had more press time than Hollahan’s. She is the other person of note in my parent’s worst nightmare post. But, when a person is found guilty of murdering her roommate which results in a 27 year jail sentence in Italy, it’s no surprise that we’d hear more about Knox–at least until Tiger Woods’s story eclipsed everyone’s bad news.

What about Hollahan, though? That’s who I want to know about–the guy who could be any one of us. After a search, I found this bit of news in The Huffington Post. Hollahan has not been found, but possibly the shoe found floating in The Main River in Frankfurt belongs to him.

It is thought that Hollahan was drunk and fell into the river. As a sad, devastating part of this tale, it’s possible that he was seen alive at 4 a.m. lying on a sidewalk. Unfortunately, whoever was on the sidewalk, got up and ran away when someone said that an ambulance was coming.

Hollahan’s body has not been found. His parents are still in their nightmare, and I wonder if Hollahan’s body is found, will there be a news story about it? My thoughts go out to his family.

14-year old Dutch sailor goes missing, turns up in St. Maartin

by Kraig Becker on

Remember Laura Dekker? She’s the young Dutch girl who made headlines last summer for wanting to sail solo around the world at the age of 13, only to later be denied the opportunity by the Dutch government. At that time, it was decided that she would remain in the custody of her father, but under the supervision of the Council of Child Protection until her case could be reviewed next summer, once the school year had come to an end.

Late last week this story took another odd turn, when it was reported that the now 14-year old girl went missing, sparking all kinds of speculation in her native country as to her whereabouts. Her boat, the 26-foot long Guppy, remained safely in dock, but the local media was reporting that Laura had been spotted withdrawing 3500 Euros (roughly $5000) from her bank account. After that, she simply disappeared, without a trace.

That is until this weekend, when according to the BBC, the teenager was taken into custody on the island of St. Maartin in the Caribbean, after being recognized by a local. Exactly how she got there has yet to be determined, but yesterday it was reported that she ran away from home, apparently in reaction to being denied the option of sailing. Apparently she left her father a note before going, but the details of that note are also unknown.There is some speculation that she may have been hoping to find a boat and set sail on her own once she reached the Caribbean.

Laura is already on her way back home to the Netherlands, and it is unclear how authorities there will react to this little jaunt to the Caribbean. She was expressly forbidden to travel abroad without permission before her case was reviewed next year. I can’t help but think that this won’t help her case much.

I’ve written about Laura more extensively elsewhere, and I have always felt that 13 or 14 was too young for her to sail solo around the globe. I won’t deny that she has all the technical skills to be a sailor. The girl practically grew up on a boat, and her skills are, by all reports, highly developed. But that still doesn’t mean she should be turned loose on the ocean by herself. As I’ve said before, there are plenty of 14 year old kids who have the actual skills to drive a car, but that doesn’t mean I’d let them go on a cross country road trip by themselves.

I do respect Laura’s dream to sail around the world of course, but it does beg the question “what’s the hurry?” Can’t she wait a few more years and go when she’s gained more experience and maturity? Or is this simply a ploy to set some dubious mark as the youngest person to make such a journey? Is that a good enough reason to risk any teenager’s life?

So? What do you think? Should she be allowed to go? Are the high seas any place for a 14-year old by themselves? I’d love to have the Gadling readers weigh in with their thoughts.

Is 13-year-old Dutch girl too young to sail solo around the world?

by Alison Brick on

Let me think. What was on my mind at age 13? Homework and boys and fitting in at school, probably.

Laura Dekker, a 13-year-old in the Netherlands, has bigger fish to fry. She wants to take on the world. In a sailboat. By herself.

She has her parents’ permission. Now she just needs the Dutch government’s.

The Dutch Council for Child Protection is in the process of asking for temporary custody of Laura to stop the trip, since her parents won’t. They’re concerned that this goal comes less from Laura’s own drive, and more from the need to please her divorced parents–especially her father, who is an expert sailor and the parent with whom she lives. The decision will be made on Friday by the Utrecht District Court.

I’m a bit torn. I’m so impressed by her adventurous spirit and want to cheer her on. But at the same time, I’m worried for her safety. At what age would it be okay for her to go? I’d be happier if she had an adult with her, but, of course, that defeats the purpose of a solo trip.

But if anyone has the background for a trip like this, Laura does. She spent her first four years on the ocean because her parents were on an around-the-world sail. She’s been sailing solo since she was six, and dreaming of her own around-the-world trip since she was ten.

If she wins her court case on Friday, Laura would start her two-year trip in September.