I'm surprised the whole world has heard of it. Being in Holland at the moment I've seen/heard about it quite a bit on news websites and just the news on tv.
It's utterly ridiculous that the parents want to let her, I don't care if the whole family is into sailing and she's raised this way. I'm sure she is a good sailer and quite a lot more capable than your normal 13 year old, but she's still just a girl.
She's apparently been on long ish trips on her own before, including going from England to Holland on her own ... which I know is a much shorter distance.
She's be -on her own-, she won't be on her own at sea for 2 years straight though. Her trips would take her 3 weeks at longest, after which time she plans on visiting the country she's at at the time and would be meeting up with people including her parents on some if not all of these stops. But still, 3 weeks on the water on her own is just well too much.
The main point why the government stepped in is because she needs permission to leave school. In Holland you are bound by law to follow education until you are 16, at which age would be the earliest you'd get a 'diploma' for the lowest education level. If you're doing one of the higher ones you have to be in education until you are 18. After that, if you still do not have proper qualifications you are bound by law to either remain in education until you get them, or work until 21. Only after 21 are you free to do whatever.
If you want to step out of the education system before you reach one of these (age) requirements you require permission from...
1. The school
2. The legal side of it
It was when she tried to get 2 years off that it got brought to the attention of the government, who do not believe she has the right to step out of education for this. Plus obviously they started to wonder whether the parents were up to making decissions for their daughter. Normally medical reasons are the only reason to be allowed out of 'the system', and you're supposed to get checked up by government officials every couple of months. I can tell from experience that this does not happen =P
Anyways ... the court has ruled, and I don't fully agree with it.
They've ruled several things
1. She is not (yet) allowed to go on her world trip, she will be re-evaluted in 2 months after they've observed her and had several chats with her.
2. She & her parents will be put under the watch of social services, but the parents (Actually, it was only the dad that was in question) will not lose their parental rights
There's 2 things I don't agree with. First of all, I don't agree with her parents still having full parental rights. I think it's great they're now being watched and guided by social services and won't lose their child ... but why do they still have full rights to make decisions over her unless turned over by court? In my honest opinion I do not believe that any parent that is ok with their 13 year old DAUGHTER travelling the world on her own should be allowed to make important decisions without someone else giving a second opinion that either over rules him or agrees with him.
I also don't think she should be re-evaluated in 2 months. I understand this is to stay neutral and see both sides, and to give her a chance. And not least of all, to appear fair to the world wide press that's following the story. But c'mon, she'll still be just a 13 year old girl in 2 months. That won't have changed, why not just give a no?
She's refusing to comment to news channels now, apparently all the media attention is stressing her out and no good for her health. Erm, did she honestly think she'd not have this stress if she did travel around the world to break a world record? That on it's own is enough prove she hasn't fully thought it through and isn't up for it. The only news show she has done an interview for/with so far is 'het jeugd journaal', news designed for tweens & teens.
... So, to sum this whole post up in one sentence - Ridiculous and the government is fully correct in stopping her!
