AMSTERDAM — The mother of a 13-year-old who hopes to become the youngest sailor to circle the globe solo broke her silence Saturday, saying the voyage was too dangerous and her daughter was “not yet grown up” enough.
Babs Muller was quoted in the Volkskrant daily as saying she has kept quiet until now because her daughter, Laura Dekker, had threatened not to see her again if she stood in the way of the trip.
Muller said Laura has the technical capability to make the trip, but that the teenager is not yet mature enough to deal with the psychological challenges of two years of being on her own.
Laura’s parents are divorced, and she lives with her father, Dick Dekker, who supports her ambition to set sail this year for a trip that would take two years.
A court last week ordered Laura placed in the custody of child care authorities for two months, and appointed a child psychologist to report on her capacity to cope with the risks of the voyage and possible harm of lengthy isolation during such formative years.
The mother’s opposition is likely to weigh heavily on the judge who must consent to the trip, since Laura would miss two years of mandatory schooling. But a spokeswoman for Laura and her father said the interview doesn’t end Laura’s hopes of undertaking the trip.
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