Not On A Boat

In what appears to be the newest trend with teenagers (at least teenagers who love sailing and spending time alone), the record for youngest person to circumnavigate the globe has been broken again. You probably heard about Zac Sunderland, the 17 year-old American who finished his two year solo journey about a month ago (he has his own website too), but that record was broken last week by Mike Perham, another 17 year old, who sailed into port after more than 24,000 miles at sea.

Now, (as if those two don't make you feel like a total inadequate human being) Laura Dekker, a 13-year old girl in the Netherlands, is about to depart on her own round-the-world boat trip. Or, at least she was going to before the Dutch Council for Child Protection decided that the trip would be too dangerous for her, and got a Dutch district court to give them temporary custody of the would-be sailor. Earlier today, the court ruled that she is not allowed to make the journey. At least not yet.

Nevermind the fact that Dekker's parents (who are divorced) are allowing her to do it, the state obviously knows better.

I'm not saying that it's okay for 13 year-olds to go sailing by themselves around the world, and I'm not sure how I feel about any parents who would be okay with their daughter (or their son) even attempting such a trip. But, if they allow it, and the girl wants to do it, it's hardly the place of these social workers to get in the way.

Furthermore, the court's final ruling will allow Dekker to continue to live with her father, who has supported her trip all along. So, if he's putting these "dangerous ideas" in his daughter's head, why not go ahead and take her away from him? Apparently, the court can't decide whether it knows what is best for young Dekker or not.

Brian Doherty at Reason Magazine says the whole thing reminds him of Cheryl Taggert's choice (and it's been several weeks since the last reference to Atlas Shrugged on here, so I thought I was due).