Teenage sailor Jessica Watson says good preparation will be
the key to a 14-year-old New Zealand-born girl's bid to
become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.
Dutch judges on Tuesday gave the green light for Laura
Dekker's record attempt, rejecting a move to keep her under
state supervision.
Sailing has been a life-long passion for the Dutch youngster,
who was born aboard of a boat off the coast of New Zealand
and holds a New Zealand and a Dutch passport.
The Child Protection Council, a justice ministry body, asked
the court last week to extend Laura's supervision by 12
months to August 2011 to stop her departure, citing fears for
her social and emotional wellbeing.
She won the 10-month legal battle but an appeal has not been
ruled out.
Laura's plans to set sail last September were thwarted by the
intervention of child care officials and a subsequent court
ruling placing her under their supervision until July 1, when
the school year ended.
Laura, who has the backing of her parents, would need to
complete the two-year trip before she turns 17 on September
20, 2012, to set a new record.
In May, Australia's Jessica Watson became the youngest person
at 16 to sail around the world non-stop, solo and unassisted.
US teenager Abby Sunderland was on a similar mission in June,
but she had to be plucked from her stricken yacht in the
Indian Ocean.
However, the World Speed Sailing Record Council does not
recognise records set by sailors under 18.
Jessica told AAP she hoped Laura had done her homework.
"I don't know much about Laura or her voyage, but the one
piece of advice I was given over and over again was the
emphasis is on preparation," she said.
"The right boat, the right equipment and the experience is
what it's about."
"If everything works out I will be able to start on my voyage
and sail to Portugal within the next two weeks," Laura wrote
on her blog on July 25, before the hearing.
At age 11 she set sail on a solo trip to the northern Dutch
province of Friesland and by 13 she had sailed from Holland
to England.
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