Dutch teenage sailor Laura Dekker sets sail for Portugal today after winning a year-long battle with child welfare authorities worried over her ambition to become the youngest person to sail the globe solo.
She is departing from the southwestern Netherlands on her 11.5-metre ketch Guppy, sailing initially with her father to complete final preparations before starting the official solo part of her journey.
A Dutch court ended state supervision of Laura last week, saying she had met all conditions imposed by child welfare authorities and that the journey would pose no risk to her social and emotional development.
"It is terrific that I can now officially leave," Laura wrote on her blog, adding her father would accompany her to Portugal. "The departure date from Portugal is not yet known."
Laura, an experienced sailor who was born on her parents' boat in New Zealand, aims to beat the record for the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe.
Her ambition, however, has raised concerns about increasingly younger sailors attempting such voyages.
Last month, 16-year-old Abby Sunderland from California was rescued by a French fishing vessel 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) off the Australian coast in the Indian Ocean during a round-the-world solo attempt after her mast snapped.
But Laura's lawyer, Peter de Lange, said she had studied that incident closely and concluded Abby was in the "wrong boat, at the wrong place at the wrong time".Rather than racing against time, Laura would avoid the storm periods, he said.
She will still need to return to Lisbon no later than September 16th, 2012, if she wishes to break the record.
Australian teenager Jessica Watson (16), returned to Sydney harbour in May to become the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world.
Dutch welfare authorities raised concerns last year about Laura attempting such a voyage, winning court rulings placing her under supervision. The courts ordered Laura to undergo emergency training, delay her departure, finish another year of school and complete a first aid course.
Her boat has also been fitted out with improved radar and communications equipment.
Reuters