She was born in a boat. She has been a sailor for seven years and she has made a solo crossing of the North Sea. But yesterday a court decided, for now at least, that is as far as she can go. Certainly Laura Dekker, 13, will not be setting off to sail around the world single-handedly just yet.

In an airy courtroom and in front of the world’s press, the Dutch legal system overruled her parents’ consent for the two-year trip. And it was prepared to take temporary custody of the child to enforce the decision.

Laura, the daughter of two round-the-world yachtsmen, had hoped to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo. She believed that she was experienced enough and her father had applied for leave of absence from school on her behalf.

Then the Dutch social services intervened. Laura, they countered, was too young and the voyage too arduous. The isolation, they said, would be damaging at an important stage in a girl’s development.

In a 20-minute verdict, Judge M. Oostendorp agreed. “She would be confronted with difficult situations that will challenge her mentally and physically,” she said. The Utrecht court ordered Dutch authorities to take temporary guardianship of Laura until psychologists could determine whether she is able to undertake such a difficult voyage.

She will remain living with Dick Dekker, her father, but under the responsibility of social services pending a further ruling in two months.

Mr Dekker squeezed past television cameras and journalists to hear the court’s decision — an experience that he described as more gruelling “than a heavy storm in the Atlantic”. Laura was not present. According to her lawyer, she was out sailing.

Later, interviewed on television, she said that she had stayed away deliberately. “All the media are horrible — I was happy not to be there.”

She added that she was pleased the court did not ban her trip outright, but was apprehensive about their imposed conditions. “A child psychologist will be looking over my father’s shoulder and telling people what I’m like,” she said.

Appearing poised and confident, Laura countered criticisms that it would be unhealthy to be alone for that length of time. “The longest stretch I will be at sea is three weeks, and when I stop I will have so much contact with people in different places,” she said. For now, though, her plans are to return to school and await the psychologist’s verdict.

Her case has been discussed by government ministers and debated on the front pages of newspapers. For a country whose liberal tradition is as strong as its naval heritage, this debate — about personal liberty, the nature of childhood and the powers of the State — has split the nation.

This week Mike Perham, 17, received a hero’s welcome when he sailed past Cornwall 13 months after setting out to gain the record that Laura wants to break. He has already given his support to her plans.

Although Laura is now settled in the town of Wijk bij Duurstede, near Utrecht, she spent her first four years living on a boat, and was reportedly born during a round-the-world sail off New Zealand. Authorities there joined Britain in saying that they would not condone her use of their ports.

In May this year, Laura was detained in Lowestoft and temporarily placed in a children’s home after a solo crossing of the North Sea.

Speaking after the verdict, Peter de Lange, Laura’s lawyer, said that he was still hoping that the voyage might go ahead this year. “I was expecting this,” he said. “It is a very difficult decision for the court. All they are saying is they have to look at cases individually.

“I am confident that in November they will give their consent.”

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