MIDDELBURG--A Dutch court has lifted the supervision order regarding fourteen-year-old Laura Dekker, who wants to set a record as the youngest person to sail single-handed around the world.

Her lawyer said she would now set sail within two weeks. He said Laura was ready for the trip. She is well prepared and has successfully completed a survival course, according to her lawyer.

The judge in the District Court in the southern Dutch city of Middelburg said it was up to her parents to decide whether she should sail solo around the world.

Previously this had been impossible, because Laura had been placed under the supervision of Youth Care (Jeugdzorg), which can be awarded custody when a court fears a child's parents are unable to protect or look after the child properly.

To set a new record as the youngest person ever to sail solo around the world, Laura must complete the estimated two-year voyage before she turns 17 on September 20, 2012.

The youth care agency had requested that the court extend her supervision order by an additional 12 months, but youth care officials had asked the court to lift supervision, arguing that Laura now meets the conditions set down in a 2009 court ruling, which also asked for a comprehensive sailing plan.

A court placed her under supervision, which was extended by a month in June. However, Laura has now been given the freedom to make her voyage around the world. That is if her divorced parents agree.

That probably will not be a problem. Her father, who taught her how to sail, has consistently supported her plans. In an interview she gave last year, Laura's mother said she did not approve of her daughter's plans. However, she said in an open letter she wrote to the national daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad earlier this month that her daughter should be given a chance to realise her dream. She also called the child protection authorities and Jeugdzorg "criminal organisations."

To set a new record as the youngest person to complete such a round-the-world solo trip, Laura Dekker must beat the record currently held by Australian teenager Jessica Watson (16), who became the youngest person to sail around the world non-stop in May.

In June, a US girl engaged in a similar attempt had to be rescued from her stricken yacht. Jessica Watson set her record three days before she turned 17 and Laura Dekker intends to improve on that feat "even if it's just by a day."

In December 2009, the determined Dutch teenager also made headlines in St. Maarten after she had left home without consent and was found here. Leaving Holland with six pieces of luggage, including a guitar, she had wanted to set sail on her trip around the world from St. Maarten. Instead, St. Maarten police and Immigration had escorted her to the airport, leaving her in the hands of the Royal Dutch Marechaussees, who transported her back to Holland via Curaçao.