This is a tricky call and one can fully understand the concerns of the Dutch authorities about Laura Dekker’s plans. At 14 she is barely old enough to ride a bike safely on the road, let alone sail single-handedly around the world.

On the other hand should we not applaud her ambition, her self-belief at such a young age and her determination to set a record in one of the toughest sporting challenges in a world in which regulation and red tape restrict our every move?

If Laura were planning to try to sail non-stop around the planet on a large high-performance yacht of the sort that Dame Ellen MacArthur used and via the Southern Ocean, then no one in their right minds would allow her to do so. Sensibly, she is aiming at something more manageable, which nevertheless will present her with an ordeal that could break her spirit.

By planning a stopping circumnavigation on a small boat, by avoiding the Great Capes and by having a “mother ship” shadowing her, she makes possible something that might otherwise be beyond her and would be highly dangerous.

The chief enemies of the solo long-distance sailor are fatigue and the inability to keep watch when asleep. Both of these can be controlled to some extent by stopping regularly and by having others near by to keep a lookout for you. Yet Laura will still be short of the most valuable weapon in a solo sailor’s armoury: experience. Any veteran will tell you that there is no substitute for time on the water and especially in the boat that you intend to sail.

There is almost no limit to the range of problems a solo sailor can face and all of them are easier to face with experience. This goes not just for the inevitable storms Laura will encounter but making choices on navigation, the myriad chores of trying to keep a small boat at sea when everything requires constant maintenance and repair and the battle against loneliness.

So we can argue that this is a feasible operation. Her record, if she sets it, will be a marvellous achievement. But it will pale when set against the non-stop version of the 17-year-old Zac Sutherland.

Edward Gorman was sailing correspondent of The Times from 1996 to 2006

Times Recommends

• Google to digitise Iraqi artefacts
• Renault angers parents by naming new car Zoé
• Analysis: most lawless part of Philippines