I do not know what the regulations say about privately paying for rescue services, wether it is with regard to mountain climbing, or sailing. But I think the same rules should apply in case of this girl than would apply in case of 45 year old man, since that she was running into that storm that took her mast could have happened to everybody and has nothing to do with her age, nor did she sail into a rock in the middle of the ocean for being too incompetent to avoid it.
However, I also think that if a mountain climber gets into a distress situation because he embarked on a climb in the middle of a blizzard, than he also is responsible for the stupid situation he brought himself into, and his decision was irresponisble and idiotic. If then others have to get up to resuce him, he should pay for it. Correspondingly I think the decision to launch this voyage at a time of the year when the seas in the Indian ocean are known to be in "winter" conditions and thus seeing gales more often, must be taken into account. To what degree that decision can be defended or not, sailors and experts must decide, I do not know the matter.
with the girl trying that voyage, in principle I have no problem. I think that some teens of that age can have the ripeness and skill indeed to try something like this, and that it can be a gain for their life experience. Not to that spectacular ammounts, I took some security risks too during my travellings, and for being even more unexperienced - I now see stupid decisions I made that could have brought me into trouble, but did not see them back then. However, I survived.
Being successful although doing soemthign risky, is possible. that's somethign many oh so caring oh so wellmeaning oh so guarding know-it-alls do not like to understand, they want legal rules to simply forbid such things - and European states seem to be full of such brilliant minds.
However, no gain without risks. In Europe, the general trend in opinion seems to be that such things should be forbidden. but that is europe, and "being european" hardly is a compliment anymore these days, but a synonym for social-intellectual impotence and cowardice. I personally think that people are free to take risks - as long as they accept to bear the consequences in good and in bad, and with regard to parent's responsibility I do not have the impression that the parents pushed or forced their offsprings to become young sailors or that they kick-started them onto the their trips although knowing they were not fit for it.
the only thing that must be exmained here is the decision-making that lead to the timing for starting the voyage in regional winter.