Mike Perham on Totallymoney.com (Photo by Julien Girardot/DPPI)
Mike Perham, the teenager from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire who has high hopes of sailing into the record books at the end of August to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the Globe alone, has covered more than 1,000 miles during his first week and is now off the Florida coast.
He and his Open 50 yacht Totallymoney.com left Panama last Tuesday, but says he has not been able to sleep for more than two hours a day, sometimes down to one and never longer than 15 minutes at a time. This is because he has to stay alert for fear of being run down by one of the many ships that are following the same route between Panama and the East Coast of the US. At times he has reported over 20 ships on his radar. On Sunday Mike said in his blog, ‘The main thing is to be safe. The traffic has picked up a lot this evening – in the last hour I’ve had three ships pass within a few miles.’
Mike has also found the extreme heat particularly uncomfortable. He reports, ‘It’s so, so hot inside that the last thing I want to do at the moment is sit at the chart table. it’s over forty degrees Celsius day and night.’ Often he has no choice but to be in the cabin as he has had to navigate around the Miskito and Rosalind Banks that stick out from the coast of Nicaragua and Honduras. On rounding the western tip of Cuba over the weekend there was a traffic separation scheme to be negotiated.
Mike is having to use all his navigation skills, working the currents and sometimes fickle winds to pass through this area. His decision to go through the Panama Canal instead of around Cape Horn is proving far more of a challenge than was first perceived.
Another weather phenomenon he has had to contend with are the powerful lightening storms. On Monday he wrote, ‘Today was a day of squalls and some of the craziest forked lightning I’ve seen so far – a bolt hit the water less than a mile away from me as I rounded the western tip of Cuba. Slightly worrying when I’m the tallest thing around!’
Another concern are pirates which are known to operate in this area. Mike is on an increased state of alert and his web tracker, showing the world Totallymoney.com course, has been suspended until he is clear of the region
If the wind gods remain kind, the 17 year old circumnavigator now expects to cross the Ushant/Lizard finish line off Falmouth UK in 21 days time and hopes to return to Gunwharf Quay, Portsmouth on August 25/26
Spirit of Mystery at the Sydney Boat Show (Photo by Colin Merry)
Well the boat show here in Sydney has got off to a great start! The weather is sunny and temps. are up into the high teens. With five exhibition halls and a marina full of boats there is plenty to see and drool over. ”Spirit of Mystery” is being really well received with loads of people coming on board for the tour and story of her voyage. We are working hard to try and accommodate all who want to see her.
Jessica Watson's Pink Boat (Photo by Colin Merry)
Next door to us is a very pink yacht indeed! It is a 34′ Sparkman and Stephens. Sixteen year old Jessica Watson will be setting off from Sydney in September in her bid to be the youngest solo circumnavigator. Her route will take her northeast across the equator to Washington Island in the North Pacific, around the notorious Cape Horn, below South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, across the Indian Ocean and up the East coast back home to Sydney. Jessica hopes to return before her 17th birthday. I asked her a few questions whilst being shown around on board.
Why? – The challenge, she has heard the stories and needs to know what it will be like for herself.
Which things are you most looking forward to? – The milestones, the Horn would be great.
What things are you most dreading? – The first storm, other than getting that one behind me not anything really.
What will you miss most? – Friends and family.
How long are you planning for? – 230 days.
What are you taking with you to remind you of friends and family? – Pics, mascots, music and a dancing chicken!
What frustrates you most about societies perception of a youngster taking on what you are about to do? -Not being ready to accept that I can do this. And being classed as a minor on all the forms that have to be signed off.
Colin Merry and Jessica Watson
Jessica came across as a level headed girl who has her sights firmly set on achieving her goal.
Jessica Waston (Photo by Colin Merry)
We at C&A wish her well and will be following her progress. For more information on Jessica log onto www.jessicawatson.com.au
Totallymoney (Photo courtesy of Totallymoney.com)
17 year old British sailor Mike Perham set out from Panama tlast night on the final stage of his record attempt to become the youngest solo yachtsman to take on the world. Sailing the Open 50 race yacht TotallyMoney.com. Mike set out on this extraordinary odyssey from Gunwharf Quay Portsmouth, England on November 15, 2008 and now expects to make a triumphant return within four weeks.
Mike from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, first hit the headlines two years ago when he became the youngest person ever to sail across the Atlantic single-handed at the age of just fourteen – a record recognised by the Guinness Book of Records.
The Guinness encyclopaedia of record facts and feats is monitoring Mike’s progress once more. Earlier this month, American teenager Zac Sunderland returned to Los Angeles to claim the youngest solo circumnavigation record, but Mike is three and a half months younger and has until mid November to get his name into the record books. Mike Broughton, the British weather guru, who has been advising Perham throughout his record attempt, forecasts a 29 day voyage back to Portsmouth to give the 17 year old more than 2 months to spare.
During Mike’s circumnavigation, which is sponsored by TotallyMoney.com , Vocalink, Skechers Footwear, Mastervolt, Kemp Sails and many other companies, he has overcome everything nature can throw at him including storm force winds and 50ft seas. He has also had to overcome major problems with his yacht’s self-steering system, rudder bearings and electrics. Stopping for repairs added months to the voyage and led to Mike missing the seasonal weather window for rounding Cape Horn. Continued bad weather in the Southern Ocean, which had Totallymoney.com surfing down waves at crazy speeds up to 28knots, eventually forced the teenager to sail much further north than he had intended and sensibly, he re routed his return to the Atlantic via the Panama Canal.
Mike’s daily blogs and videos have been an inspiration to thousands who read and watch them each day. Mixing picturesque sunsets with ferocious seas, he describes with remarkable insight, his encounters with whales and dolphins, – and contrasting rubbish that litter the sea. Mike said today: “I’m finally on the last leg and it feels just great. I only have about 5,000 miles to go, so I am hoping to be home inside four weeks. I really can’t wait, but I won’t push the boat too hard, as I would not want anything to happen that might have been preventable.“
Money raised by Mike during the 28,000-mile voyage is being donated to Save the Children and the Tall Ships Youth Trust.
