Mike Perham, 17, Becomes Youngest to Sail Solo Around the World

by Amy Judd | August 27, 2009 at 09:17 am

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Mike Perham, only 17-years-old, becomes the youngest person ever today to sail solo around the world with assistance, and it only took him nine months.

Mike is from Potters Bar in Hertfordshire, England, and crossed the finish line in a 50 foot racing yacht 'Totallymoney.com' at 9:55am local time in Ushant, France.

He started off last November and faced challenges such as 50 foot waves, very strong winds, and numerous technical difficulties.

His father Peter Perham said: ''I am delighted and I know Mike is very, very excited.''

His official time for crossing the line was 9.47 and 30 seconds, and although he wanted to complete the voyage non-stop originally, he had to stop a few times for technical problems, therefore his record is the youngest solo sail with assistance.

He went to Portugal, South Africa, Australia, and the Panama Canal. He had to cross the equator and every line of longitude to qualify for the title.

It was only last month that American Zac Sunderland completed his solo sail around the world, but he is two months older and so is no longer the youngest person to complete the task.

Mike Perham however, already holds the record for youngest solo sail across the Atlantic, which he completed when he was just 14-years-old.

Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records, said: "This is another incredible achievement, and it marks Mike as the consummate record-breaker - someone who's continually prepared to set themselves new and more challenging goals.

The youngest person to sail solo around the world unassisted is still Jesse Martin, 18, from Australia, who spent 327 days at sea and sailed around the world completely on his own in 1998.

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