14-Year-Old Sails Atlantic Solo

British Teen Lands In Antigua After Record-Breaking 3,500-Mile Journey Aboard 28-Ft. Sailboat

(AP)  A British teen became the youngest person to sail solo across the Atlantic Ocean, completing a 3,500-mile voyage Wednesday when he reached the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Mike Perham, 14, waved his fist triumphantly to a small crowd of Antiguan officials and supporters as he docked his 28-foot sailboat outside St. John's on the southeastern side of the island.

Perham, who was followed by his father during his journey, set sail Nov. 18 from Gibraltar and made brief stops for repairs in the Canary Islands and Cape Verde.

Perham, of Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, was seeking to break the record held by Sebastian Clover, also of Britain, who was 15 when he sailed solo from the Canary Islands to Antigua in 2003.

Perham had been expected to reach Antigua on Tuesday but a late problem with a sail delayed his arrival.

Antigua radio hosts Jolyon and Judy Byerley have been following Perham's trip for nearly a month and have been broadcasting news of his progress from their home-based studio.

Joylon, a former sailor, is full of admiration for Perham. “If you can realize what it is like to be entirely alone out in the vast, very lonely Atlantic … I think it ranks with some of the extraordinary things that people have done … voyaging around the world," he said.

Perham broke the record held by another British yachtsman, Sebastian Clover, who sailed from the Canary Islands to Antigua in January 2003 at the age of 15.

Sailor Fred Vonik was also full of praise. "I think it is a very impressive achievement,” he said. “At 14, most people might do a bit of dinghy sailing or windsurfing. And to cross the Atlantic, it's a huge achievement.”

“It's a journey that most sailors never even achieve in their entire life, so to do it at the age of 14 is very impressive," Vonik said.

[rusty50-2009]

What an amazing kid. A huge feat for a grown man or woman, let alone a fourteen year old boy.

Congratulations, although I'd be reluctant to let my kid try it.

Selah

[CodyMac]

It said his dad followed him in his journey. Are they saying his dad was in another sail boat behind Mike or something?

[got2cents]

That is an amazing achievement at age 14. Pretty impressive, if he didn%u2019t have his Father following behind him. Did the 15 year old, in 2003 have a person following him? I think a lot of 14 year olds could do amazing things, if the Parent wanted to follow behind them the entire way.
It is an achievement no matter what or how he did it. I do feel if the 15 year old did it alone in 2003, he is then still the youngest person to have sailed across the Atlantic SOLO. Pretty simple the word solo, implies alone, or by one%u2019s self.

[pandoraboxed]

I father was sailing in tandem with him on the same kind of boat. It is nothing more than a promotional stunt for the Tide 28.
Besides a boat with a 70hp outboard is not a sailboat.

[catsbow]

This is an accomplishment but I agree with the father thing. If the other young man was truly alone, he should keep the record. You have to take into consideration the true meaning of sailing ALONE. No one to talk to. No one to rely on if anything goes wrong. Tania Aebi, 18 years old, sailed around the world totally alone. Took her 2 years. I believe she picked up a cat at one point. The book Maiden Voyage, is a great read.

I have done a bit of sailing myself and I will tell you that sailing a small craft by yourself is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. Things can and will go wrong. Nothing in this world is faster than an accident. Some say that well....his father was there and he as not alone. Remember you can die in a matter of seconds, it might take longer than that to get to him.

I'm sure that if he were out there without his father or anyone else, someone here would be complaining that he had bad parents and let him go it alone. So shut up and leave the boy alone

[cjstyer]

A remarkable story. I did the trip with seven others in a 78 ft schooner. However, who does your geography? The map shows that Cabo Verde is above the Canaries. Actually the Canaries are above Cabo Verde which is right off the horn of Africa.

[got2cents]

Pandoraboxed: Thanks for the editorial. Your religious *** is great and thanks! Did you forget to take all your meds today? You obviously are a little off (in the head). %u201C14 Year-Old Sails Atlantic Solo%u201D, nice title, but not reality. At 14 I did some amazing things, but I am not here to brag, or be jealous, just give credit where credit is due. I was going to write a lot her, but I realize you are an irrational person, and not worth the time. Just read my old post again, so you can go a little further out of your mind. GO TO GOOGLE AND TYPE IN, DEFIN:SOLO. CLICK ON WEB DEFENITION, READ THE TOP 7 DEFENITIONS%u2026EINSTEIN!

[got2cents]

FYI: In 2003, Sebastian Clover sailed "solo" across the Atlantic Ocean in a race against his father.When Ian Clover (Father) reached port, he said his son was about 80 miles behind him. Sebastian, reached port about 12 hours after his Father.

Tania Aebi in 1985, set out around the world "alone" at 18.
She sailed 27,000 miles around the world, alone on a twenty-six foot sloop. Sailing from, and returning to the South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan. She was 21 when she was finished.She spent one year after her return reliving the voyage in words, writing her bestselling book, MAIDEN VOYAGE.....NOW THAT IS NEWS WORTHY!!....a young woman, sails 27,000 miles "SOLO". It is nice to read the word solo, as how it was intended!!Her dad was waiting for her when she Finished, in 1987, at almost 21 years of age...AMAZING!

[Free Citizen]

You can all castigate "pandoraboxed" as much as you want but it doesn't change the fact that the boy did not "truly" sailed solo. And neither did Sebastian Clover. Yet, the seamanship of these boys can not be understated. Afterall, they did handle the boats themselves. Still, it is not truly solo. But Tania Aebi did. And not only did she sailed across the Atlantic "alone" but she did so "solo" around the world. That is something else. The next time another news of this sort comes up, it better be a kid about the age of Tania Aebi or younger. Otherwise, it wouldn't be news worthy. In this age of journalistic sensationalism, there is little that will excite me.

[bluestardad]

Well Done Young Man!

[pandoraboxed]

GOT2CENTS= should say GOT2CELLS because thats about how many brain cells you have, dumb a$$.

There were no adverse weather conditions, they crossed in the doldrums, my 5 yr old could do it with me next to him in a opti.