SportGibraltar

Sailing: 14 year saling towards record of being youngest person to cross the Atlantic, single-handed

Michael Perham, just 14 years old, has set out to become the youngest person to sail the Atlantic single-handed.

Aiming to beat Seb Clover's record, Perham set sail from Gibraltar on Saturday in Cheeky Monkey, a Tide 28 trailer-sailor developed by his father with Cowes boat builder Nigel Harley. Michael's father, Peter Perham will be accompanying his son in a second Tide 28.

The voyage is 3,500 miles to Antigua in the Caribbean and Michael hopes to complete the passage in four weeks. Cheeky Monkey's progress can be monitored via his web site (link below) with tracking provided by OC Tracker.

Reporting from his boat on Saturday Michael said: "We left Gibraltar at 1pm in the afternoon, we were going to leave a bit earlier but waited for the wind to pick up. We then waited for a short while out of the bay and into the straits where we picked up a steady force 3, which is taking us down the straits and then we will turn left and follow the African coast. We are so excited and my dad is so proud of me and I'm fulfilling my lifetime ambition!"

Follow Mike's progress, through his daily diary.

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