NON-STOP DRAMA

Mike Perham, the 16-year old school boy currently in a bid to become the youngest sailor to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe non-stop has encountered a hitch. Following a dazzling start to his quest last week and crossing the Bay of Biscay in good time his autopilot developed problems. Forced to stop at Cascais for repairs his arrival there was nothing short of dramatic when the wind accelerated to 18 knots as he rounded Cape Raso, which meant Mike had to pull out all the stops and execute some tricky manoeuvres.

'The bow was constantly plunging underwater and tonnes of water ran up the deck. Then I saw dozens of lobster pots up ahead! I was soon swerving round them at 17 knots and grinning like a madman at my slalom sailing. Fifteen minutes after rounding the headland, the wind dropped right off to a measly nine knots. I was very grateful though, as getting the main down in those conditions would have been pretty tough.'

It turns out that the fault was down to a couple of dodgy wires, but as always seems to be the case with minor faults, it took a while to discover. As it stands if mike wants to accomplish his feat non-stop, as originally planned he will now have to sail from Cascais to Cascais without stopping. However Mike’s his father, Peter Perham, who flew to Portugal to oversee repairs, pointed out “…if he does have to stop again he will still be the youngest person to sail solo round the world.”

Mike is expected to re-launch on Wednesday 26th November.

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