Michael Perham 14 yr old transat nearly there.

graham

graham

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Young mike Perham is only a few days from Antigua now. Fingers crossed all goes well for him on the last bit.

Mike Perham

I take my hat off to him for an amazing achievment ,I also think a large dollop of luck has been involved.
 
I'm glad him and his dad are getting there. I am not entirely bowled over with the idea of younger and younger "record" holders - presumably faster and younger comes next - nor with the promotional aspects of the boat choice.
I wonder how Mrs Perham views it?
 
Same here - I shall also 'tip my lid' to young Mike - I think he has done brilliantly!
(I would have loved to have done something like that when I was his age - except I wouldnt have been allowed to....)

Re a 'large dollop of luck' being involved, couldn't one say the same (more or less) about any sailing passage across any stretch of water?

I have been across the Atlantic a couple of times (but not singlehanded), and IMHO the passage from the Canaries to Antigua is in many ways much easier to do than (say) a passage across Biscay or even just across the Channel - you need Lady Luck on your side for sure in the shipping lanes in fog.....
I think the most difficult part of a transatlantic passage for many folk would be the psychological aspect re getting yourself mentally prepared for being at sea for 25 or 30 days (and in Mike's case, alone), assuming of course that the boat is well equipped and sorted beforehand.
 
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Watch out! Chay will be there.

ARN - Atlantic Rally for Nippers
ART - Atlantic Rally for Tots
ARE - Atlantic Rally for Embryos

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ARS - Atlantic Rally for Sperm? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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Re a 'large dollop of luck' being involved, couldn't one say the same (more or less) about any sailing passage across any stretch of water?


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Your absolutely right .An element of luck is allways involved.
Mike seemed to have more luck than his Dad. Dads boat first broke a rudder pintle.Then later snapped off the rudder blade itself. In fairness they were prepared for this and had spares to make an emergency rudder.

I think the" Tide 28 class" will benefit from the Atlantic crossing experience .Im sure the rudder system will be strengthened in some way on future Tide 28s.

A similar thing happened when a pair Anderson 22s crossed the Atlantic in the 70s.All future boats had hugely strong rudder systems.(you could crane the boat out on my rudder /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

Mikes sea anchor fell to bits the one time he tried to use it,hopefully they will name and shame the maker at some point. If they had encountered really bad weather this could have left him running out of options in a light boat that surfs easilly.

Anyway Im sure we havent heard the last of Mike.(Move over RKJ /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif) his dad must be immensely proud and fingers crossed for a safe arrival for both of them.
 
See his dad has now lost a cap shroud also

I think he's done really well - his brief reports paint a good picture of a young lad coping with a big task, and the occasional meloncholy of being alone on a boat. Hope the rest of the trip goes well for them

Of course there's an element of luck, but the planning seems thorough enough. Good luck to them - they have defied their critics and deserve to succeed
 
Having been sceptical about this venture at the beginning I congratulate them (I hope not prematurely) on a successful crossing and acknowledge their achievement. It's ironic that Dad had the breakages - a rudder and a shroud while son seems to have come through more or less unscathed.

I still don't think this is a suitable boat for this sort of passage though
 
Agree with you on your last point - people have done it in craft not bigger than a bathtub, so say it's safe to do so is another thing.

As to the father/son thing. It appears to me that father wanted to make a point and "pushed" too hard. Son just wanted to get there in one piece. Surely the more sensible attitude.
 
14 is over the hill these days.This picture shows my youngest son doing his first singlehanded transat /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
SWScan00033.jpg


And his older brother on his first singlehanded circumnavigation.
SWScan00034.jpg
 
I still don't agree with what his Dad has done taking a risk with his son but I tip my hat to Mike and a well done to him.

I'm glad his luck is holding out as it looks like he's going to make it safely.

However, I still think these boats are not the boats to be crossing the atlantic in and it's interesting to learn that his Dad's boat seems to be the one with all the problems.

Just out of interest does this actually qualify as a record? Isn't there supposed to be an independant person watching events, boat cams etc.?
 
I think if someone sails over the horizon on a small boat, them appears a month later on the other side of the atlantic, then most will accept that they've sailed across. I think it's only records like how many boiled eggs can you fit in your eye socket that have to be verified.
 
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Just out of interest does this actually qualify as a record? Isn't there supposed to be an independant person watching events, boat cams etc.?

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Absolutely, I am still knackered after shadowing Chichester and Day Mellon on their exploits! And I got none of the credit!! And me boat cam got wet!!!
 
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