Mike Perham on the last leg home

[Cornishman]

Mike Perham set out from Panama on the last leg of his round the world odyssey on Tuesday in the yacht Totallymoney.com and expects to arrive in Portsmouth in about four weeks. This will make 17 years old Mike the youngest solo R T W yachtsmen. Remember Mike? He holds the record for being the youngest solo Transatlantic skipper when he completed the crossing at the age of 14.

 

[curve]

Does it matter that he didn't round Cape Horn though?

 

[bbg]

Panama through the Carribean could be a long and unpleasant bash to windward. It wouldn't surprise me if he stopped somewhere - Florida perhaps.
Certainly what he has done so far - and will undoubtedly complete - is a major accomplishment, and something most of us (me included) will never achieve.
His achievement is, however, somewhat tarnished due to his failure to realise his original objective and the shameless hype and self-promotion that accompanied the first stages of his circumnavigation.

 

[MoodySabre]

his failure to realise his original objective

Some would say that changing plans to suit the circumstances (state of the boat, time of the year etc) was a seamanlike decision.

OK, the hype was huge but the acheivement, even so far, is massive and beyond most sailors ability. The lad is doing brilliantly.

 

[bbg]

I agree completely that the decision not to round the horn was seamanlike. As the season got later, going into the Southern Ocean would have been foolhardy.
But the whole exercise seemed to me to be aimed at promoting himself, rather than aimed at achieving the stated objective (youngest non-stop solo circumnavigation via the great capes). His unfortunate choice of title sponsor seems ironically appropriate.

As I said in my first post - it is an enormous achievement. But you'll have to forgive me for withholding some of my appreciation as a consequence of his crass self-promotion (which was probably not driven entirely by him).