Cape Horn proves ‘too dangerous’ for round the world teen

Mike Perham is currently in the midst of the biggest challenge of his life: to become the youngest person to sail single-handed around the world.  Amidst a storm of criticism on shore and perilous conditions in the middle of the pacific, he must make a decision that could decide the outcome of his record attempt.

As Mike has been crossing the pacific speculation has been rife as to whether he will tackle the dangerous but ultimately faster route round Cape Horn. Mike has become involved in an unspoken competition between himself and 17 year old American, Zac Sunderland who is already travelling around the world and due to complete his voyage in the next few weeks. Zac was born on 29th November  1991 but Mike was born on 16th March 1992. This means that, once Zac completes his voyage, Mike will have just over 16 weeks to complete his journey or the hope of achieving the record will be lost.

A series of ongoing failures with the boat Totallymoney.com has caused delays which now see Mike facing the onset of winter in the notorious southern ocean. Some question whether the journey is simply too dangerous to continue. Skip Novak, an experienced Antarctic sailor has warned that Cape Horn is considerably more dangerous to round than it is in the summer, while a spokesperson for the Ocean Youth Association said, “sending even trained children on ocean sailing events is madness.”

Concerns were mounting as reports came in this week that Mike’s Open 50 yacht, TotallyMoney.com had been battered by up to 50 knots of wind, accompanied by 50 foot waves which threw the vessel completely on his side. Luckily, both were left unscathed, but the incident has only served to intensify criticism levelled since the beginning of the trip that the attempt is too dangerous.

Today it has been revealed that Mike has chosen to route via the Panama Canal. Commentators have speculated that forecasts of violent storms may have been behind Mike’s decision. The move could be a serious setback to Mike’s record attempt. Cape Horn is well known as being part of the fastest sailing route around the world, so the detour could cost him valuable time.

All coverage of Mike’s journey, as well as a live tracker of his position can be found at Mike Perham’s World Challange