Teen sailor Michael Perham set off from Portsmouth late November in the hope to become the youngest person to sail around the world single-handed.

Michael was waved off by scores of family, friends and other well-wishers as he began a grueling four-month, 21,000-mile voyage.

Two years ago, aged 14, Michael became the youngest person to sail across the Atlantic and that made him determined to take on a bigger challenge.

"This is much harder," he said before setting sail on his 50ft carbon-fibre racing yacht. "The Atlantic was three or four weeks but this will be over four months and the boat is much bigger and harder to handle." However, the toughest part will not be any storms he might run into but "the fact that you are alone for so long, away from friends and family," he said.

Luckily, thanks to MarineTrack, friends and family can track Michael’s every move providing invaluable peace of mind for his mother - “knowing they have the latest tracker technology on board will be a big relief”. Offering the confidence of proven, accurate tracking and live online monitoring, Mike and his team, including his father Peter in a second support boat, will have the best possible guidance for the attempt.

Unfortunately, Michael has experienced technical problems since setting sail and has been forced to stop in Gran Canaria for essential repairs.   Spokesman Kizzi Nkwocha said: “At one point Michael had to cut one of two wires connected to the auto pilot in order to steer a straight path.  He didn’t know which one to cut so he just took a guess. Luckily, it was the right one and he was able to continue his journey.    It’s a frustrating situation; however, Michael is incredibly resourceful and determined to complete the voyage.”

Despite these set backs, Michael is still on coarse for the world record.  His progress can be viewed on his dedicated console page on www.sailmike.com

MarineTracks Marketing Manager Damian McCann remarked, “ I've got the greatest respect for anyone who has the motivation to get out there and push themselves to achieve great things, especially considering his age. We wish him the best of luck and look forward to his safe return to the UK having achieved the World Record.”

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