Brit Singlehander Hours Away from Record
As we write this, British solo circumnavigator Mike Perham is roughly a day’s sail from crossing his tracks off England’s Lizard Peninsula, thus snatching the status of ‘youngest around’ from Southern Californian Zac Sunderland. Perham’s age at the finish will be two months younger than Sunderland’s when he arrived home at Marina del Rey on July 16.
Sailing eastabout, aboard the chartered Open 50 TotallyMoney.com, the 17-year-old Brit originally intended to sail the Southern Ocean route via the so-called Great Capes in order to break the nonstop, unassisted record set by Australian Jesse Martin when he was 18. But after serious autopilot problems forced Perham to make pit stops at Portugal and the Canary Islands, he lowered his sights and simply aimed to become the youngest around via any route — a feat Sunderland was pursuing at the same time. Ironically, the two young men crossed paths — and shared a cordial lunch together — in South Africa while racing the clock in opposite directions.
Just as Sunderland knew he probably would not hold the record for long, Perham can already feel the heat from three younger challengers — all of whom are female. Australian Jessica Watson, 16, plans to set sail next month and return before her 17th birthday, and Sunderland’s younger sister Abby, now 15, recently picked up the gauntlet, hoping to depart this fall also and return before her birthday 17th birthday in October, 2010. Both Watson and Sunderland intend to sail the ambitious southern route, nonstop and unassisted. As if those campaigns aren’t controversial enough — "What age is too young?" many critics are asking — 13-year-old Dutch sailor Laura Dekker has now thrown her hat into the ring with the full support of her parents, who are circumnavigators themsleves. Even in the Netherlands, however, which is arguably the most open-minded country in Europe, Dekker’s intentions have sparked a substantial controversy. In fact, government agencies are vying to put her in protective services in order to block her record attempt. We should note, however, that Dekker’s route will be via the Panama and Suez canals.
We’ll bring you further updates on all these campaigns. But for the moment, though, we’ll join Mike Perham’s countrymen in saluting his remarkable achievement. Zac Sunderland, of course, will remain the youngest North American to go ’round.