Teen round world solo sailor arrives Hobart

11:40 PM Fri 3 Apr 2009 GMT

'Michael Perham has arrived Hobart' .

Teenager Michael Perham, seeking to complete a solo journey around the world, arrived in Hobart last night (Friday 3rd April), having just completed a four week/ 7,000 mile crossing of the Indian Ocean.

Michael has called into Hobart because it is 'so on the way' and he has a number of minor maintenance problems. His rudder has lost its bonding, there are problems with one of the three charging methods and his 50 ft yacht Totallymoney has clutch problems on the ballast pump.

Michael Perham - chance for a rest photo Phil Long - .. .

None of these would have stopped his journey, but with the nastiest part of the Southern Ocean, including Cape Horn, facing him now, he decided to make the stop.

Contrary to early reports in the Australian media, Michael is not vying for the title held by Australian Jesse Martin, who, at 17, departed Melbourne on 7 December 1998 in his yacht, Lionheart and, after a solo non-stop unassistedjourney arrived back in Melbourne on 31 October 1999 having covered 328 days and 27,000 nautical miles (50,000 km) in all. As Michael has already stopped three times now - Canary Islands, Capetown and Hobart, this record is beyond his reach.

He could still beat the earlier record held by another Australian, David Dicks, who in 1996 at age 17 completed a solo round world journey and is still the youngest to have done so. Dicks completed his journey non-stop, but was deprived of the 'unassisted' record when he accepted a bolt off the coast of the Falkland Islads to complete a repair.

In the meantime, another 17 year old, Californian Zac Sunderland, travelling in a much more relaxed mode, left the remote St Helena in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean last week, heading for Grenada. He is just about to reach his 20,000mile mark, and is much closer to home. As he is 108 days older than Michael Perham, he will have to complete his journey 108 days earlier to win the title of 'youngest around'. However, on his previous performances, Zac, if he ever held the title as a goal, seems to have changed his mind along the way, savouring his stops and almost seeming to extend his journey wherever possible.

Jessica Watson - .. .

No matter who wins this crown, they may not hold it for long, as there is another contender in training. Fifteen year old Australian sailor Jessica Watson is planning a November departure this year in her own attempt to round the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.

by Nancy Knudsen

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