A British teenager is hoping to cast off on Sunday in a bid to become the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop around the world.

Michael Perham, 16, who became the youngest person to sail single-handed across the Atlantic at the age of 14, is confident about the trip’s success. He said: “I am feeling excited and slightly nervous, but also quite relaxed. I’ve been working with a fantastic team and I know when I sail out that the boat will be working properly.” His boat is the former Cray Valley, a Finot-designed Open 50, renamed Totallymoney.com after Mike’s main sponsor.

“You can’t be prepared for every eventuality, and there is still some equipment to be fixed to the boat, like solar panels and computers, but I feel as prepared as it’s possible to be in sailing.”

He won’t know his departure date for definite until later in the week as it will depend on final equipment checks. “I am galvanising all my energy to leave on that date, but it’s only 50:50 at the moment,” he said. “What’s most important is that the boat is perfect.”

For more information about Michael’s trip visit SailMike