US Navy turns up to take a look at Potters Bar youth
Mike Perham is currently due east of Savannah, Georgia, the town that played host to the 1996 Olympic Games. After clearing the dense shipping traffic of the Caribbean and Florida, Mike once again found himself with a major blip on his radar screen.
‘I had a giant visitor – a huge ship on the horizon, heading straight for me on a collision course,’ said Mike this morning. ‘I couldn’t figure out what kind of ship it was at first, as it was certainly not a cargo ship. I soon spotted a huge, distinctive set of radar dishes and lots of very large gun barrels pointing out at every angle – a warship! It came within half a mile and then sailed adjacent to me, at the same speed. It had obviously decided to check me out and after about five minutes it turned away and headed back towards Florida, its curiosity satisfied.’
Mike is back on track heading north after finding himself some miles off his intended course yesterday. ‘I was pretty annoyed with myself for somehow managing to sail out of the Gulf Stream into a counter current of two knots. The sea got really ugly in this wind-against-tide situation; the wind was all over the place for about four hours, making it hard work to get back into the Gulf stream.
‘I eventually managed to hook back in with it nicely and the difference in sea state is quite amazing. It’s now nice and flat and we’re gracefully sailing along under spinnaker at nine or so knots.’