Sometimes I have to sit and pinch myself when I read Mike Perham’s blog. I am reading about a boy, too young to drink or vote, taking time out from school to sail around the world.

He is in the Southern Ocean on a speeding 50 ft boat not far from Australia. He’s on his own. He is seventeen.

He is what he said last during winds of 40 knots: ‘The pilot knows no fear and will happily drop into a hollow between two waves and shoot off. The sea kicked up a fair bit and was pretty short which has made for some interesting sailing. I always thought I’d see much longer swells down here but this hasn’t really been the case.

‘Throughout the day the wind has dropped back off to 15knots, so I’ve been busy knocking out those reefs and changing up with my foresails. This ugly swell is still with us though, so it’s currently quite hard sailing, with Totallymoney.com being slewed about a fair bit.

‘It was Mother’s Day yesterday and in the evening I made sure to wish my mum a very happy mother’s day for being one of the best mums in the world. Thanks for everything mum!’

Good luck son, you are a winner whatever happens now.