Michael Perham,14, the youngest person ever to sail single handed across the Atlantic Ocean, is looking forward to sailing his boat in the UK after JP Morgan gave him a helping hand to bring it home from Antigua.

After completing his record breaking crossing of the Atlantic in January, the Perham family announced that they were unable to fund the delivery of his boat “Cheeky Monkey” back to the UK. Upon hearing in a news article that he wished to compete in the Round the Island Race, title sponsors JPMorgan Asset Management stepped in to make this dream become a reality, and paid for the shipment of his boat back to the UK, as well as his entry and berthing fees for this year’s race.

The Round the Island Race is the country’s third largest sporting participation event, after the Flora London Marathon and the Great North Run. Approximately 1,500 boats and 13,000 competitors race around the 55-mile course each year. There are currently over 800 entries for this year’s race, which takes place on Saturday 23rd June, nearly a third higher than the number of entries that were received this time last year.

Campbell Fleming, Managing Director at JPMorgan Asset Management comments: “We are delighted to be able to make this dream a reality for Michael. I look forward to seeing Michael on the start line on and wish him every success in this year’s race”.

‘It is going to be very exciting to sail alongside so many of the big racing yachts’ said Michael. ‘I can’t wait!’ After hearing of his entry in the Round the Island Race, The Island Sailing Club in Cowes presented Michael with an honorary cadetship yesterday.

Photo: Paul Wyeth