Mike Perham, the 17-year-old sailor from Potters Bar is 200 miles southwest of Ireland and closing in on the world record for the youngest ever circumnavigator. Mike will cross the finish line off the Lizard on Thursday and achieve this remarkable goal.

After the Lizard, Mike will continue up the Channel to a celebratory – and presumably alcohol-free – reception in Portsmouth, scheduled for Saturday. In the mean time, Mike is battling a big storm, the remain of Hurricane Bill.

‘This ‘Bad Boy Low’, as it’s now been christened, certainly did what it said on the tin,’ said Mike in his blog. ‘Totallymoney.com was really zipping along at times, surfing down some totally huge swells, the biggest of which were over 45 feet!

‘But this morning I did something I’ve never done this trip yet. I actually put on the brakes. I reduced sail considerably and slowed from 11 knots to nine. We’ve decided that it’d be better if I’m not too close to the shore when Hurricane Bill hits. The other reason for my slowing is that I’ve made such good progress across the North Atlantic, that I’m almost a day ahead of my scheduled arrival!

‘As I’ve drawn closer to home, much of the my day has been taken up with interviews. The funniest point of the whole day though was being told over the phone that the BBC had done their own special forecast on TV just for me, telling everyone how the rapidly-approaching Hurricane Bill is going to affect little old me. Seems like things are certainly hotting up for crossing the finish line on Thursday and then arriving in Portsmouth on Saturday, which I’m just so excited about! See you there.’

Click here to visit Mike’s website.

Click on the image below to see Mike’s latest video blog, shot during a stomach churning trip up the mast.