Yesterday 16-year old Michael Perham from Hertfordshire , England, set sail, in an attempt to become the youngest person to sail around the World, solo.

Michael is not only trying to break the record of Australian, Jesse Martin, who completed a similar feat in 1999, at the age of 18, but also to try outrace Zac Sunderland, another 16-year old, who sail solo in June this year, with the same intention.(http://www.dogonews.com/2008/06/16/16-year-high-school-student-attempts-solo-sail).

Michael, who has been sailing since he was seven, already holds one World record - Two years ago, at the age of 14, he became the youngest person to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo. Since then, he has been dreaming of sailing the World in a similar fashion.

While Michael loves to sail and does not fear the extreme weather conditions he will have to face, he is a little worried about being all alone, especially during the first week. Just like Zac, Michael is carrying his school assignments to try complete the sports diploma that he is currently pursuing. He will of course, also be blogging about his adventures on his site daily.

For entertainment, he has over 1,000 songs loaded onto his iPod. Though he will be eating canned and freeze-dried food, he is carrying with him lots and lots of his favorite dessert - chocolate!

Sailing on a 50 ft boat called TotalMoney.com, Michael started his voyage by sailing across the Bay of Biscay. He will then head down the coast of Africa before steering east across the Southern Ocean and the Pacific, and then back home to England, around Cape Horn. Michael raised the money for his trip, which is expected to cost $400,000 USD, partially by auctioning his old boat, Cheeky Monkey, and through sponsorships from both individuals and corporations.

While Zac has a head start over Michael by a few months, he is currently taking a break in Mauritius ,getting his boat repaired and doesn't plan on finishing his trip until summer of 2009. Michael, on the other hand, is hoping to be back home by next March, just before his 17th birthday. No matter who wins, they are both incredibly brave and adventurous boys and we wish them all the best.

To keep track of Michael's progress check out his website: www.sailmike.com. To keep track of Zac's progress check out his website: www.zacsunderland.com.

Sources: Dailytelegraph, TimesOnline.com