Leading electronics manufacturer, Mastervolt, threw its expertise – and its latest hardware – behind British 17-year-old Mike Perham’s single-handed circumnavigation of the World. The plucky teenager had already entered the record books as the youngest person to sail single-handed across the Atlantic at age 14, but now enters them again having accomplished this ultimate achievement. Mike now holds the record, having spent 158 days at sea and being just 17 years and 164 days on completion.
Mike’s team chartered a water-ballasted Open 50, Totallymoney.com, for the journey, which came with a proven racing track-record - and was the boat in which JP Mouligne sailed the Round Alone event in 1998. Mike’s trip covered approximately 30,000 miles, taking Mike across the equator and every single line of longitude on the earth’s surface.
‘Time was of the essence,’ said Mastervolt’s Marine Sales Manager, David Payne. ‘The boat needed a complete electrical overhaul before Mike left in November if he was to beat the previous record holder. We think this is a fantastic adventure, so we were happy to equip his boat for total electrical reliability, whatever extremes of weather and temperature he encountered.’
At the heart of the Mastervolt system was a 230-volt Whisper 8 (7.4kw) diesel-powered generator set, which was coupled to two ChargeMaster 12/100-3 battery chargers feeding 5 Mastervolt AGM batteries. Electrical demands were heavy, as the boat was fitted with radar, satellite communications, and an electrically-powered self-steering system that was working virtually
24-hours a day.
The compact and lightweight Whisper 8 generator was ideally suited to the task, with easy operation and frugal fuel consumption, thanks to its modern indirect injection diesel technology. The whole unit is housed under a thick sound shield and is virtually vibration free, so was an unobtrusive companion on the voyage.
Generated power was fed to a pair of Mastervolt ChargeMaster 12/100-3 battery chargers, capable of delivering outstanding performance even at extreme temperature ranges from -25 degrees C right up to +60 degrees C. This means the ChargeMaster is just as happy in the Southern Ocean as in the Tropics. Mastervolt specified its range of maintenance-free sealed AGM batteries, comprising a 70Ah generator start battery, a 90Ah main engine start battery and three 270Ah domestic batteries. These AGMs are completely safe from hydrogen out-gassing and can be installed in any position. They remain in first-rate condition even after winter storage, and have an extremely long life span. They are also ideally suited for three-stage pulse charging.
Mastervolt also supplied all of the wiring, switches and circuit breakers required for the project, including their latest MasterBus digital system for accurate battery condition monitoring and control. Mastervolt even flew one of its expert technicians, Dave Letham, out to France where the boat was being refitted, to personally oversee the installation.
‘Mastervolt have been brilliant’ said Mike Perham. ‘They helped make sure that the boat had everything it needed for 100% reliability across the World and in some very trying conditions. I would like to thank them for their involvement - their contribution definitely helped me to set this new record.’
‘We are extremely proud to have contributed towards Mike’s success,’ says Mastervolt’s David Payne. ‘He is an inspiration to all the future young sailors, and we are delighted to have been so closely involved in his record achievement.’