POTTERS Bar sailing star Mike Perham cleared the Straits of Florida today and remains on track to become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the world.

The 17-year-old, from Oakroyd Avenue, left England on November 15, 2008, and has overcome storm-force winds, 50ft waves and constant problems with his boat's electrics to make it this far.

He hopes to sail his Open 50 boat TotallyMoney.com into Portsmouth within 18 days to claim the record.

Writing on his blog today, the young yachtsman described his sleeplessness as he watched out for passing ships through the night.

"I've been averaging about half my usual amount of sleep overall at the moment – about three hours out of every 24," he said.

"It all caught up with me today and I’ve been feeling very, very weary.

"The good news is that I've cleared the Straits and the Bahamas, so in theory the shipping should decrease a bit now, although I’ll still need to keep my eyes open."

Last month, American teenager Zac Sunderland returned to Los Angeles to claim the youngest solo circumnavigation record.

However, Mike is three months younger and has until mid-November to get his name into the record books.

Mike first hit the headlines two years ago when he became the youngest person ever to sail across the Atlantic single-handed at the age of 14.