Real Bravo! - 20090828

A 17-year-old British teenager, Mike Perham, becomes the youngest person to sail around the world alone, in the age of 17.

The solo effort is simply marvellous, and must be jaw-dropping to most of the Hong Kongers, including me.

Imagine this, if the boy had been born, unluckily in Hong Kong, he would have never completed this wonder. First, no caring papa and mama would allow their baby to do such a dangerous thing. Even if the parents incline to allow the trip, they would very likely be alleged of "child abuse" by some righteous societies, e.g. the one named with "understanding" and "light" would fuck it up dutifully.

And even if all the third parties, strangely, zip up their mouths about the trip, no ordinary Hong Kong boys could put up with the idea. In nearly a whole year, no others could be relied upon, playing PSP is simply impossible, no girl to flirt with etc. And between the yacht and yourself, there are only sky and sea, boundaries are both imaginatively and realistically unreachable . Above all, boredom would force you to jump into the sea.

I guess Mike would treat loneliness as solitude. On your own, you see the sunrise and sunset, wave crest and trough, birds fly and fish swim. The nuance of nature unravels privately without reservation to you. On your own, you challenge, tackle and smother the nature. Through this epic trip, I guess Mike would grasp the solitude of life.

So, salute to Mike Perham.