In 2007 at the age of 14 he became the youngest person in the world to successfully sail across the Atlantic Ocean single-handedly, beating the record set in 2003 by British sailor Seb Clover.

[3][4] In 2007, Perham became the youngest person in the world to successfully sail across the Atlantic Ocean single-handedly,[5] when he helmed the 28 foot (8 metres) Cheeky Monkey between Gibraltar and Antigua with repair stops in the Canary Islands and Cape Verde between 18 November 2006 and 3 January 2007.

[6][9][10] On 15 November 2008, Perham began his solo non-stop circumnavigation around the world from Gunwharf Quays[1] in Portsmouth, England, in his chartered Open 50 yacht, totallymoney.com (named after the principal sponsors).

Perham was 16 when he began the journey, and turned 17 on 16 March 2009, while crossing the Indian Ocean making him the youngest solo round-the-world sailor.

The decision to accept assistance along the way, along with harsh winter conditions, led Perham to decide to travel through the Panama Canal rather than sail around Cape Horn.

[12] Perham and Sunderland met unexpectedly in Cape Town, South Africa, in February 2009, along with Minoru Saito, a Japanese sailor who is the oldest person to circumnavigate the world solo.

[14] Perham's official homecoming reception and press conference was at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth on 29 August 2009,[15] where he was met by friends, family and Vendée Globe yachtsman Tony Bullimore.

However, on 28 March 2010 Perham announced on his website that because of medical problems following a recent operation he wouldn't be fit enough to participate in the expedition.