Katie McCabe is sailing around Britain – aged 14

 Fourteen-year-old Katie McCabe is sailing single-handed around Britain anticlockwise on her 26ft Morgan Giles. 

The teenager departed from the River Exe, on 30 June, followed by her dad David in his 33ft yawl, however, she is doing all of the chartwork and navigation herself.

Challenges so far have included battling leaks on board, negotiating the busy port of Dover, negotiating locks at Eastbourne and Harwich, fog, early starts in darkness, a small blow off Selsey Bill and choppy seas.

If successful, Katie could take the mantle from Timothy Long of being the youngest person to sail solo around Britain.

The teenager, who grew up on boats, found her project boat Falanda in 2019 and restored her, with the help of dad David, who is a wooden boat builder.

Last Summer, Katie sailed Falanda to the Isles of Scilly and back, around 400 miles, with her family sailing nearby in the yawl Amaryllis. 

Mum Hazel and brother Reuben, aged 10, will be chasing the round-Britain voyagers in a campervan, once the school term finishes on 23 July, and expect to catch up with them in Scotland.