15-year-old becomes youngest person to sail around Britain while raising money for charity

Timothy has been raising money for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust

Timothy Long has become the youngest person to sail around Britain at just 15-years-old.

It took 11 weeks and Timothy had to battle through giant waves, gale-force winds and sail for 24 hours straight.

He set sail on 16 July from Hamble Marina, Hampshire, sailing anti-clockwise around the coast and arrived back to the marina on Thursday.

At some points of the 1,600-mile long journey, Timothy only slept for 20 minutes at a time.

It was all to raise money for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and Timothy raised a massive £7,300, which helps young people rebuild their confidence after cancer through sailing.

The Cancer Trust was named after Timothy's idol, Ellen MacArthur.

Dame Ellen MacArthur is a sailor who broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe in 2005.

Timothy's route was very similar to the route she took when she sailed around Britain as an 18-year-old in 1995.

He travelled on average 50 miles every day, but some parts of the journey were up to 100 miles a day.

There are extreme tides in the British Channel so anyone sailing in it needs to know how to fix a boat

Timothy commented on his JustGiving page, saying: "This is by far the hardest thing that I have ever done because when you are solo sailing there is no one there to help - no support boat, nothing."

Timothy is going back to school on Monday!

Dame Ellen also spoke about Timothy's achievement, calling it an incredible achievement.

"While Timothy will always have the personal satisfaction of that achievement, the legacy of what he's done will be even more far-reaching in terms of helping to change the lives of young people in recovery from cancer," she said.

"Young people are going to need the trust more than ever after Covid-19 as the pandemic has amplified the feelings of isolation, loneliness, anxiety, anger and fear experienced by young people undergoing cancer treatment and their families."

Timothy and his idol, Dame Ellen MacArthur, on his boat which is called'Alchemy'

The previous record was set in 2011 by 17-year-old Tom Webb, who successfully completed a similar challenge.