Boy, 15, sails single-handed across Atlantic

A 15-year-old boy became the youngest person to sail the Atlantic single-handed yesterday after a 2,700-mile race with his father. Seb Clover received a hero's welcome at Antigua after 24 days at sea, despite losing to his father, Ian, 46.

They left Tenerife on 19 December, in 32ft Contessa class yachts. Mr Clover Snr, a sailing instructor, reached Antigua on Saturday afternoon in his yacht, Xixia. Seb delayed his arrival to enter English Harbour in daylight.

Stepping out of his yacht, Reflection, on the dockside at 12.50pm British time, Seb said he was looking forward to "a bed that did not move".

He celebrated landfall with a lemonade with plenty of ice. "It was the best thing I have ever tasted," he said.

He said he was "absolutely shocked and amazed" at his exuberant welcome – a steel band serenaded him into port, where his parents and the Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda were waiting to greet him. "I cannot walk down the street without someone shaking my hand," said Seb, from Cowes, Isle of Wight.

He admitted to feeling the physical effects of the voyage, having had little sleep and been thrown out of his bunk bed twice. A bad moment, he said, was when he ran out of chocolate. Among the highlights was spotting whales and dolphins swimming alongside his boat.

Mr Clover said he had been in daily contact with Seb, and expressed his admiration for his son's seamanship. "He had a major rigging problem which he managed to resolve. I cannot tell you how proud I am of him," said Mr Clover, who began training Seb for the challenge when he was 12.