Dee Caffari's double solo record and 6th place is one of the greatest ever British sailing stories
Elaine Bunting
Dee CaffariI've proved I can do it now, so now I've got the bug, I'd love to do it again
Dee Caffari: Press Coverage
British yachtswoman Dee Caffari made history today when she became the first woman to sail around twice around the world in different directions, both against and now with the prevailing winds and currents.
In crossing the finish line of her first Vendee Globe on Open 60 Aviva after 99 days 1 hour and 10 minutes on the racetrack, Caffari achieved her ambitious goal, set in 2006 after completing a solo westabouts circumnavigation in which she spent 178 days battling against prevailing winds and tides.
She joins an exclusive club of just two other sailors Britain's Mike Golding and Frenchman Jean Luc Van Den Heede who have succeeded in both directions but Caffari has only been sailing professionally for ten years with just 18 months experience in Open 60 racing, which makes her achievement all the more remarkable.
See the complete Telegraph article here
Dee is elated to have finished. She was surrounded by a flotilla of supporter boats as she crossed the line, holding bright white flares above her head.
This is just incredible! To see all these people here to watch me cross the line and make history is just awesome. The support and recognition has been unbelievable. I'm quite exhausted but I'll be buzzing for the next few days. My goal was to set the double world first and Aviva and I have done it. It's an amazing feeling to become the first woman to sail solo, non-stop both ways around the world. You just can't buy an experience like this, it's awesome!
However, the race was not without incident as Dee was forced to use all her tenacity and determination to battle her way to the finish line with her severely damaged mainsail looking like a shredded ‘string vest'. The mainsail is a solo skipper's key sail that provides the majority of the power to the 60 foot carbon fibre racing machine but since the Southern Ocean Dee has had continuous problems caused by the sail falling apart.
In an effort to keep the sail in one piece Dee even resorted to using the skin staples from her medial kit and had to cut up one of her additional sails to patch the most badly affected areas. However, three months of ocean racing with hurricane force winds and enormous waves have left the sail in tatters. Nonetheless, the British skipper kept her eyes on the ultimate prize, to set a double world first and make history.
Making the front page of the Times, they report:
In the Vendée, sailing with the wind and tides, Caffari travelled more than 27,000 miles, whereas on her previous nonstop, solo trip it took 178 days to complete a journey of more than 29,000 nautical miles.
Caffari, from Watford, had to contend with light winds in the closing stages of the Vendée that frustrated her attempts to finish and claim the record.
See the full Times article here
The Guardian reported on the victorious moment as Dee crossed the finish
She crossed the line off Les Sables d'Olonne, France, at 1.13pm to take sixth place in the race and complete a feat achieved by only four men – circumnavigating the globe with and against the prevailing currents and winds .
During the race she sailed through the iceberg-strewn Southern Ocean and rounded Cape Horn, while sleeping in snatches of 20 minutes and living on a diet of freeze-dried food.
You can see the rest of the Guardian article here
The Vendée Globe has been littered with drama and excitement, with nineteen yachts retired from thirty starters making the race a war of attrition. It has been a battle that Dee has bravely fought to reach her ultimate goal.
The Vendée Globe has a reputation as the ‘Everest of the Seas' and this edition has certainly lived up to its name. There was disaster and drama at every turn with dismastings, Yann Elies's broken leg and Jean Le Cam's capsize. It was hard not to get distracted but I just had to keep going. My focus was getting Aviva and I home safe and sound and with the support of my team I've managed that so I'm over the moon.
You can see Dee talking about her epic voyage on the BBC Sports page here and a further interview here
There's more about Dee on the Yachting World Website
Dee returns to the UK in early March
Download Dee's Biography (PDF)