Dee's story
Twin peaks - Elaine Bunting from Yachting World comments on Dee's achievements
Not many sporting records stand for very long but my guess is that Dee Caffari's twin world records will be an exception. In becoming the first woman to sail alone non-stop round the world in both directions she achieved such a difficult feat that only four people in history have ever managed it.
The two records could not have been more different, and they represent an astonishing learning curve.
For the Aviva Challenge in 2005 Dee was by herself on a 72ft steel cutter originally designed for a full crew of 18 people. This was the same boat she had skippered the wrong way round the world in the Global Challenge race earlier that year. The yacht was fitted with electronic autopilots and furling headsails but still a tremendous handful for one person.
Not a natural loner, Dee struggled with the conflicting emotions caused by extreme fatigue. One of the lowest points for her was when the autopilots failed near Cape Horn. After a week of attempts she managed a dependable running repair.
In the Southern Ocean, Dee faced storm after storm and a relentless routine of preparing, reefing down and battling through wind and waves before making speed again and tackling endless lists of repairs. South of Australia Dee had to go aloft to the top of Aviva's mast to fix a masthead instrument and got stuck.
After several hours swinging around helplessly as night came on she made a huge final effort. The switch to the descending climbing gear worked, but by the time Dee was back on deck she was badly shaken and covered in severe bruising.
Weeks later Dee was confronted by ice, an unpredictable and often barely visible hazard that could potentially have sunk Aviva. Dee could do little other than keep a sharp lookout and hope that her radar would pick up most of the bigger pieces. This frightening period was probably the biggest test of her mental strength and seamanship instincts.
Dee sailed safely back up the Atlantic and when she arrived in May 2006, Aviva looked fresh enough to sail round the world again. Almost as soon as Dee stepped ashore she declared her intention to sail the other way round the world, but in a very different type of yacht. Her goal was to compete in the non-stop Vendée Globe race, starting in November 2008.
This was a very different proposition: a fast, downwind race against some of the world's top solo skippers and in a boat unknown to her - a type of boat that trades off high performance against a typical race failure rate of around 30%.
With Aviva's continued support, Dee began the race with a well prepared boat and an extra 12,000 miles of careful training. The fastest and most experienced of the French sailors streaked away but Dee was never far behind and when gear failures or the consequences of driving their boats too hard took their toll with abandonments, Aviva moved back towards the head of the fleet.
A problem with Aviva's mainsail posed a major dilemma for Dee in the Southern Pacific. The protective film covering the sail's loaded fibres began to delaminate and Dee could no longer race at full speed. She had to strike a balance between racing fast and making it to the finish line.
In January 2009, Dee and Aviva were overtaken by one of the race's biggest storms close to Cape Horn, with winds of 65 knots gusting to 85 knots. Once again, Dee's seamanship and judgement was spot on. When she sailed up the Atlantic to the finish in France, Aviva was 6th out of only 11 finishers.
Yet that's not really the right way to think about what she achieved. The fair way to view it is that in the world's toughest yacht race Dee was sixth out of the 30 who started. To crown the accomplishment, it earned her a second world record in the hardest way possible.
Elaine Bunting, Yachting World magazine
