Dee Caffari, who is currently attempting to become the first woman to sail round the world solo and non-stop against the prevailing winds and currents, is in the final phase of what has been an exhausting and relentless passage across the Southern Ocean.
- Dee Caffari in final phase of cruel Southern Ocean journey after 77 days of one of the world's toughest endurance tests
Dee Caffari, who is currently attempting to become the first woman to sail round the world solo and non-stop against the prevailing winds and currents, is in the final phase of what has been an exhausting and relentless passage across the Southern Ocean. She is set to leave its clutches in the next 24 hours when her course takes her above the latitude of 40º South* for the first time in over 77 days. She should round the Cape of Good Hope in approximately a week.
Since rounding Cape Horn, Caffari has battled 12,000 miles against the prevailing winds and currents, during which time she has encountered:
- Wind speeds reaching hurricane force 12 (nearly 80mph)
- Gale-force winds for in excess of 34 days, of which it was storm-force (55-63 mph) for more than 7 days. But it was the second half of the Southern Ocean that dealt the hardest blow when it blew gale-force on 19 days out of 27**
- Four back-to-back storms in a single fortnight
- Severe sleep deprivation: nine hours in nine days
- Intense fast-moving storm systems forcing evasive dives to the south
- Storm damage including broken stanchions and a snapped yankee sheet
- A lightning strike to the mast disabling her wind instruments and forcing her to undertake a perilous mast ascent. During this ascent a sudden alteration of conditions left her stranded for over an hour and she sustained severe bruising
- A lethal field of icebergs: At one point Caffari was becalmed in an ocean sailor’s nightmare with six large icebergs in visual range.
Aviva Challenge project director Andrew Roberts, comments: "Few people have any concept of what it's like to experience the extremes of the Southern Ocean and winds up to violent storm force 11 (69 mph) gusting to hurricane force 12 (nearly 80 mph). Importantly, the relentless frequency of the gales and storms left little time for recovery and made these extreme conditions very difficult to cope with. But Aviva has survived the hammering with very little damage, which is testament to Dee's seamanship."
For Caffari this has been the test of a lifetime and she has experienced extreme highs and lows, "A few weeks ago, I was struggling to see an end and thought I would be battling against the elements for ever, but today I firmly believe we are going to do this."
During her passage of the Southern Ocean Aviva has sailed 12,000 actual miles maintaining an average speed of 7 knots. This is 30% more than the assumed distance from Cape to Cape. Andrew Roberts explains: "Her course*** shows a large number of diversions and serious alterations, these have been made to avoid the very worst of the storms. The difference between the assumed distance and the actual distance sailed is due to those diversions as well as the extra distance bought about by beating to windward. Having been responsible for sending more yachts across the Southern Ocean than anybody else (50), I know that the conditions Deehas encountered on this voyage are tougher than any of our other yachts have seen. However, had it not been for skilled weather routing Deewould have faced even worse."
Speaking yesterday Caffari, said: "The track taken may have added time, but it has meant the journey has taken place with both Aviva and I in one piece. Even in these final stages of the Southern Ocean I am once again being forced to alter course to avoid yet another sinister secondary low-pressure system."
Mike Broughton, responsible for forecasting the weather and advising Caffari on routing decisions, said: "The first half of the Southern Ocean in the Pacific was much more intense due to the high number of low-pressure systems and secondary low-pressure systems. In terms of latitude she had had to go quite a long way south to dodge them at times and life became about surviving rather than progressing west. Sometimes you can’t move the boat fast enough to move out of the way when a storm moves in, and sometimes you can’t move out of the way because there simply is no hiding place!"
Asked about his demanding role in the Aviva Challenge shore team, he said: "This has been the hardest and longest weather routing I’ve ever done. I’ve been doing this every day and it’s been difficult when the storms roll in because I’m always the harbinger of bad news, but at the same time you can’t hide anything."
Dee Caffari has been at sea for 123 days since departing from Portsmouth on 20 November 2005. She officially commenced her record attempt at 1.49pm on 21 November 2005. To follow her progress and read daily logs see www.avivachallenge.com.
-ends-
* 40º South is generally presumed to be the northerly limit of the Southern Ocean
** Wind data from first 69 days in Southern Ocean due to problems with wind instruments
*** A map of Aviva’s course can be seen at www.avivachallenge.com in the progress tracker section
Enquiries including requests for photography and footage:
Karen Earl Sponsorship
Caroline Ayling +44 (0)207 202 2840
Dan Wedgwood +44 (0)207 202 2846
Aviva
Sue Winston, head of group media relations +44 (0)20 7662 8221
+44 (0)7800 699 661
Notes to editors:
Aviva and The Aviva Challenge
- www.avivachallenge.com includes a voyage tracker, Dee’s daily logs, an image library, profiles of Deeand her shore team, the yacht Aviva and further information about The Aviva Challenge
- The current world record for a non-stop single-handed circumnavigation of the globe against the prevailing winds and currents is 122 days, 14 hours, 3 minutes and 49 seconds and is held by Frenchman Jean Luc Van Den Heede
- Aviva is the world’s sixth largest insurance group based on gross worldwide premiums and market capitalisation (at 31 December 2004), and is one of the leading providers of life and pensions to Europe, with substantial positions in other markets around the world
- Aviva’s principal business activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales* of £35 billion and assets under management of £317 billion at 31 December 2005
- The Aviva media centre at www.aviva.com/mediaincludes images, company and product information and a news release archive.
Challenge Business
- Challenge Business is the organiser for "The Aviva Challenge", co-ordinating the shore team and logistics behind Dee Caffari’s solo, non-stop circumnavigation
- Challenge Business is a market leader in creating, managing and promoting World Class events - providing the opportunity for ordinary people to do the extraordinary, for the professionals to reach for the extreme and visionary businesses to achieve amazing results
- Challenge Business uses the participation and passion of adventure sport to create integrated marketing programmes for innovative businesses and has a sponsorship community of many hundreds of blue chip companies world-wide.