Dee Caffari is expected to round the Cape of Good Hope at approximately 7pm BST today, Monday 3 April, propelling her attempt to become the first woman to sail round the world solo and non-stop against the prevailing winds and currents into a new and exciting chapter.
- 133 days since the start of the Aviva Challenge, solo yachtswoman Dee Caffari returns to the Atlantic and turns north towards the finish line
Dee Caffari is expected to round the Cape of Good Hope at approximately 7pm BST today, Monday 3 April, propelling her attempt to become the first woman to sail round the world solo and non-stop against the prevailing winds and currents into a new and exciting chapter. Returning to the Atlantic Ocean with her confidence building, she has set herself the goal of 12 May to cross the finish line off Ushant*. If she achieves this it will bring her total number of days alone at sea to 172.
Caffari has now sailed nearly 22,000 miles, spending the last 14,000 miles battling upwind across the notorious Southern Ocean. Project director of the Aviva Challenge shore team, Andrew Roberts, says: "She's still got 6,200 miles to the finish line, which is the equivalent of two transatlantic crossings. And we saw just how unpredictable the Atlantic can be when Aviva was hit by a vicious tropical storm with winds up to 70 knots in the early stages of the voyage just off the Azores. However, despite taking a brutal pounding across the Southern Ocean, Dee's excellent seamanship has kept the boat in remarkably good condition and there are currently no major technical issues, which bodes well for a successful charge up the Atlantic."
Caffari has often highlighted this milestone as the time when she can step up a gear, and transfer her undeniable determination into increased speed and progress north: "Before rounding the Cape the finish line was still around the corner and therefore beyond reach. Once I get around I can't help but feel that after experiencing the forces of nature at work against me for the last three months in the Southern Ocean, nothing can beat me. I am not foolish enough to believe that the Atlantic will be without its own traumas, but the very nature of them will be very different."
Weather forecaster, Mike Broughton, explains the dramatic change in conditions Dee will now encounter: "Returning to the Atlantic will be a huge transition, because she will move from the very strong headwinds and frequent storms of the Southern Ocean to downwind sailing conditions in southeasterly winds after the Cape. For weeks on end she has had to fight against a Southern Ocean driven current in her face, so sailing without this impediment will be a huge relief and the winds will be far warmer, but the rigours of the Atlantic Ocean ahead, including the doldrums, should not be under-estimated."
Aviva is now more than two tonnes lighter following the use of fuel and water and although safety will always remain paramount, Mike Broughton adds that with the extreme forces of the Southern Ocean behind her, Dee can now be, "more 'bullish' in the way she sails the boat." Mike is also looking forward to the huge increase in meteorological data available in the Atlantic compared with the Southern Ocean, which will aid with accurate weather forecasting and all-important routing decisions to find the fastest course.
To follow her progress and read daily logs see www.avivachallenge.com
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* Total number of days at sea are calculated from the point Caffari crossed the start line between Ushant, northwest France, and The Lizard in Cornwall. This is the start and finish line of her world record attempt, which officially commenced at 1.49pm on 21 November 2005.
Enquiries:
Karen Earl Sponsorship
Dan Wedgwood +44 (0)207 202 2846/07787 521995
Caroline Ayling +44 (0)207 202 2840/07801 351950
Georgina Spring +44 (0)207 202 2854/07747 033728
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.