Today at 14:00 BST Dee Caffari and her Open 60 yacht Aviva crossed the start line of the Artemis Transat from Plymouth to Boston, USA. Caffari predicts the transatlantic sprint is going to be action packed for the thirteen solo skippers taking on the North Atlantic.
- British record-breaking solo yachtswoman to trade the summer sunshine for icebergs in the North Atlantic
Today at 14:00 BST Dee Caffari and her Open 60 yacht Aviva crossed the start line of the Artemis Transat from Plymouth to Boston, USA. Caffari predicts the transatlantic sprint is going to be action packed for the 13solo skippers taking on the North Atlantic.
Caffari spoke from the vibrant race village in Plymouth before she departed: "It will be an awesome race to watch with so many new boats and legendary skippers competing. Michel Desjoyeaux on Foncia and Loick Peyron on Gitana Eighty have got to be favourites because of their experience and their boats are proven. But you have other new boats with established solo skippers on board like Sébastien Josse on BT, Marc Guillemot on Safran and Vincent Riou on PRB and you can't rule any of these guys out.
"One thing is for certain, it's going to be an action packed race and something will happen to someone!"
Caffari and Aviva will face harsh and demanding weather conditions notorious in the north Atlantic, including treacherous Arctic ice. This has prompted the race organisers to establish an ice gate, a 130-mile wide line located between 47º and 50º W at 40º N (below the Grand Banks). The safety measure has challenged the skippers to re-evaluate their race tactics. The gamblers will be keen to take the sting out of the 210 miles the gate adds to the course whilst the cautious will travel the extra miles to avoid colliding with an iceberg.
"The ice gate is quite far south and people will try to push their luck but it's a dangerous game when it comes to ice. It'll be very interesting to see what people will do," said Caffari.
Caffari is no stranger to ice having dodged icebergs in the Southern Ocean on her record-breaking solo circumnavigation against the prevailing winds and currents in 2005/06. The Transat signifies a key milestone in Caffari's Aviva Ocean Racing campaign as she aims to become the first woman to sail solo, non-stop around the world in both directions by completing the Vendée Globe 2008/09.
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For further information contact:
Caroline Ayling, Mbl: +44 (0)7801 351950, Tel: +44 (0)20 7202 2840,
email: carolinea@karen-earl.co.uk
Kelly Russell, Mbl +44 (0)7786 516570, Tel: +44 (0)20 7202 2862,
email: kellyr@karen-earl.co.uk
Notes to editors:
- Aviva is the leading provider of life and pensions to Europe with substantial positions in other markets around the world, making it the world's fifth largest insurance group based on gross worldwide premiums at 31 December 2006.
- Aviva's principal business activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £49.2 billion and funds under management of £364 billion at 31 December 2007.
- The Aviva media centre at www.aviva.com/media includes images, company and product information and a news release archive.