On Saturday 28 June, record-breaking yachtswoman Dee Caffari and her state-of-the-art Open 60 yacht Aviva will compete alongside 1,872 other boats in the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.
On Saturday 28 June, record-breaking yachtswoman Dee Caffari and her state-of-the-art Open 60 yacht Aviva will compete alongside 1,872 other boats in the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.
There will be 29 classes competing in the historic race around the Isle of Wight which started in 1931 with only 25 entries. Caffari will be racing against four other British entries in the Open 60 class including; Artemis Ocean Racing, Ecover 3, Pindar and Hugo Boss. This will be Caffari and Aviva's first head-to-head against these particular Open 60's. Alex Thomson, skipper of Hugo Boss, will be hoping his newest crew member Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton will give him some extra pace in the 50 nautical mile sprint.
The Round the Island race kick starts Caffari's summer sailing season based out of Gosport, Hampshire. Over the next few months the Aviva Ocean Racing team will be using every available opportunity to prepare for the gruelling solo round the world race the Vendée Globe, which starts from France in November. On Saturday, to capitalise on the tactical learning in a race environment, Caffari has invited renowned Olympic coach Mark Rushall onboard to impart his knowledge of maximising boat speed.
Caffari said from her Gosport base: "The Round the Island is such an historic race and this year Aviva and I are proud to join the other 1,800 boats taking part. It will be great to see so many people out on the water. We're hoping to have a competitive race with the other Open 60's, after all it's not very often I'll be able to say Aviva and I have raced against Lewis Hamilton!"
The Round the Island is a completely different environment compared to ocean racing the normal hunting ground for the Open 60 class. Often going for weeks without seeing other boats, the sprint around the Isle of Wight sailing in close proximity to thousands of other boats will bring its own challenges for Caffari and the Open 60 skippers.
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For further information and interview requests contact:
Caroline Ayling
Telephone: +44 (0)20 3128 6825
Mobile: +44 (0) 7801 351950
E-mail: caroline.ayling@synergy-sponsorship.com
Kelly Russell
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 3128 6822
Mobile: +44 (0)7786 516570
E-mail: Kelly.russell@synergy-sponsorship.com
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.
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