British solo skipper Dee Caffari and her Open 60 Aviva crossed the Equator yesterday morning and headed into the Southern Hemisphere as the Vendée Globe fleet race south.
British solo skipper Dee Caffari and her Open 60 Aviva crossed the Equator yesterday morning and headed into the Southern Hemisphere as the Vendée Globe fleet race south. Caffari was in good spirits as she toasted King Neptune with some champagne and a packet of her most treasured Haribo sweets. The ritual of toasting King Neptune is an ancient maritime tradition observed by sailors when crossing the Equator to request a safe passage.
Harry Spedding, Aviva Ocean Racing campaign manager, reported this morning: "I spoke to Dee late last night and she was on really good form. Crossing the Equator is a big psychological milestone in this marathon race. It continues to be hard work for her as the weather has meant continually changing the number of reefs. She sounded happy with her positioning just to the east of Akena as she heads south chasing Michel Desjoyeaux on Foncia."
The 10am ranking showed that Caffari was in 16th position, 34 miles ahead of Frenchman Arnaud Boissières onboard Akena Vernandas and 55 miles behind former Vendée Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux onboard Foncia.
Dee Caffari's latest diary entry received on Sunday 23 November at 9.50pm GMT: "Greetings from the Southern Hemisphere! At 9.57am GMT this morning, I crossed the equator for the seventh time and toasted Neptune with a bottle of Champagne Mumm. It was a little warm but it was all I could find in my mini bar! As a present I gave today's ration of Haribo sweets to Neptune, which in my book is a pretty big deal but I am asking for a safe passage over a long distance, so it was fair.
"The afternoon and evening has had me work quite hard with reefs going in and out as I battle my way past nasty black squall clouds as we continue to sail on the wind south. The weekend chores have had to take a back seat and wait for better conditions."
Dee and Aviva
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Aviva Ocean Racing summary
Record-breaking British yachtswoman Dee Caffari, who sailed into the record books in May 2006 by becoming the first woman to sail solo, non-stop around the world against the prevailing winds and currents, is attempt her next ‘world first' by competing in the Vendée Globe yacht race. Caffari is attempting to become the first woman to sail solo and non-stop both ways around the world.
Further information on Dee Caffari and her Aviva Ocean Racing campaign can be found at www.avivaoceanracing.com.
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Website: www.avivaoceanracing.com
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