Solo yachtswoman Dee Caffari, onboard Aviva, is less than 2,500 miles from the finish line after crossing her outbound track today.
Solo yachtswoman Dee Caffari, onboard Aviva, is less than 2,500 miles from the finish line after crossing her outbound track today. Based on current predictions, Caffari is on course to cross the Ushant-Lizard* line sometime between 17th and 20th May and is pushing hard for home in the final phase of her world-record voyage.
Caffari has sailed 26,700 miles in 165 days alone at sea, and has now crossed every line of longitude on the planet. Tangible landmarks have been scarce during her attempt to become the first woman to sail round the world against the prevailing winds and currents, so psychological milestones such as crossing her outbound track are of huge importance to her.
“On departure, my mentor Sir Chay Blyth gave me a bottle of champagne for this day but it wasn't until now that I realised how big a milestone it is. Sailing with the prevailing winds behind you is like downhill skiing; a fast, furious and challenging ride. Sailing against the winds is more like climbing a mountain; it’s an arduous, punishing and exhausting fight against the oncoming elements” says Caffari.
Sir Chay Blyth CBE BEM was the first person to complete a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation from east to west in 1971, dubbed ‘the impossible voyage’ at the time. His team has provided the yacht and crucial logistical support for the Aviva Challenge. Sir Chay commented:
“For me this is the most outstanding passage ever made by one woman alone. Testament to the difficulty of the non-stop solo west about circumnavigation, it was 21 years after I first went round before another sailor, Mike Golding, took on the challenge.
“Even now only four men** have completed the gruelling voyage against the winds and Dee is now on the verge of becoming the first woman ever to achieve this. She has combined excellent seamanship with unrelenting determination to get through often horrific conditions and extreme isolation.”
After crossing the finish line, Caffari will make her way to Ocean Village in Southampton, UK, where huge crowds are expected to celebrate the world-first and see Caffari’s first steps on dry land after six months at sea. Information and updates on the expected time of arrival will be posted on www.avivachallenge.com as Caffari heads north to the finish line.
* The official Aviva Challenge finish line lies between Ushant, northwest France and The Lizard, UK. Caffari must cross this line to successfully complete the circumnavigation and claim the world record.
** Sir Chay Blyth was the first man to circumnavigate the world from east to west in 1971, taking 292 days. In 1993/4 Mike Golding achieved the westabout circumnavigation in 161 days. 2000 saw French skipper Philipe Monnet set a new record of 151 days before his compatriot Jean Luc Van Den Heede set the current record of 122 days, 14 hours, 3 minutes and 49 seconds in 2004.
-Ends-
Notes to editors:
Aviva and The Aviva Challenge
· www.avivachallenge.com includes a voyage tracker, Dee’s daily logs, an image library, profiles of Dee and 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/media includes 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 worldwide.