The decision for Dee Caffari and the crew onboard Aviva to sail inshore has unfortunately not paid off.
The decision for Dee Caffari and the crew onboard Aviva to sail inshore has unfortunately not paid off. The light winds closer to the shore have meant the team slipped down the rankings in the Calais Round Britain race. The team's tactics to head inshore in a bid to find favourable conditions have not worked in their favour as the wind deserted Aviva while the fleet sailed away to the north. The crew are working hard to find some boat speed to head towards the Shetland Islands, the most northerly point of the Calais Round Britain race, whilst hoping the winds will change in their favour.
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"I believed that stepping up to this class of sailing would be fast and furious and on the edge of control. Having spent 24 hours floating my way out of a high pressure at speeds that were slower than last year when I sailed a 46 tonne yacht around the world, I am now struggling to get excited.
"One thing is for sure, if there is no wind it doesn't matter how hi-tech your yacht is it doesn't sail well. We made a decision on the weather files we were looking at and we came inshore. That has now left us caught up in a high pressure that we are struggling to get away from. We are now trying to keep moving and live in hope that the rest of the fleet get slowed down to allow us to rejoin the race. It is very frustrating to see our position fall behind in the polling each day after such a fantastic start, but as we keep reminding ourselves there are many miles to go and it is not over yet.
"The best news for today is that we have finally sailed free from the fog. During the early hours of the morning, we saw the sky lighten and the dense fog curtain that had laid upon us for some time slowly lift in time for us to see an awesome sunrise.
"I have my fingers crossed that we will feel some warmth of the sun today to allow stuff to dry. We have been in fog for so long that the team has been chilled to the core from the damp conditions.
"So everyone needs to keep their fingers crossed and join us in a weather dance in the vain attempt to magic up some wind to allow us to reach the top mark in good time."
Dee, Chook, Frog, Pants and Hugo
Team update from campaign manager Harry Spedding: "The video interview on the front page of www.avivaoceanracing.com with, campaign director, Andrew Roberts sums up this race. Short and sharp with little room to correct any mistakes you might make. Early on in the race a couple of the Open 60 fleet made some tactical errors and lost ground on the fleet. They were lucky. A big 'park up' off the west coast of Ireland meant they could catch the fleet, and get back in the competition.
"Overnight from Thursday to Friday the crew of Aviva made a similar mistake and ended up in light airs, whilst the majority of the fleet maintained pressure and pushed North. Aviva may not be as lucky as those who made mistakes earlier in the race. Although there would appear to be more light airs forecast early next week, it will more than likely be too late for the crew to get back into contention. Though hopefully it will allow them to get close enough to push for a place or two up the leader board.
"As the fleet leaders pass over the top of the UK tonight they will extend their lead as they accelerate down the east coast. The same wind conditions for the rest of the fleet unfortunately mean that it will become harder to get up and around the Northern most point of the course. So the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, which is so often seen on the race course. My fingers are crossed that after the initial acceleration the leading 60s will hit some light patches whilst the trailing boats will be able to close the distance.
"This has been one of the closest fleets of Open 60s for a long time, and what a delight to be able to watch some great offshore competitive sailing."
With fingers and toes crossed.
Harry
-ends-
For further information contact:
Caroline Ayling
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7202 2840
Mobile: +44 (0)7801 351950
E-mail: carolinea@karen-earl.co.uk
Kelly Russell
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7202 2862
Mobile: +44 (0)7786 516570
E-mail: kellyr@karen-earl.co.uk
Notes to editors:
Aviva Ocean Racing summary
After setting a world record last year sailing around the world against the prevailing winds and currents, Caffari is one of the newest recruits to the highly competitive world of Open 60 racing. The Calais Round Britain Race is her first step on a very steep learning curve towards achieving her ambition of competing in the Vendée Globe 2008/9 and becoming the first woman to sail around the world, solo, in both directions.
Calais Round Britain race
Starting and finishing in Calais, the race is 1850 nautical miles around the British coastline, featuring some of the world's most technical waters with ever-changing weather conditions, tidal flows and adverse land effects. Extra vigilance is needed to keep a watchful eye out for shipping and other obstructions, such as oil rigs in the North Sea, throughout this race.
There are 11 entries and the front runners are expected to take between six to seven days to complete the course. In a change from normal Open 60 racing the boats will be crewed by five people rather than solo or double-handed.
For this race Caffari's full crew will be:
Dee Caffari - skipper of Aviva (British)
Nigel King - experienced yacht racing coach (British)
Liz Wardley - professional sailor on Figaro circuit (Papua New Guinea)
Simon Clarke -professional sailor and former boat captain of Hugo Boss (British)
Laurent Mahy - sail designer for North Sails and professional sailor (Belgian)
Aviva
Caffari's sponsor Aviva plc is the leading writer of life and pensions business in 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 2005.
Aviva's principal business activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £41.5 billion and assets under management of £364 billion at 31 December 2006.
Further information on Dee Caffari and her Aviva Ocean Racing campaign can be found at http://www.avivaoceanracing.com/