Today, there is precisely one year to go before Dee Caffari will start her first Vendée Globe. Caffari and her Aviva Ocean Racing team are counting down the miles as she prepares for the world's most gruelling solo yacht race.
Today, there is precisely one year to go before Dee Caffari will start her first Vendée Globe. Caffari and her Aviva Ocean Racing team are counting down the miles as she prepares for the world's most gruelling solo yacht race.
The Aviva skipper, who last year became the first woman to sail single-handed, non-stop around the world against the prevailing winds and currents, is starting to see herself as a serious contender in next year's solo race. Departing from Les Sables d'Olonne, France on 9 November 2008, Caffari will enter the Vendée Globe hoping to achieve her ultimate goal of being the first woman to sail solo around the world in both directions.
Caffari is currently competing in the Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV), a two-handed transatlantic race from Le Havre, France to Bahia, Brazil.
She said onboard Aviva: "A year today...how exciting!! Actually it is quite scary but exciting. I'm enjoying this race a lot more than I thought I would. I'd expected to be scared and I wasn't sure about the pressure but I'm loving the thrill of it. Every day is a new, almost vertical, learning curve but it's less steep than it was earlier this year. I'd like to think of myself as a serious contender in the Vendée Globe. I have chosen to go into the highest level of solo yacht racing and I realise it won't be a jolly. I'll have a brand new boat so think I'll be competitive."
The Transat Jacques Vabre has provided some testing challenges so far and she and co-skipper, Nigel King, are in 11th place. They are enjoying a ‘race within a race' with rivals Akena Verandas and Maisonneuve, boats of a similar generation to Aviva. It is apparent that each sail change or tactical manoeuvre is a boost to Caffari's confidence.
She said: "Today I disagreed with Nigel over which sails to use but didn't say anything. When we ended up changing back, I told him what I had been thinking and he said I should have been more confident. He said: ‘You know what you are doing...you need to tell me.' That was good for my confidence - he was wrong and I was right.
"This race has taken me out of my comfort zone - sailing at 30 knots under spinnaker was awesome and I have had to push the boat much harder than I have before. I've been happy to be on deck on my own in those tough conditions whilst Nigel is asleep below."
Caffari is more accustomed to sailing on her own than with a crew and she is already looking ahead to the Transat BtoB. This is the solo race from Brazil back to Brittany to be staged at the conclusion of the TJV. The return race will be the first time Caffari has sailed solo since entering the record books in May 2006.
"It is really nice to be back out at sea. I love it out here. It is a very different dynamic having someone else on board and it has made me look forward to the trip home. At the start of the TJV, I was nervous about the return trip but now I am looking forward to being on my boat on my own."
To follow Caffari and King's progress in the Transat Jacques Vabre and to view Dee's video diary entries log on to www.avivaoceanracing.com.
To receive Dee's diary, via the RSS feed visit www.avivaoceanracing.com/rss.
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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: 07786 516570
E-mail: kellyr@karen-earl.co.uk
Notes to editors:
All skippers taking part in the 2007 race signed the Transat Jacques Vabre Charter for Sustainable Development. The five main aims of the Charter are:
- Promote the values of sailing
- Reduce the ecological footprint of the Transat Jacques Vabre event
- Encourage everyone involved to commit towards creating a responsible event
- Encourage the public to engage with the challenges of sustainable development
- Develop the local dynamics and North-South relations
Aviva plc
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 £41.5 billion and assets under management of £364 billion at 31 December 2006.
The Aviva media centre at www.aviva.com/media includes images, company and product information and a news release archive.
Further information on Dee Caffari and her Aviva Ocean Racing campaign can be found at www.avivaoceanracing.com
Further information on Nigel King can be found at www.nigelkingyachting.com