Dee to arrive Southampton Sunday

by Caroline Ayling on 19 May 2006 Solo yachtswoman Dee Caffari, 33, will step off her yacht Aviva this Sunday 21 May 2006 for the first time in almost six months to celebrate becoming the first woman to sail round the world non-stop against the prevailing winds and currents. HRH The Princess Royal, Patron of the Global Challenge, will congratulate the solo sailor when she brings her yacht Aviva alongside at Ocean Village, Southampton.

In 1971, HRH was on the quayside to welcome home Caffari’s mentor, Sir Chay Blyth, when he became the first person to achieve this 'impossible voyage'.

Caffari has battled against extreme isolation and often-horrendous conditions for a total of 178 days, 3 hours, 6 minutes and 15 seconds sailing 29,227 miles*.

HRH The Princess Royal will discuss the voyage with Caffari aboard Aviva and take a tour of the yacht during the celebrations and long-awaited re-unions with Caffari’s family and friends.

On her way home Caffari said:

'I can’t describe how happy I am. There were a few moments during the voyage when I really didn’t think this day would come so this is a very special feeling. I feel exhausted but completing the circumnavigation means everything to me and coming back home will be just unbelievable.'

'The journey was one of extremes and while there were times when it got so tough I didn’t think I could carry on, I was also privileged to experience some magic moments with the ocean all to myself. One thing that always gave me a massive lift was reading the messages of support everyone sent me. Every day they arrived from all over the world and it’s great to think that my voyage has inspired other people to take on their own challenges.

'It will be very strange and a bit sad to see Aviva tied to the pontoon, but I’m glad that we made it and couldn’t have possibly done it without my shore team. Throughout the voyage there was always a sense of uncertainty - at any point the voyage could have been brought to an early end by any number of problems but they were always able to guide me to a solution and this achievement is in no small part down to their amazing skill and patience with me!'

Sir Chay Blyth, Caffari’s mentor and the first person to complete the voyage in 1971, commented:

'The homecoming planned for Dee will be a fitting way to mark her hugely successful circumnavigation. She has inspired the imagination of a worldwide audience, and has joined only four other men who have achieved this feat to become the first woman to complete a solo and non-stop westabout circumnavigation. Others may follow but she will always remain the first.'

Patrick Snowball, executive director of Aviva, the international savings, investments and insurance group, Caffari’s sponsor said:

'When Dee approached us about this voyage, it was clear to us that she is a woman of great vision, passion and determination. We knew she had the guts and spirit to take on the Aviva Challenge. She had the desire to push back the boundaries of her sport. Everyone at Aviva offers their warmest congratulations to Dee on her magnificent achievement.'

The world-record voyage began on 20 November 2005 and Caffari only saw land twice in her full circumnavigation of the world - once at Cape Horn and again as she passed New Zealand. The next sight of land in her lonely journey was the coast of England at the finish line. Her only face-to-face human contact in 178 days of extreme isolation consisted of two fleeting visits by helicopters which were taking photographs.

Caffari never slept in her custom made bunk in the saloon, choosing to sleep at the navigation station to be close to her charts and instruments, ready to act on any alarms and monitor the conditions. She slept on average for four hours in every 24 in bouts of 20 minutes and was hit hard by sleep deprivation. When she found herself becalmed with six lethal icebergs in visual range she kept watch for 60 consecutive hours and once slept for just nine hours in nine days.

During a particularly vicious passage across the Southern Ocean, Caffari faced an onslaught of mountainous waves and vicious storms; the mast was struck by lightning; she was stranded up the mast attempting repairs and sustained heavy bruising; four back-to-back storms struck in a single fortnight and at one point she was the most isolated person on the planet, when her nearest neighbours were astronauts on the international space station.

But the drama was not confined to the notorious Southern Ocean. A huge tropical storm hit one week after departure and the voyage almost came to an early end when the autopilot system failed on Christmas morning as she approached the Falkland Islands. A watermaker failure when she returned to the Atlantic put the voyage in jeopardy once again and yet more autopilot problems left her sailing in involuntary circles. But complex electrical and mechanical repairs combined with her undeniable determination led to solutions each time and Caffari has now taken her place in maritime history.

* time is subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC).