Dee Caffari is currently in 6th position just 2,000 miles from completing her ultimate goal – to become the first woman to sail solo, non-stop both ways around the world.
Having crossed the Equator at a snail’s pace last weekend and spent a frustrating few days in the Doldrums, Dee and Aviva have now picked up speed and are pushing hard to the Vendée Globe finish line. Dee is targeting Brian Thompson on Bahrain Team Pindar and has gained 161 miles on her nearest rival in the last 72 hours.
French skipper Michel Desjoyeaux crossed the finish line at 1511hrs GMT on Sunday 1 February aboard his Open 60 Foncia. Mich, who is affectionately known as ‘Le Professor’, claimed first place and an unprecedented second successive Vendée Globe title. Thousands of fans gathered in the town of Les Sables d’Olonne to greet him after 84 days at sea, a new Vendée Globe record.
Although the race has been won, the achievements of Michel Desjoyeaux are proving an inspiration to Dee as she attempts to claw back her lost miles and achieve her ultimate goal – a ‘double world first’.
Dee commented earlier in the week:
“To watch Mich is totally inspiring. Even for people who are not interested in sailing, it has been an amazing performance. It makes me think about what I have to do to be like that. If you look at the race, it has probably been the hardest race there has ever been so his victory means so much more. It’s a bigger achievement than previous wins. There were 30 skippers at the start and now there are 12 and all the things that have happened along the way means that if you finish, you can take a lot from it. It’s no mean feat.”
Little did Dee know when she made these remarks that there was to be yet another Vendée Globe casualty. Roland Jourdain on Veolia Environnement was just 1,200 miles from the finish line and had been in second place since mid December when he was forced to abandon the race. After losing part of his keel the week before, the French skipper had done all he could to ensure the stability of his boat and his own safety in some very difficult sea conditions but took the decision to stop at the Azores for safety reasons.
Meanwhile, it is not all plain sailing for Dee as she reports that her mainsail is in a sorry state:
“The flapping of the sails in the Doldrums with no wind was shaking it to bits and I had bits of Mylar shaking off like confetti as I was sailing along. The mainsail has pretty much fallen apart now so it will be interesting to see what happens next. I need a crystal ball to tell me if the sail will get to the finish. Right now I have no idea.”
Despite her mainsail problems Dee is remaining totally focused on her goal and, providing she can make it across the finish line, will become only the fourth person in history following Phillip Monnet, Jean-Luc Van den Heede and Britain’s Mike Golding, to sail solo, non-stop both ways around the world alone and unaided.
The Vendée Globe is the race that shot fellow British yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur to stardom after she came second in 2000/01. The eminent skipper is following the race and says:
“It will be fantastic for Dee to cross that finish line, all being well, and to be the first woman to sail non-stop both ways around the world. What an amazing achievement to do both those things! She is a great person and she deserves to cross that finish.”