Dee Caffari
Dee Caffari has sailed around the world six times. She is the first woman to have sailed single-handed and non-stop around the world in both directions and the only woman to have sailed non-stop around the world a total of three times.
In 2006 Dee became the first woman to sail solo, non-stop, around the world against the prevailing winds and currents and was awarded an MBE in recognition of her achievement.
Dee’s Diary
From Cape Town to Christmas
Our stopover in Cape Town has been most excellent. Fabulous food, great weather and some much needed R & R for me and the crew ahead of the next leg. However, the lure of so many cool activities has not seen us lounging around too much. As well as swimming with…
Fighting all the way to Cape Town
We arrived into Cape Town on Saturday night in last place and my team and I were heartbroken. After 21 days at sea, 7000 miles of intensive and close racing and with fifth place within our grasp right up until the very end, the final result was decided by just 1minute…
Onwards and upwards
On Sunday, we set off on Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race for 7000 miles of ocean sailing. This is the most challenging and technical of all the legs and the most fun to sail. If I had to pick a forecast to make this journey, the conditions we are anticipating are close…
Leg One to Lisbon
We left Alicante last Sunday with the Portuguese capital of Lisbon as our destination for Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race. It was a relatively short but intense sprint which started with a great exit from the Mediterranean with lots of gybes and some fast furious…
One more sleep
Ok Volvo Ocean Race 2017/18 – Team Turn The Tide on Plastic are coming, ready or not! Tomorrow is the start of Leg One and, after what has been a very short lead up for my team, we are lining up against some of the most talented and experienced offshore sailors…
Update from Alicante
We have been in Alicante for a week now and certainly haven’t been resting on our laurels since completing the Prologue. We headed straight into a practice race where we were able to trial a few tactics and strategies in a short course race setting. As always, we came…
Practice makes perfect
We arrived early this morning into Alicante after what was, at times, quite a frustrating Prologue race from Lisbon. We were due to depart Lisbon 1300hrs on Sunday but the winds were so light that the start was delayed by a couple of hours as we all motored out to…
Heading in the right direction
With just over two weeks before the start of the Volvo Ocean Race, I am delighted to announce that not one but two navigators have joined the Turn the Tide on Plastic team. Nico Lunven and Brian Thompson are the final additions to our line up and I’m confident they…
…and Elodie makes twelve
Time is ticking on and the start of the Volvo Ocean Race is less than a month away. With the other teams and boats now having joined us in Lisbon, nerves and excitement are building in my own team, particularly for crew members who are embarking on an offshore race of…
Multinational crew recruits
It has been another busy and productive couple of weeks over here in Lisbon. Our crew numbers have now grown to 11 with the announcement that three more sailors will be joining me onboard Turn the Tide on Plastic for the Volvo Ocean Race. Let’s hear it for the girls…