 Caffari is the first woman to sail solo non-stop the "wrong way" around the world |
English yachtswoman Dee Caffari is set to compete in the 2008-9 Vendee Globe solo non-stop around-the-world race. Caffari, 33, from Hampshire, is the first woman to lap the planet alone going west, and now aims to become the first to complete the voyage both ways.
"What more could I ask for my next challenge?" said the former teacher.
"Sailing events don't come any tougher than the Vendee Globe - the world's best sailors, competing in the world's best boats, in the biggest fleet."
Gosport's Caffari will build up for the gruelling race, the event that made a household name of Ellen MacArthur, by racing in the highly competitive Open 60 series.
The high-tech Open 60 yachts, designed to maximise downwind performance, will present a different challenge to Caffari, whose record-breaking 178-day voyage was upwind, against the prevailing wind and currents.
"I already know I'm mentally tough, but now I've got to focus on developing my technical skills so that I can successfully go from 0 to Open 60 in under two years," she said.
MacArthur finished second in the 2001 Vendee Globe in just over 94 days, becoming the fastest female and youngest sailor - at 24 - to race around the world solo, non-stop.
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Interview: Solo ocean racing skipper Dee Caffari