Denise "Dee" Caffari

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 23 January 1973) is a British sailor, and in 2006 became the first woman to sail single-handedly and non-stop around the world "the wrong way"; westward against the prevailing winds and currents. In February 2009, Caffari completed the

Vendée Globe --> The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. It is named after the Département of Vendée, in France, w ...

race and set a new record to become the first woman to sail solo, non-stop, around the world in both directions.

Early life

Descended from a Maltese sea captain, Caffari grew up in

Rickmansworth Rickmansworth () is a town in southwest Hertfordshire, England, about northwest of central London and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) and t ...

, Hertfordshire and attended

St. Clement Danes School St Clement Danes School is a mixed academy school in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire. Admissions St Clement Danes is a partially selective school, providing education to students aged 11 (Year 7) through to 18 (Year 13). Most students are admit ...

. Caffari studied at

Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...

and became a PE teacher for 5 years before beginning her sailing career. Caffari trained at UKSA (based in Cowes, Isle of Wight) completing her Yachtmaster course and a range of ocean qualifications. Caffari then worked for Formula 1 Sailing, first as a skipper and then as the manager of their fleet of Farr 65s in the UK and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Awards

On 2 December 2006, she was a runner up for BBC South Sports Personality of the Year. She did win the Tenon Yachtsperson of the Year award. In 2007 she was awarded an MBE for service to sailing. Shortlisted in 2011 for the

World Sailing World Sailing (WS) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). History The creation of the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) beg ...

– Rolex World Sailing of the Year Award

Sailing career

Highlight

Background

Here initial professional sailing career was spent working for both Sir

Robin Knox-Johnson Sir William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnston (born 17 March 1939) is a British sailor. In 1969, he became the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Along with Sir Peter Blake, he won the second Jules Vern ...

and Sir

Chay Blyth Sir Charles Blyth (born 14 May 1940), known as Chay Blyth, is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail single-handed non-stop westwards around the world (1971), on a 59-foot boat called '' British Steel''. Early life B ...

sailing adventure companies so her progression into being a round the world sailing pioneer was not a surprise. Here first round the world voyage canme as skipper of ''Imagine It. Done'' in the 2004

Global Challenge The Global Challenge (not to be confused with Global Challenge Award) was a round the world yacht race run by Challenge Business, the company started by Sir Chay Blyth in 1989. It was held every four years, and took a fleet of one-design steel y ...

Round the World Yacht Race. The

was an amateur crew who paid to race around the world with a professional skipper in matching Challenge 72 yachts. The only similar race is

Clipper Round the Race A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...

but the challenge race went against the prevailing wind conditions and traded under the term "The World Toughest Yacht Race" for this reason. Dee managed one serious situation when a crewmember needed to be airlifted off in the Southern Ocean by the New Zealand Rescue Service due to an abdominal infection. On 20 November 2005, she set off on her attempt to single-handedly circumnavigate the world against the prevailing winds and currents. She finished on 18 May 2006, at 17:55pm, after 178 days at sea. Her voyage was sponsored by

Aviva Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 18 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general ...

. In January 2007 Caffari announced that she would be taking part in the 2008/09 –

singlehanded round the world yacht race, again sponsored by Aviva. In March 2007 she announced a technical partnership with

Mike Golding Mike Golding (born 27 August 1960) is an English yachtsman, born in Great Yarmouth and educated at Reading Blue Coat School. He is one of the few yachtsmen to have raced round the world non stop in both directions. He held the solo record for s ...

to allow both the British entries in the Vendée Globe to work together. In December 2007 she had to be rescued by Royal Navy frigate HMS Northumberland after dismasting in severe weather off northwest Spain whilst competing singlehanded in the Transat Ecover B2B Race. She was a guest skipper on ''

Maiden Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

s global voyage in 2018 in support of The Maiden Factor Foundation.

Role within the Community

Dee has been an enthusiastic supporter of charities such as Toe in The Water (using competitive sailing to re-inspire injured servicemen), and Sail 4 Cancer. In October 2011, Dee Caffari accepted the role as the new patron for the charity

Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service Gosport Lifeboat Station is a volunteer-operated independent lifeboat station charity located in the village of Alverstoke on the peninsula of Gosport in the English county of Hampshire.OS Explorer Map – 119 - Meon Valley, Portsmouth, Go ...

which is an independent lifeboat station based in

Stokes Bay Stokes Bay ( grid ref.:)) (50.782982, -1.163868) is an area of the Solent that lies just south of Gosport, between Portsmouth and Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire. There is a shingle beach with views of Ryde and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight to the ...

local to where Dee Caffari lives. Dee Caffari sits on the Operations Board of the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

, and is an Honorary Commander in the Royal Navy. In 2018 she became the first Chair the World Sailing Trust a

initiative looking at Marine Health, Youth Development and Access. In 2021 she was BRIT Ambassador championing the BRIT 2021 Challenge a mental health charity.

Publications

In September 2007, Caffari's autobiography ''Against the Flow'' was published by

Adlard Coles Nautical Adlard Coles Nautical is a nautical publisher, with over 300 books in print. The company publishes books on topics of interest to sailors and motorboaters and also ‘landlubbers’ with an interest in the sea. Their list includes almanacs, cruis ...

. In March 2009, Caffari's autobiography ''Against the Flow'' was re-published in paperback with an additional chapter charting the lead up to her Vendee Globe entry and subsequent world record achievement.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caffari, Dee 1973 births Living people People educated at St. Clement Danes School English female sailors (sport) People from Rickmansworth Members of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Leeds Beckett University English people of Maltese descent Volvo 65 class sailors Volvo Ocean Race sailors IMOCA 60 class sailors British Vendee Globe sailors 2008 Vendee Globe sailors Vendée Globe finishers Single-handed circumnavigating sailors