Interview with Dee Caffari - 1st Woman to sail single-handedly around the world

Dee Caffari became the first woman to circumnavigate the world the wrong way against the prevailing winds and currents, solo, non-stop in May 2006. Her story is one of incredible courage and determination in fact only four men have ever achieved to finish this route. Her 178 day voyage has been an inspiration across the world. To acknowledge this great achievement Dee was awarded an MBE for her services to sailing in the Queen’s Birthday honours list.

I chatted to Dee today about her extraordinary journey and the new venture she is about to embark on:

Q - What did you do before you started sailing?
Dee – “I was a secondary school PE teacher for five years before I made the career change to sailing”.

Q- Why did you choose to take up sailing? What did you want to achieve?
Dee – “After the death of my father, I initially took a break from teaching to go travelling and whilst I was away I tried lots of different water sports. I really enjoyed them all but sailing was a particular favourite so it was at that stage that I decided to make a career from something that I loved doing. When I first broke into sailing I was attracted to the lifestyle more than the desire to achieve. I am quite a competitive person though so it was only a matter of time before I have my sights set on certain goals”.

Q - What was your biggest break? 
Dee – “My biggest break was being offered a place as skipper on the Global Challenge 2004/5. I was the only female skipper that year and the role not only gave me some fantastic sailing and man management experiences, it was also a pivotal point in my life as it was during that race that I decided to tackle the same journey, non stop and alone”.

Q - What does it feel like to be the first woman in history to sail single-handedly, non-stop around the world?
Dee – “Having the opportunity to set a world record on the Aviva Challenge was amazing. It has led to many opportunities and all have them have been exciting. I am very fortunate and I hope facing new experiences and pushing my limits continues to give me great adventures. I also hope that it has inspired other people to go out there and ‘have a go’ at something that pushes their own boundaries”.

Q - It must have been daunting – how did you overcome your fears?
Dee – “Until I set sail on the Aviva Challenge, I had never sailed solo before and because I am quite an extrovert personality I had never even lived alone, so the isolation was one of the toughest aspects of the voyage. There were some hairy moments at sea and times when I was genuinely scared but you get through each experience and then look back and think ‘I did it’ and you gain a little bit of confidence each time. I believe everyone can do more than they think they can”.

Q - How do you keep focused when you are so far away from home?