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020 8914 8966
Dee Caffari is an inspirational figure for the twenty-first century.
In April 2011, British yachtswoman Dee Caffari and Spanish co skipper Anna Corbella onboard their yacht, GAES Centros Auditivos, crossed the finish line of the Barcelona World Race, both having achieved a world record.
For Dee, this marked her third race around the globe and thrust her into the record books as the woman that has sailed non-stop around the planet more times than any other in history.
It was at the beginning of 2009 that Dee Caffari joined a very exclusive sailing club of just two other sailors Britain’s Mike Golding and Frenchman Jean Luc Van Den Heede who have succeeded in circumnavigating the world in both directions. This feat required Dee to be alone at sea for a total of nine months. Dee’s record is the first woman ever to sail solo around the world non-stop both ways. Dee had only been sailing professionally for ten years and with just 18 months experience in racing, this made the achievement all the more remarkable.
Dee Caffari originally sailed into the record books on 18 May 2006 when she became the first woman to circumnavigate the world the wrong way’ against the prevailing winds and currents, solo, non-stop. It is an extraordinary achievement and a dramatic story. Only four men have ever managed to finish this route before. Dee ‘s incredible courage, determination, good humour and seamanship throughout her 178-day voyage have inspired many worldwide.
Dee knows more than most about the importance of having self-belief, staying motivated and facing fear. At one point in Dee ‘s solo circumnavigation, the nearest people to her were Astronauts on the International Space Station.
Dee has faced the dangers of icebergs tempestuous storms and the worst the Southern Ocean could muster. Without doubt, one of Britain ‘s most inspirational women, Dee tells her dramatic story with great grace, humour and insight. Her sense of fun and positive world-view ensure her presentations are entertaining and her messages about self-belief, motivation, building confidence, leadership, teamwork and over-coming your self-limitations are memorable. If appropriate, Dee ‘s talks include some extraordinary film footage taken aboard her yacht Aviva.
Vivacious. Gregarious. Inspirational. Funny. Courageous. Dee offers An Empower Hour’, a keynote and an after dinner speech to remember.
A former schoolteacher, Dee ‘s life changed dramatically when she dared to follow her dream and her love of the sea and become a skipper. In no less than five years, Dee had proven her skills and talents. She had risen to the top of a very male-dominated profession. Her engaging character and also her ability to lead and bring out the very best in others became apparent when she was selected to lead a team of amateurs in the tough Global Challenge Yacht Race in 2004. The only woman skipper in the race, Dee inspired her crew of 18 by handling the demanding and often frightening conditions of the Southern Ocean. Dee has had her leadership and teambuilding skills and her motivation tested in one of the most hostile environments in the world.
In 2006 she raced in the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge. The Challenge was a gruelling six-day adventure race combining cross-country trekking, mountain biking, road cycling and kayaking, so it was a real departure from Dees ocean based exploits.
The Challenge was launched as a major charity initiative to raise money for children and cancer charities in Australia. in 2006 the Challenge branched out globally to attract international celebrities and also sponsors. Dee Caffari competed in an all-female team and raced against 12 other four person teams made up of corporates, adventure racers, celebrities and other sportspeople.
In July 2006 Dee collected the coveted Chichester Prize at Cowes Week for solo sailing. She also received an honorary doctorate from Leeds Metropolitan University. Dee was also at the launch of the Big V Sail to Cork with TV presenter Ben Fogle, Mark Webber, the Australian F1 driver and Rhys Jones, the youngest man to climb the highest peaks in all 7 continents.
What the Papers said about Dee Caffari.
“Dee Caffari is poised to become the new heroine of British sailing.” The Independent on Sunday
“Want to set a world record? Try going the wrong way. The 26,000-mile voyage is billed as the last first still to be achieved by a yachtswoman.” The Independent
“She will be heading east-to-west, against winds of up to 40 feet, and expects to be at sea for up to 170 days. Only four people, all men, have completed the feat before.” The Economist
“The thing that struck me since meeting Dee for the first time is her immense confidence and competence. The right stuff for an around-the-world skipper is not just about sailing a boat and leading a team it is having to handle the sponsors, meeting their needs as well as the aspirations of your crew. Not everyone can win. What they need is a number of skills and qualities to do this. She is gregarious, which is important because a crew wants to know where it stands. She also has a lot of empathy with her crew. Dee has tremendous qualities and she does invoke confidence, not just in herself but in everyone around her.” Sir Chay Blyth on Caffari The Guardian
“Despite never having met her, you feel that you want to stretch across South America and give her a big hug. Is MacArthur a rival or an inspiration? An inspiration I have drawn on her strength I love the comparison. She brought sailing into everyone’s home. If it were not for her, nobody would have believed in me. Hopefully, people will now think there is someone else who can do this, not just Ellen.” The Sunday Times
Dee’s story of her solo voyage around the world has powerful messages about self belief. Also about taking on challenges and staying motivated when things get tough. Her talk really struck a chord with an international audience of senior managers at a Women in Business event recently. Although Dee has a busy sailing schedule summer 2007, she is taking bookings for the Autumn onwards.
Dee’s story can be read in her book ‘Against the Flow‘ published in 2009.
Dee is available as a Motivational Speaker, a Sporting Speaker and an entertaining After Dinner Speaker. She is an inspirational speaker on Teamwork and Leadership too. Presenter. Host. Award Ceremonies.
