Deep in the Southern Ocean, solo yachtswoman Dee Caffari will shortly pass Point Nemo, the point furthest away from land that it is possible to be.
- Solo yachtswoman, Dee Caffari, celebrates her birthday as the most isolated person in the world
Deep in the Southern Ocean, solo yachtswoman Dee Caffari will shortly pass Point Nemo*, the point furthest away from land that it is possible to be. She is alone on her yacht Aviva surrounded by thousands of miles of open water in every direction. The nearest landmass is Antarctica and her nearest neighbours are astronaut William MacArthur and cosmonaut Valery Tokarev on the international space station.
The Aviva Challenge, Dee Caffari’s attempt to become the first woman to sail non-stop round the world against the prevailing winds, is expected to reach this psychological landmark on Friday evening. It will be the most isolated point of her voyage. Point Nemo is at 47°30' S 120°00' W - the furthest point away from any land in the world. This means that Dee will be celebrating her birthday this Monday (23 January) in complete isolation.
Coping with the loneliness of a solo voyage has been one of the biggest challenges for Dee who is highly gregarious by nature. During these first 61 days of her voyage the isolation has been compounded by the emotional burdens of sleep deprivation, the constant battering of the seas in the Southern Oceans and worries caused by equipment failure earlier in the voyage. Helping to sustain her during this time has been the overwhelming number of messages of support. Dee has received thousands of e-mails via her website from around the world. Forwarded to the yacht to help keep the solo skipper’s spirits high, they have proved an invaluable motivational tool.
Talking about her messages Dee said: "At my lowest points, it is the messages of support that have flooded in from all over the world that really help keep me going. They often bring me close to tears but they also remind me why I am out here and make me even more determined to reach the finish line."
The supporters are as diverse as the countries they write from; messages have been sent to Dee via the website from almost 40 countries including Zimbabwe, Iceland, China, Sri Lanka, Croatia and India to name a few.
Some are regular correspondents such as Mr Brown’s class at St Clements Danes School, UK, who follow her daily. Others simply want to register their admiration, such as Freya from Bangalore, India, who wrote: "You truly are an inspiration to women around the world." Many write that while they would not contemplate such a challenge, it motivates them in their daily lives on land. But one surprise supporter will certainly be able to empathise with spending time at sea: "Congratulations on rounding Cape Horn and entering the Pacific (again!). With best wishes on behalf of the Royal Navy for the remainder of your voyage. Alan West, First Sea Lord."
Harry Spedding, Dee’s personal coach who monitors her psychological and emotional condition, says: "Originally we were only going to forward a few interesting messages to Dee on the yacht, but they give her such a boost and so many are heartfelt and positive that we now send nearly all of them to Dee aboard Aviva. On land Dee is sociable and vivacious so she has fought an ongoing battle with loneliness at sea, but the messages help her draw on her mental strength and focus on the positive outcomes of her adventure. So much so in fact that they have become an established part of her communication with the outside world."
Dee is currently approximately 2500 miles from New Zealand, 1850 miles from Chile and 9800 miles from home in the UK. The astronauts on the international space station are probably nearest to her, as they should pass over Dee’s position at a reported height of approximately 232 miles**. Another neighbour will be Norwegian polar explorer Rune Gjeldnes on an unsupported Antarctic crossing who will be over 3000 miles away.
Mike Golding, one of a small handful of people who have sailed solo round the world against the wind, comments on how to deal with the isolation: "On a single-handed voyage of this length you need to establish a rhythm that you can maintain day in day out and that needs to be fairly consistent. Whatever is confronting Dee now, whether it be a 45 knot front or a period of light airs, she needs to manage herself in a consistent way so that whatever happens next, she’s able to deal with it."
Talking about reaching the most remote point of the voyage, Mike added: "It’s quite possible that this point in the voyage is the lowest point. But then when she gets past New Zealand she’ll start to think, ‘well, I’ve sailed across the Pacific’ and suddenly you’re homeward bound - you’re on the return trip. Right now she is still sailing away but when she reaches that halfway point she’ll realise, ‘I can do this.’"
Dee is posting regular logs and you can follow her progress and send messages to her at: www.avivachallenge.com
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Enquiries:
Karen Earl Sponsorship
Georgina Spring +44 (0) 20 7202 2854/+44 (0) 7747 033728
Caroline Ayling +44 (0) 20 7202 2840/+44 (0) 780 1351950
Aviva
Sue Winston, head of group media relations +44 (0) 20 7662 8221
Notes to editors:
Point Nemo*
There are at least 3 positions all purporting to be the furthest from land on any ocean. They are all called Point Nemo but their positions vary by approximately 150 miles. The position the Aviva Challenge has selected to use is 47°30' S 120°00' W. Point Nemo is 1458 miles from an off lying island near Easter Island, an island near Pitcairn and an island on the edge of Antarctica. It is also just over 2500 miles from New Zealand and just over 1850 from Chile in South America. More information available at: www.geocuriosa.com/pointnemo
The space station’s orbit**
Information obtained from www.heavens-above.com
Aviva and The Aviva Challenge
- www.avivachallenge.com includes a voyage tracker, Dee’s daily logs, an image library, profiles of Dee and her shore team, the yacht Aviva and further information about The Aviva Challenge.
- Aviva is the world’s sixth-largest insurance group based on gross worldwide premiums and market capitalisation (at 31 December 2004); it is one of the leading providers of life and pensions in Europe and has substantial businesses in other markets around the world. Aviva’s main activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total income of Ł40 billion and assets under management of Ł280 billion at 31 December 2004.
- Aviva is sponsoring Dee Caffari’s ‘Aviva Challenge’ as part of its ‘Forward thinking’ pan-European advertising campaign. The print, on-line and television corporate campaign, targeting Europe’s opinion-former community, will run until April 2006. As part of the campaign, Aviva has also commissioned RSA Films to make five film shorts for CNBC TV, featuring people who have a particularly powerful vision of the future and celebrating the remarkable achievements of these individuals.
- The current world record for a non-stop single-handed circumnavigation of the globe against the prevailing winds and currents is 122 days, 14 hours, 3 minutes and 49 seconds and is held by Frenchman Jean Luc Van Den Heede.
Challenge Business
- Challenge Business is the organiser for ‘The Aviva Challenge’, co-ordinating the shore team and logistics behind Dee Caffari’s solo, non-stop circumnavigation.
- Challenge Business is a market leader in creating, managing and promoting World Class events - providing the opportunity for ordinary people to do the extraordinary, for the professionals to reach for the extreme and visionary businesses to achieve amazing results.
- Challenge Business uses the participation and passion of adventure sport to create integrated marketing programmes for innovative businesses and has a sponsorship community of many hundreds of blue chip companies worldwide.
Background information
Messages sent to Dee Caffari during the Aviva Challenge
Many thousands of people have become captivated by Dee’s challenge, drawn in by the first hand accounts posted on the Aviva Challenge website every day. The age of the Internet has brought her honest and engaging accounts of an extraordinary daily life from the furthest point away from land onto computer screens worldwide. Now taking on the toughest stage of the voyage, the messages of support in response to these accounts have become part of Dee’s routine:
"I have just received today's messages [18 January] and I was really pleased because I could do with a boost, after reading them I had tears in my eyes. The endless support makes such a difference and does really help. Today is a perfect example of needing that little extra from external sources to keep at it."
Messages of support sent to www.avivachallenge.com:
‘Hi Dee, I hope all is going well for you and you are in good health. I am completely in awe of you and what you are doing. To be alone in the middle of the ocean having to cope with anything that gets thrown at you is impossible to comprehend. You are a hero and a star. Good luck with your challenge I will be following the rest of your trip daily. Take care of yourself Neal.’ Neal Coombes, Gillingham, Dorset, UK
‘Have a good sail. It will be a great task. Congratulations... Admiral Ozkan from Turkey.’ Murat Ozkan, Izmir, Turkey
‘Dear Dee, I'm a Chilean Navy Officer. Every day I see your page. Success, luck and spirit in so hard a test. Good sea and good winds. Best regards.’ Javier, Valparaiso, Chile
‘Hi Dee, I just learned about your voyage and am fascinated - awe struck - by your courage! Do you have any idea how many of us are sitting on our couches somewhere waiting for something exciting to happen? Keep that in mind if you feel a pang of loneliness. You are creating reality out of a dream, and it's an inspiration for all of us. Thank you for your inspiring adventure and for sharing it with the virtual world. Take a cat nap! Bonne voyage...’ Molly Winans, Annapolis, USA
‘Hello Dee! Dad says you’re doing really, really well! I look up where you are on the map lots. I think about you and Aviva lots too. I am off to school now. It is early but I have to get the school coach. Love Milliexxxxxxxx’
Millie Hackett, aged eight from Plymouth, UK, named Dee’s yacht Aviva in Portsmouth with Aviva executive director Patrick Snowball before departure and is one of her keenest fans. High resolution images available:
http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?PageID=30&ImageID=53
http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?PageID=30&ImageID=52
To read more messages see:
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