Aviva Round Britain and Ireland Record Attempt - Day 5
by Kelly Russell 20 Jun 2009 11:56 BST
Aviva back on record breaking pace
Dee Caffari and her all female crew have pushed Aviva hard over the past twenty four hours and are now back on the pace required to beat the record for sailing around Britain and Ireland. With a high pressure front waiting to greet them in the English Channel tomorrow, the crew are keen to make as much progress as possible today, while the breeze continues to be favourable.
At 0700 hrs this morning, skipper Dee Caffari commented:
“We have fantastic breeze and are still very much on the pace with 517 miles to go. Today we will cream along the west coast of Ireland and make as much progress as possible before hitting a high pressure in the English Channel tomorrow, which may slow us back down again. We are racing as hard as we can, while we can.
“Spirits are high and there is much hilarity onboard this morning as we have decided that Saturday is Tiz Waz day. Could it be that being wet and dirty all the time just reminds us of the show that surely invented being gunged?”
At 0800 hrs (BST) this morning, Caffari and her all female crew were passing Galway on the West coast of Ireland.
Round Britain and Ireland Record Overview
- Dee Caffari, the British yachtswoman who made history by becoming the first woman to sail solo, non stop both ways around the world, set off at 21:09:36 on Monday 15th June to attempt to break the record for sailing around Britain and Ireland
- Caffari is joined onboard her racing yacht Aviva by an all female crew, including fellow British yachtswoman and Vendée Globe race rival Samantha Davies, sailor Miranda Merron and boat captain Alex Sizer
- The current outright record stands at 7 days 4 hours and was set in May 2004 onboard Solune
- Another record in their sights is for an all female crew, which stands at 10 days and 16 hours recorded by Samantha Davies and her crew onboard Roxy in June 2007
- The route is almost 2500 nautical miles around the British coastline and the crew
To follow Dee and the crew’s progress onboard Aviva throughout the record attempt, visit the Aviva Ocean Racing race tracker.