Dee Caffari has been named in the Queen's Birthday Honours list and is looking forward to going to the Palace in due course to collect her MBE.
“I had received a letter informing me that I was short listed, but that was a few weeks ago now and I couldn't believe that I had been successful and I was being recognised for my services to sailing,” she said.
“The MBE certainly is an honour that I am very proud to receive and it is a true testament to all those that made the Aviva Challenge possible and allowed me the opportunity to set a new world record.”
She paid tribute to the Aviva team: “Without their support Aviva (the yacht) and I would never have made it.”
Dee has now progressed from the 72 ft Challenge yacht Aviva that took her round the world and into the record books to an Open 60 Aviva, and she has just completed her first race in it, the Calais Round Britain Race.
Dee and her crew were last to finish of the 11 Open 60s in the race.
“Last place may be disappointing but we have had a roller coaster race that I have learnt heaps from,” she said. “We began in great shape and maintained a high position despite the fluky conditions. We then made a decision to try something different.
“It didn't pay off and we lost a lot of miles but the final stage of the race moved us from being 180 miles behind the next boat to just 17 miles behind the next boat. It was unbelievable and a clear sign that anything can happen at sea and you just have to stay focused. These boats can gain and loose miles easily, so the race is never that clear cut.”
Dee is determined to become more competitive before taking part in next year's Vendee Globe race in a brand new Open 60, and to that end is doing some Mini racing with Ollie Bond.
She drove straight from the finish at Calais to Douarnenez, where they took part in the qualifying race for the Mini Fastnet Race.
“In blustery conditions seeing up to 25 knots we sailed a course around the bay. It was wet, windy and fantastic fun. Ollie Bond, my skipper was fully in control as he let me learn my way around the boat. It is a scaled down version of Aviva almost and felt like a dinghy to me,” said Dee.
Unfortunately the unsettled weather has led to the postponement of the start of the Mini Fastnet, and she will not be able to compete as she has to return to Britain to race her Open 60 in next weekend's Round the island Race.
But she will be racing two-handed with Ollie again next month.
For more information visit www.avivaoceanracing.com
