After a 102 days at sea, returning to dry land has been quite a contrast. After spending such an intense time together, it was really strange to finally say goodbye to Anna but with both of us busy working the media marathon we have had very little time to reflect on our time together at sea.
Intro
As two of sailing’s leading ladies, Dee Caffari and her co skipper Anna Corbella are the ones to watch in this year’s Barcelona World Race. While most people might think that sailing the world once is quite enough, this is not the British yachtswoman’s first taste of globetrotting – far from it.
As she puts her experience and passion to the test as a part of the only all-female crew in the around-the-world yacht race that spans three months and 25,000 miles, the 37-year-old record-breaker will be blogging exclusively for Sportsister – sharing the highs and lows of life at sea.
Read her final blog below!
You can find out more about Dee and the Barcelona World Race in our interview. Just click here.
I was amazed and extremely grateful for the coverage I received following our achievement and it was fantastic to have so many outlets keen to interview us on our return.
With a number of live news interviews dockside on my arrival, I very quickly swapped my sailing hat for my media one and the pinnacle for me was going up to London to be interviewed by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders for their BBC Radio 2 Easter Monday show. It was hilarious meeting these two amazing ladies who are every bit as lovely and funny as you imagine them to be in real life as they are when watching them on the box.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Read related features:
Sailing: Dee Caffari’s exclusive Barcelona World Race blog – part 4
Sailing: Dee Caffari’s exclusive Barcelona World Race blog – part 3
Sailing: Dee Caffari’s exclusive Barcelona World Race blog – part 2
Sailing: Dee Caffari’s exclusive Barcelona World Race blog – part one
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
However, the constant travelling back and forth from Spain to the UK for interviews and photo shoots did eventually take its toll. Long term fatigue finally caught up with me and without the chance to catch up on sleep or get into any kind of ‘healthy’ routine my body decided to rebel….cue the traditional stinking cold!
The upside to being isolated at sea is that there are no germs to catch and typically it will be as soon as I get home that illness kicks in. Blocked nose, coughing and lethargy finally forced me to accept my tiredness and allow my body some recovery time. With tissues, throat lozenges and cold remedy tablets in my armoury, I spent some down time with my family and catching up with friends.
Although the respite from travel will be short lived, as I still have sponsor commitments in Spain to fulfil, it was wonderful to spend a full weekend in my own home with my boyfriend and dog. Walking in the countryside and taking long hot baths felt like absolute luxury after over three months of austerity.
People constantly ask me what I am going to do next and the calendar is rapidly filling up with activities, however, my primary focus is to find sponsorship support to enable me to continue my development and progress in the sailing world.
My aim - to join the best sailors in the world on the start line of the Vendee Globe 2012, a single handed non-stop race around the world, considered the pinnacle event of solo offshore racing. I have the dream, my team and I have the knowledge and experience to make it happen so now what we need is a sponsor to believe in our project and join us on the adventure!
Dee Caffari, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
