Dee Caffarri diary

Round the world heroine alternates marathon training with working up her Open 60

Taking on the London Marathon was always going to be a challenge even though I knew I was running it for a cause that I believed in: Sail 4 Cancer.

January…..

Training for the Marathon has not been my only focus however. Since announcing my bid for the Vendee Globe in 2008 at the Collins Stewart London Boat Show in January, we seem to have hit the ground running and not stopped since. With Aviva in France based at the V1D2 Yard in Caen, the team and I have been travelling back and forth around a busy schedule to get time on the water and to prepare the 60 for a busy summer of racing and on-the-water training. My January schedule was completely full, but training for the Marathon had to start somewhere. Despite a trip to Canada to visit Aviva’s offices and the Toronto Boat Show where I met with Derek Hatfield on his Open 60 Spirit of Canada, I couldn’t hide from the fact I had to get out start running. Luckily I got enough miles under my belt before the snow began to fall…

After a hectic January I was thrilled to celebrate my birthday at home with family and friends - a complete contrast to last year when Aviva and I were I approaching Point Nemo, which is the most remote point on the planet and the furthest point from civilisation. In fact the nearest person to me was a Russian cosmonaut in the International Space Station!

February…..

After a week in the Alps enjoying some snowboarding it was right back into training for the Marathon and a visit to my fitness team at Leeds Met University for my next fitness test. I completed a sub maximal test and a maximal test on the treadmill as well as checking my body fat percentage. I was desperately hoping for my base level aerobic fitness to have improved with the programme the guys had set me on, so I was grinning like a Cheshire cat that lunchtime when the results were printed stating that I had indeed improved my fitness levels. Now I could start increasing the mileage and the speed of some of my runs as I moved into the middle stage of my preparation for the Flora London Marathon.

February was also a busy time for the team as Aviva was being prepared for measurement to attain her IMOCA certificate. Despite the new Aviva having taken part in two Vendee Globe Races, she has still not been measured since 2004; therefore the team and I have spent some time going through the process to ensure everything is as it should be.

The process of measurement included tilting the boat on its side and measuring the boat and keel while they are separated. Aviva underwent a 90-degree test to check the righting moment of the yacht as well as also measuring the overall weight of the boat together with the rig. After a 10-degree test involving us filling ballast tanks and canting the keel to check her stability, Aviva made her first steps to join the IMOCA Class.

The whole process bought back memories of when I worked with Mike Golding in 2000. We had measured this very same boat [then Team Group 4] - albeit in a different colour scheme. Last time, Mike was the skipper and I was the nipper that had to dive and fix lifting strops to the keel. There was no getting wet for me this time!

Four days later and the team and I were on the water, leaving V1D2 Yard in Caen and sailing up through the locks to the canal at Ouistrem. With a perfect forecast of hazy sun and flat water we set off from the lock and hoisted the mainsail. The breeze was 15 knots from the southeast. Once we had checked our reefing line attachments we hoisted the Solent sail that sits furled at the front and we were off heading up wind at 15 knots. Marco LeFevre looked at the rig from all angles and I was like a lost sheep following him around the deck with a huge grin on my face. We tacked and followed the same procedure with the sails on the other side. The breeze was building as the forecast had suggested it would and we changed from a full main to one reef and then furled the Solent sail away and hoisted the trinquette sail. Once we were happy with that system, we gybed the boat and set up to hoist our code 5 sail. This reaching sail is perfect for wind strength in the early twenties and we now had 23 knots of breeze.
Every day is a school day and I am constantly going to be learning whenever I go out sailing with Aviva. I am already much happier with her systems and I’m getting things in the right order with manoeuvres as well as learning how to deal all the little hiccups that can occur.

With such a busy schedule working on Aviva and spending weeks at a time in France, I have had to snatch every available opportunity to continue my training for the Flora London Marathon. I run after sailing along the canal in France, or leave the car at home and run to our offices when in the UK; a fresh 8 mile run in the morning really gets you set up for the day!

March……….

Sunday 15th March saw Aviva finally arriving back in the UK. However although it was fantastic to see her back home, my focus that coming weekend was to run my first half marathon at Silverstone.

I really battled the four seasons in one day as the sun shone at the start, but was quickly replaced by hailstones and a biting wind. I couldn’t believe it. The course was pretty flat but that also meant that the wind never let up. At times the blast of cold wind that crossed the track sent the runners staggering. 8000 runners started the race and it was incredible. I used this race as a practice for the London Marathon; I practiced taking drinks at the drink stations and attaching my chip on my trainers so that the race could register my time of 2 hours, 16 mins and 44 secs. I completed the course in 4,734th place and never stopped running. It was great for my confidence. Now all I need to do is do the same thing all over again, straight after, and that will be the marathon!



Just two days after the Silverstone half marathon, I shared the fantastic news of the Technical Alliance with Mike Golding. In between the surprise winter showers of hailstones we stood smiling with both Ecover and Aviva behind us at Gun Wharf Quays. With the announcement made it was time to get again out on the water. I began my training on the water the next day, in perfect spring conditions with a north wind of about 18-20 knots that was bitterly cold, and clear blue skies with a watery sun welcomed Aviva and I from the dock into a very quiet Eastern Solent.

On board this week is Harry, myself and we have Miranda Merron with us. My aim with Miranda on board has been to grow in confidence and experience the subtleties of the sails I carry. The tone of each day has been relaxed and I have acted as a sponge and absorbed Miranda’s experience and top tips from her solo and short handed sailing career. The maximum speed I saw was 19.7, which I hasten to add was while I was at the helm.

With three and a half weeks to the London Marathon I now have to balance time spent running and on the water. So mornings are spent with an early morning run and the days down on Aviva with the team. I am looking forward to the challenge of the Marathon and hope that you will all support me in raising funds for such a worthy cause, Sail 4 Cancer.

You can sponsor me online at www.sail4cancer.org or via www.deecaffari.co