Solo-Around-Nonstop - Dee Caffari/Aviva www.avivachallenge.com - zur Übersicht 02.05.2006 Solo sailor Dee Caffari escapes from the Doldrums Days at sea: 162 Distance to finish: 2,439 miles Position: 600 miles west of Sierre Leone Current conditions: Pleasant sailing, stable winds; 13-15 knots from the northeast Latest News “I wasn't sure how much more of these fickle conditions I could take.” Dee was almost reduced to tears at the weekend in sheer frustration at the lack of progress and physical exertion of dealing with constantly changing conditions. An “endless supply of cloud cells” and associated sail changes resulted in just 30 minutes sleep on Saturday night. The constant demand for attention was enough for Dee to report that the last couple of days in the notorious Doldrums felt, “more difficult than the entire journey so far.” In short, she was “exhausted.” Then at the start of her 24th week at sea, she broke through and was greeted with the conditions she had been hoping for: “[On Monday] the dawn revealed a clear sky with fluffy white cotton wool clouds and a steady breeze of 15 knots that built throughout the day to 20 knots. We had extracted ourselves from the Doldrums and we had found the Northeast trade winds. “It felt strange to be sailing with Aviva heeled over again. I had to learn what sail plan she wanted for the conditions again. It felt good to be on the breeze and putting reefs in the indexsail again.” Now heading north in stable conditions, she will have to get accustomed to sharing the ocean with other vessels. Hearing voices on the VHF on Monday was a “real shock” for the solo sailor. “It has been weeks since I heard anyone, and even longer since I have seen another vessel,” said Dee. “I am guessing that will all change, as I get closer to the Cape Verde Islands, we shall see. I might have to share my ocean with others rather than only with the bird life and marine life. So we are really heading for home now.” Weather After the frustrations of the Doldrums, Dee has broken through the notorious Equatorial calms and in to the northeast trade winds. “In terms of ocean racing,” says weather forecaster Mike Broughton, “these conditions are a walk in the park. Dee is beating in extremely pleasant northeast trade winds which are remarkably stable. “She can expect to be on starboard tack for about the next 5 days as she makes her way northwards and will be looking to pass around 100 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands on Thursday morning, which are themselves about 400 miles west of Senegal.” Links: Dee’s latest diary entry: http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=6 NEW VIDEO – Watch the latest video of Dee and Aviva, courtesy of Seamaster sailing: http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=31&VideoID=14 Send Dee a message: http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=24 Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE