Recently breaking the Round Britain and Ireland monohull speed record with an all-female crew including Samantha Davies, Dee will be welcoming onboard another one of her fellow Vendée Globe competitors, fifth placed Brian Thompson. Brian has notched up twenty-five sailing records to date and is rightly considered as one of the most experienced sailors on the international scene. His racing talent will be an asset for the round the Isle of Wight sprint.
Also invited onboard Aviva will be adventurer Neil Laughton. Neil is fellow member and chairman of the Champagne G.H. Mumm Cordon Rouge Club for 2009 and recently completed the amazing Skycar Expedition, the world’s first bio-fuelled car that flew from London to Tombouctou in Mali.
Both guests will join Aviva’s team that includes Dee, Joff Brown, Harry Spedding, Cliff Nicholson, James Bird and Andrew Roberts. Roger Johnson from BBC South Today will also be onboard to report on this exciting event.
The Artemis Challenge is held every year during Cowes Week and each team races for the charity of their choice. Dee will push her boat and crew hard to win the race and raise the £10 000 prize money for her chosen charity, Sail 4 Cancer. Since 2006, Dee was made Patron of Sail 4 Cancer and went on to run the London Marathon to race funds for the organisation and promote the work they do for people living with cancer.
The eight-strong fleet will cross the start line at 10am. And Dee is looking forward to race against her Vendée Globe 'best friend', Arnaud Boissières onboard his brand new Akena Vérandas amongst others.
“I can’t wait to get out there and race against the others. We’ve been out sailing quite a bit lately but it’s always more fun to race against the competition. This year’s line-up for the Artemis Challenge is brilliant. I’m quite looking forward to sail against Cali (Arnaud Boissières) again and having Brian onboard will be good fun! This event is a great opportunity to run a short sprint onboard our IMOCA Open 60s which is a nice change from the offshore racing. Plus we get to race for charity, so it ticks all the boxes!” commented Dee.
The entries for the Artemis Challenge 2009 are:
1 Akena Verandas: Arnaud Boissières and Vincent Riou
2 Artemis The Profit Hunter: Simon Clay
3 Artemis Ocean Racing: Samantha Davies and Sidney Gavignet
4 Aviva: Dee Caffari
5 BT: IMOCA 60: Seb Josse
6 Grey Power: Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
7 Pakea Bizkaia: Unai Basurko
8 Toe in the Water: Steve White
Dee Caffari, the first woman to have sailed solo non-stop round the world in both directions, is preparing her Open 60 Aviva for her next challenge around the Isle of Wight. The third edition of the Artemis Challenge will be held on Wednesday 5th August 2009 in Cowes and Dee will go at it with a 9-strong crew.
About The Author
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