Not one to stay in her comfort zone, Dee launched a campaign for a new world record just months after her first solo circumnavigation. Dee announced that she wanted to become the first woman to sail solo, non-stop around the world in both directions. In order to do this Dee entered the highly competitive world of Open 60 racing. Dee faced a daunting task. She aimed to compete against the best international sailors in a race held every four years 'the right way' around the world. After one of the most dramatic Vendée Globes ever known (2008/09) " it is not called 'The Everest of the Seas' for nothing - Dee finished on the 16 February 2009 and claimed a double world-first.
With a passion for sport and exercise, Dee is an Ambassador for Active Southampton promoting 30 minutes of exercise a day. Her keen interest in health and life-balance stems from her roots as a secondary school PE teacher. A strong desire to face and overcome challenges has led Dee into adventures outside the sailing environment too. One such challenge was leading a female team over 6500km of rugged terrain in the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge. The focus was to raise money for cancer charities and Dee has since become the Patron for the charity Sail4Cancer. A love of the ocean and the British coastline has seen Dee become an Ambassador for the RYA Green Blue Campaign to help everyone reduce, re-use and recycle.
Without doubt, one of Britain's most inspirational women, Dee is now an acclaimed international speaker and she tells her dramatic and highly motivational story with great grace, humour and insight. Her autobiography 'Against the Flow' was published in paperback and is available in French, Italian and German. Dee speaks on self-belief, overcoming fears, motivation, teamwork & leadership.
Dee Caffari MBE has just finished her 7th circumnavigation today (26/01/26) as co-skipper of The Famous Project CIC. The Famous Project have disrupted the all-male legacy of those successfully completing a circumnavigation of the planet for the prestigious Jules Verne Trophy (JVT).
This is a historic achievement as they become the first all-female team to complete a lap of the planet in a multihull. They have set an all-female reference time for the JVT. (Tenacity and perseverance have been essential throughout the voyage especially with problems with, and then the loss of, their mainsail.)
Dee and the founder of the project Alexia Barrier with their all woman crew have just crossed the finish line.Having crossed the finish line, the crew will now head to Brest...
In 1998, Tracy Edwards and the team of Royal & Sun Alliance first attempted to break one of the last records left standing for an all-female
crew - the JVT: they were dimasted after 43 days.
On 26 January 2026, The Famous Project CIC with founder French sailor Alexia Barrier and co-skipper Dee Caffari will complete this circumnavigation with a crew of international professional sailors to make history and disrupt this all-male legacy. https://thefamousproject.io/team/
The journey starts and finishes from the exact line between the Le Créac’h lighthouse off the tip of Brittany, France, and Lizard Point in Cornwall, UK. French bank CIC has been a founding partner of The Famous Project CIC from the early days of this ambitious project. They are sailing Maxi Trimaran IDEC SPORT.
On 25 January 2026, a new all-male speed record was set by Thomas Coville and his crew.
'Dee is a natural presenter and what comes over so strongly is her enthusiasm, excitement and her ability to articulate her story so well and to engage with an audience. No arrogance, a good sense of humour and great style.' Nationwide
'Dee's presentation resonated strongly as she gave the highs and lows of her story - the emotional journey. There were strong parallels with the business world that I could relate to - how I can overcome challenges, for example. Her personality is warm, open, honest. The video was very powerful.' John Lewis
'Not everyone can win. What they need is a number of skills and qualities to do this. Dee Caffari is gregarious, which is important because a crew wants to know where it stands. She also has a lot of empathy with her crew"¦ Dee has tremendous qualities and she does invoke confidence, not just in herself but in everyone around her.' Sir Chay Blyth
'I am full of admiration for Dee"¦ The main thing is she had a dream, went for it, and has succeeded. There is no such thing as failure, only those people who fail to follow their dream.' David Hempleman-Adams