Against the Flow: The First Woman to Sail Solo the 'Wrong Way' Around the World

by Dee Caffari

WITH A FOREWORD BY JAMES CRACKNELL

In 2006, Dee Caffari became the first woman to sail solo round the
world against the prevailing winds and currents. Her story is an
adventure in the true sense of the word. It is about physical hardship
in terrible conditions, overcoming solitude, sleep deprivation, the
worry of crucial equipment failing, 34 days of gales, 12 metre waves,
cyclones and a lightning strike. It is also about a woman who stepped
outside her safe zone, gave up a good job and financial security, all
because she wanted to sail. She dared to dream, and her courage
resulted in a place in the history books alongside a handful of men.
More
people have walked on the moon than have successfully completed a
westabout circumnavigation, and in this inspirational book Dee shares
the story of her journey from beginner to record breaker.
'I
feel I have been preparing for this my whole life. This is my dream. To
be the first woman to sail the globe single-handed, westabout. It's
twice as long and twice as hard. We can do more than we think we can.
We just have to dare to dream.'
Dee Caffari
'Dee has inspired
the imagination of a worldwide audience. She has joined only four men
who have achieved this feat. Other women may follow, but she will
always remain the first.'
Sir Chay Blyth

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

British yachtswoman Dee Caffari is the first woman to have sailed single-handed and non-stop around the world in both directions and the only woman to have sailed non-stop around the world three times.
In 2006 Dee became the first woman to sail solo, non-stop, around the world against the prevailing winds and currents and was awarded an MBE in recognition of her achievement.
Dee successfully completed the solo, non-stop Vendée Globe Race in 2009, crossing the finish line in 6th place out of an original fleet of 30 competitors. April 2011 saw Dee complete her third non-stop circumnavigation in the double-handed Barcelona World Race. In 2014, as part of Team SCA taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014/15, Dee secured the Round Britain and Ireland Speed Record for an all-female crewed monohull of 4 days 21 hrs 39 secs.
Dee is involved with a number of competitive sailing campaigns and continues to showcase her talents in other areas such as TV and radio presenting, motivational speaking and supporting her chosen charities.

Reviews

[Ian Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because at a ripe old age I am determined to realise a long-time ambition to learn to sail, buy a yacht and sail somewhere – hopefully around the world.
Unlike me, Dee Caffari did not dither and procrastinate for years. She reached a point in her life in her late twenties when the stars aligned and she had an opportunity to enter the world of competitive sailing, first as a crew member and then as a skipper for a professional yacht racing team. One of the amazing things about Dee is that she went from novice sailor to the first woman to sail solo the “wrong way” (i.e. against the prevailing winds) around the world in just six years. During that time she had already sailed the “right way” around the world in a Global Challenger race, skippering a 72-foot steel yacht with an amateur crew of seventeen men and women.
Completing that race might have been enough for most people, but Dee had barely got back on dry land before she was looking for a sponsor to fund her first solo circumnavigation. Incredibly, the yacht she used for that “wrong way” voyage was the same boat she had skippered in the Global Challenger race. Within a few weeks her shore team rejigged a boat designed to be sailed by eighteen people so it could be sailed by a lone sailor. She set sail on that “wrong way” voyage in November 2005, just four months after completing the Global Challenger race.
Some readers might be disappointed that much of the inspiration and support Dee benefits from comes from men, such as Chay Blyth, the bloke who runs Aviva Insurance and an almost all-male shore team which included a weatherman, a doctor and sundry technical people who – from thousands of miles away – helped her fix all the things that went wrong during her voyage. I’m sure Dee has encountered a great deal of misogyny in the world of competitive sailing but she doesn’t mention it. Instead her story shows that women can achieve great things and good men – including her partner Harry – are happy to play a supporting role while the women take the limelight. It must be said, though, that Dee receives a great deal of emotional support from her mother and sister, as well as practical support from other women who are mentioned in the acknowledgements.
The passages where Dee has to deal with storms and huge waves and failing autopilots and snapping masts are gripping, but one of the most surprising aspects of the book is when she describes her mixed emotions about completing the voyage. After months of being alone and facing death and disaster many times and wishing she was with her partner and family, as she nears the finish line she begins to dread the thought of being with other people, of living a “normal” life again. So it’s no surprise to find that within weeks of arriving in Southampton she is looking for a fresh challenge: this time to sail round the world again the “right way” in a super-fast carbon fibre yacht in the Vendee Global yacht race….That is a story for another book, which unfortunately has not yet been written.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in sailing or who enjoys reading about what human beings are capable of.

[Katie Bennett-Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unbelievable feat of true grit, courage and passion. An amazing and inspiring story.

[Andrew Furness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Astonishingly exhilarating- well written with thoughtful detail in all the right places
A triumph and I wish she would write the next book already ☺️

[Leoni]

Amazing courage, strength and the shere meaning of stamina