Dee Caffari MBE

A former secondary school physical education teacher, Dee transitioned to a career in the marine industry after witnessing the 2000/01 Global Challenge fleet return home—a moment that became the catalyst for her next ambitious goal. By 2004, Dee had secured her place as the only female skipper in the fleet competing in the next Global Challenge race. Just four months after leading her team around the world, Dee embarked on another journey—a six-month solo, non-stop voyage to become the first woman to sail around the world against the prevailing winds and currents. The rest, as they say, is history. To date, Dee has circumnavigated the globe five times.

In 2014/15, Dee competed in the Volvo Ocean Race with Team SCA, the only all-female team in this legendary offshore round-the-world race.

In March 2016, Dee joined the high-profile charity sailing challenge for Sport Relief. The “Hell on High Seas” crew, featured on the BBC’s The One Show, included a team of celebrity novice sailors. Their challenging voyage around part of Britain’s coast raised over £1 million for charity.

Dee remains deeply involved in charitable work. She sits on the Operations Committee for the RNLI and serves as a patron for GAFIRS, an independent lifeboat station, as well as for the charities Sail4Cancer and St Mary’s Junior Sailing Club.

Widely regarded as one of Britain’s most inspirational women, Dee is now an acclaimed international speaker. She shares her highly motivational story with humour and insight, and her autobiography, Against the Flow, is available in French, Italian, and German.