Dee Caffari MBE

A former teacher, British yachtswoman Dee Caffari sailed into the world record book when she became the first and only woman to circumnavigate the world solo the ‘wrong’ way in 2006. Not one to stay in her comfort zone, Dee then sailed single-handed, non-stop around the world in the other direction by competing in a dramatic Vendée Globe (2008/09) – it is not called ‘The Everest of the Seas’ for nothing. On completing the dual-handed Barcelona World Race in 2011, Dee became the only woman to have sailed non-stop around the world on three occasions.

Dee continues to compete and lead teams offshore. Most recently, Dee joined The Famous Project. As co-skipper with Alexia Barrier, the international team will attempt the world speed record on their Ultime, IDEC Sport. If successful, they will secure the first world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the planet with an all-female crew. The Jules Verne Trophy is one of the toughest ocean challenges in the world, and they will pit themselves against the clock and the elements in their attempt to win this prestigious sporting trophy.

Dee has now sailed around the planet six times and tailors her insightful talks for clients drawing on her experiences of leading teams in competitive, tough environments as well as her record-setting solo voyages. An inspiring skipper, a passionate Ocean Advocate, Dee brings a wealth of experience when she tailors each presentation.

Dee has lead diverse, international teams in challenging remote environments like the Southern Ocean. For example, in the Volvo Ocean Race (2017/18) Dee lead an international youth team with a 50-50 male-female split in the Volvo Ocean Race. As skipper of Turn the Tide on Plastic, Dee’s promoted the United Nations Environment’s Clean Seas campaign to raise awareness of plastic pollution in our oceans and inspire people to take action in their day-to-day lives. Dee is able to draw on her experiences for client events to deliver a powerful sustainability focus with footage from this campaign.

Dee has proven herself to be a yachtswoman of the highest calibre and many are amazed to learn that she only began her sailing career in 2000. Following her first world record, Dee was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list and she became an Honorary Commander in the British Royal Navy and won the prestigious Yachtsman of the Year Award. Dee is Chair of the British Keelboat Academy supporting young sailors explore offshore sailing. Dee has been a presenter for a number of media channels, helping to support and promote women athletes, sport and the environment.

Dee tailors each presentation drawing on her solo and team challenges in extreme ocean environments. A natural team leader, Dee engages audiences with her lessons hard won on leadership, creating effective teams, the critical importance of good communications in pressured environments, maintaining high performance, assessing risk, and developing resilience. Dee has  numerous achievements in shorter offshore races (she was the UK Double Handed National Champion and represented Team GB at the European Offshore Championships in 2021, for example) but many of her races demand success at the longer game and Dee shares her leadership and teamwork lessons learnt during the highs and lows of much longer offshore challenges.

Feedback consistently shows that clients across all sectors appreciate Dee’s engaging style and authenticity of her messages in her presentations (whether virtual or in person). Dee is sought after as a keynote speaker, an entertaining and motivating after dinner speaker as well as a host for awards at international events.

Her presentations captivate audiences with raw, authentic stories from the edge of human capability:

• Leadership under pressure: Making life-or-death decisions when there’s no one else to turn to
• Building high-performance teams: Leading diverse crews through 45,000 nautical miles of ocean racing
• Resilience that wins: Turning setbacks into comebacks when failure isn’t an option
• Breaking barriers: Championing diversity and inclusion in one of sport’s toughest arenas