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Formerly a P.E. teacher, the inspirational Dee Caffari has sailed into the record books since switching netball courts for the waves. Caffari has, she told the London Business Forum (LBF), “spent more time on my boat at sea than I have living in my house.”

Caffari’s most recent achievement was completing the Barcelona World Race in April 2011, in which she came sixth with co-skipper Anna Corbella. This feat has propelled her into the record books once more as she is now the first woman to have sailed around the world non-stop three times; twice by herself in both directions, and now with Corbella.

The chance to circumnavigate the globe for a third time came when Caffari received a phone call from Corbella, who she had never met before. Corbella had previously become the first Spanish woman to complete a solo Transatlantic race. This was, said Caffari, a fantastic achievement but 21 days at sea across one ocean is very different to the enormous challenges that a world race brings.

Never one to let an opportunity go to waste, Caffari met Corbella and to test their compatibility they sailed to Barcelona, crossing the stormy Bay of Biscay in February. With Corbella speaking only Spanish and Catalan, and Caffari speaking just English it was a good sign said Caffari that, “14 days later we sailed into Barcelona still smiling, still giggling.”

Decision made, they began their preparation. The “boat calendar” has to include not only sailing practice for the crew but boat refits, corporate sailing and media interviews. Whilst the boat was in the workshop this was a chance for Corbella and Caffari to work on their fitness, strength and other skills that they would require. Out at sea a sailor has to be their own mechanic, engineer, nutritionist, weather expert and doctor, Caffari explained, so training is vital.

Once the boat is out of the workshop the “fun bit” starts, Caffari told the LBF. Caffari and Corbella had a coach to keep them on course and “crack the whip.” “We needed to learn our strengths […] to make sure that as a team we were as efficient as possible,” Caffari continued. Having spent so much time sailing solo Caffari was also conscious that she had to “practice giving a little bit up” and share the load with Corbella.

Caffari described how the build-up before the start of the race is very busy and with lots of press attention it is easy for the nerves to set in. Caffari had sailed around the world twice before but Corbella, she told the LBF, “had no idea what she was letting herself in for.” Caffari’s role at this point was to buoy up her teammate: “She took her confidence from me […] I needed to exude confidence.”

The 25,000 mile race started on New Year’s Eve. “The first two miles makes very little difference to your place in the race but psychologically it makes all the difference,” explained Caffari. It is the point at which all the boats are close together and the eyes of the world are fixed keenly on the starting positions.

Their first major obstacle was at Gibraltar where not only had they missed the wind but, with a fishing net stuck round their keel, Caffari spent three hours sailing backwards. Although at this point they were not with the first group, they were not with the last either. “You can’t give up,” Caffari insisted, “You just have to reset your goals.” Making the most of a bad situation Corbella dived under the boat to remove the fishing net so at least it wouldn’t trail with them for 25,000 miles.

Near the islands of Cape Verde the first casualties of the race occurred. Two boats lost their masts before the fleet had even reached the Southern Ocean. Later in the race, one man tore a ligament in his knee and another broke a rib confronting a cyclone near New Zealand. Corbella and Caffari had avoided the cyclone taking the safest decision – to slow down and sail north of it. This, Caffari told the LBF, was a decision of which she was extremely proud.

Other obstacles along the way included the icebergs and hail of the Southern Ocean, and the less dangerous flying fish of the warmer seas that, Caffari revealed, give her “the willies.” Their biggest challenge came three weeks before the finish, when a broken ballast tank integral to the boat’s structure put their dream in jeopardy.

Caffari’s “magic boat building box” was put to the test for the first time. Her first repair to the damage cracked because the constant movement of the boat prevented the bond from sealing. Realising that they would have to stop the boat in the middle of the ocean for 24 hours to allow time for the seal to set, Caffari and Corbella were forced to reset their goals again. The top five position that Caffari had hoped for was slipping out of their reach but, said Caffari, “this did mean that we were going to finish the race without stopping.”

Boat repaired, the duo made it to the Mediterranean but this was almost the hardest part of the whole race. “I did more manoeuvres and sail changes in those three days than I did in the rest of the race,” Caffari told the LBF. Caffari honestly admitted that she was a little frustrated that they had finished sixth rather than fifth but, she explained, as the realisation of what they had achieved sunk in that frustration soon gave way to elation. Out of the 14 boats that started, five did not finish, four stopped along the way and only four completed the race non-stop.

It seems nothing will get in Caffari’s way to achieve her dreams and she’s already planning her next big challenge, the Vendée Globe. She has done it before but this time, with more racing under her already assured sea legs, Caffari’s “gonna go for the podium.”