Round-the-world the wrong way yachtswoman Dee Caffari has been hard at work repairing damage to Aviva following heavy weather.

‘I have managed to change the bent stanchions, four in total. I have replaced the top guard wire with the 6mm blue leech line replacement. It looks very pretty in blue. I spliced on the foredeck whilst waves were going over my head. Freezing fingers,’ she said. Dee’s next priority is to replace the broken sheet on the ‘yankee’ headsail. This will be another difficult job.

Besides these repairs, the round of rigging, sails and gear checks that Dee was unable to carry out this week must get done soon, so there will be little respite this weekend.

‘All in all, a busy day after a massive pounding. I am either getting soft the longer this goes on or the conditions are getting worse. I really can’t take being beaten up too much more!’