To avoid the very worst storms at the bottom of the world, Dee Caffari the solo skipper of Aviva has sailed 30 per cent more of the Southern Ocean than its 12,000 actual miles from Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope.

Yet with all that windward work she has maintained an impressive average speed of 7 knots. Dee, 32, has been at sea for 123 days, including 77 days in the Southern Ocean. She is set to leave its clutches in the next 24 hours when her course takes her above the latitude of 40º South.  She should round the Cape of Good Hope in approximately a week.

Dee is attempting to become the first woman to sail round the world solo and non-stop against the prevailing winds and currents.