Solo yachtswoman Dee Caffari is battling to fix Aviva’s broken watermaker. She has got less than 150 litres of fresh water left, which means she does not have enough for basic daily drinking needs or to rehydrate dried food until the finish.

‘The situation could become serious,’ confirms Andrew Roberts, Aviva Challenge project director. ‘She has taken a calculated risk in trying to keep the boat as light as possible for the Atlantic and minimise the weight of the water she is carrying.’

Dee is trying to fix a leak from her watermaker high pressure pump. Ashore, her team have been taking an identical pump apart in an effort to find and communicate a solution. ‘We know how to fix it, and there are spares on board which hopefully will work, but some of these – seals, for example – have been used already,’ explains Andrew Roberts.

If Dee cannot fix her watermaker, her team will start looking at emergency measures. She could keep going by collecting rainwater, if there is enough, or open tinned food and other things that have liquid in them.