Aviva on track to smash monohull speed record

9:56 PM Sun 21 Jun 2009 GMT

'Dee Caffari (GBR) on Open 60' monohull Aviva' ThMartinez / Sea & Co &copy

Dee Caffari and her all female crew aboard Aviva have the record for sailing around Britain and Ireland firmly in their sights as they passed the Scilly Isles on Sunday morning.

With just 218 miles to go and although the crew anticipate variable winds as they enter the English Channel today, they are still on track to reach the finish line before 0100hrs Tuesday morning. Entering the English Channel will also mean a return to dodging shipping, lobster pots and the effects of land and tides will be a constant over the next 24 hours or more.

At 0800 hrs this morning, skipper Dee Caffari commented: 'We will have good breeze for the next 3 hours and then it is going to become more variable, so we are expecting a bit of a slow down as we enter the English Channel. We are also back to the tidal and land effects as we dodge shipping on our way to the finish line. We are all far too superstitious to say whether we think we are going to beat the record but are giving it our all and spirits are high.'

Although the girls were not prepared to comment, the Aviva Ocean Racing shore team calculated their finish time to be anytime between 0600 and 0800hrs Monday morning.

At 0800 hrs (BST) Caffari and her all female crew were passing the Isles of Scilly.

www.avivaoceanracing.com

by Aviva Ocean Racing Team