Caffari's team sail into history

Dee Caffari and Sam Davies both competed in the Vendee Globe Hampshire yachtswoman Dee Caffari and her four-strong all-female crew have beaten the 2,500 nautical mile round Britain and Ireland mono-hull record. Ms Caffari, of Titchfield, skippered the Aviva team which included her Vendee Globe rival Sam Davies. They arrived back in Portsmouth at 0840 BST beating the current record of seven days and four hours set by JP Chomette in May 2004. The crew beat the record by 17 hours and 16 seconds. The 36-year-old skipper who had set off on 17 June said: "It was just fantastic." Ms Caffari sailed into history in February when she became the first woman to sail solo non-stop around the world in both directions during the Vendee Globe. She crossed the line in sixth place after sailing more than 27,000 miles in 99 days, one hour and 10 minutes. The other members of the Aviva crew are fellow British sailors Miranda Merron, boat captain Alex Sizer and German sailor Isabelle Joschke.