By Justin Palmer

Seven years ago Dee Caffari swapped life as a PE schoolteacher to earn her living by diving into the murky waters in Southampton to scrub the bottom of esteemed yachtsman Mike Golding's boat.

It wasn't pleasant but it was the first rung on a steep ladder for a woman determined to carve out a career on, or at that point, in the water.

Her ascent from humble beginnings has been swift and successful, taking the 33-year-old to the point of joining the sport's elite group of solo sailors.

Last year Caffari became the first woman to sail solo, non-stop the "wrong" way around the world -- against the prevailing winds and currents -- a slow and uncomfortable 178-day voyage on a 72-foot (22 metre) yacht through some of the most hostile conditions on the planet.

She endured equipment failure, fatigue and steered a danger-strewn passage through the icy waters of the Southern Ocean.

Not content to rest on her laurels, Caffari intends to do the same again... this time in the right direction and at significantly faster speed.

Caffari will compete in the 2008-09 Vendee Globe - a global circumnavigation test of endurance that demands highly-competitive "sailing on a knife edge" in open 60 monohull yachts - the Formula One of solo yacht racing.

Golding was the first person to have raced around the world in both directions (1993/4 and 2000/1) and Caffari will bid to become the first woman to achieve the same feat.

LEARNING CURVE

Just getting to the start line in Sables d'Olonne, France in 666 days time will be an accomplishment, with Caffari likening her transition from driving a small family car to taking the wheel of a high-powered Ferrari.

"You can drive your battered Metro... but you get into a Lamborghini or Ferrari and suddenly you are aware of what you are in," she told Reuters after announcing her latest challenge at the London Boat Show on Thursday.

"I'm under no illusion just how tough it is going to be and how steep the curve I'm going to have to start my way up. It's hard to imagine that two years from now I will be sailing with the best of the best in the toughest race there is around the globe.

"The Vendee Globe is a huge undertaking and to do well would be the pinnacle of my career. It's a monumental goal but I'm on my way.

"When I see footage of open 60 sailing my stomach rises and I think 'what have i got myself into'. I will have to raise my game."

Caffari will be following in the wake of fellow yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur, now a household name for her exploits.

MacArthur, who finished second in the 2000/01 Vendee, broke Frenchman Francis Joyon's solo record for sailing non-stop around the world, completing the 27,000 miles circumnavigation in 71 days and just under 15 hours.

"She is a massive inspiration and the fabulous thing she did for sailing was to bring it into everybody's household so you didn't have to be a sailing enthusiast to follow her voyage," Caffari said of MacArthur.

"It's paved the way and made life a lot easier for me, so it's very exciting and an honour to follow someone as successful as she has been."

MacArthur pushed Frenchman Michel Desjoyeaux all the way in the 2000/01 race, her hopes of a famous victory on board Kingfisher dashed when she struck a submerged container and was forced to make repairs.

Her exploits and achievements have set the benchmark for others to aspire to.

PUSHING BOUNDARIES

"It's about pushing boundaries and pushing my limits, why not try to push to the absolute top of the game?" Caffari said in explanation of her entry into the Vendee.

"It's competitive. There are other sailors doing the same thing. You can't afford to take your foot off the pedal. If you do that, the speed these boats go out the difference will be too huge to make up. So you need to be constantly pushing. Mentally it's going to be a very different game.

Caffari has begun her preparations by practising in the boat she once scrubbed for Golding. And the irony is not lost on her.

"Seven years ago my first job in the industry was with Mike Golding, he used to own that boat and my first job was to clean its bottom regularly.

"When I saw the boat lifted in a sling and I saw the bottom of it again I thought 'thank God, I wont be seeing that, it can be someone else's job this time'"