A RECORD breaking attempt by Southampton yachtswoman Dee Caffari to sail the 'wrong' way around the world could be about to run out of steam on the final stretch.

A broken water maker could end the 32-year-old's dream of becoming the first woman to solo circumnavigate the Earth against the prevailing winds.

This week the former teacher from Sholing discovered that the machine, which converts seawater into drinkable water, had stopped working.

Unless she can fix the device it will almost certainly have to give up as her support crew say she only has 150 litres of fresh water left. This is not enough for Dee's basic needs like drinking and cooking with a month left of her voyage still to go.

Andrew Roberts, project director for the Aviva Challenge yacht, said: "The situation has become serious. She has taken a calculated risk in trying to keep the boat as light as possible for the Atlantic and minimise the weight of water carried."

Dee, who is at present off the south west African coast, is still trying to fix the water maker which has developed a leak in its high pressure pump.

Meanwhile, her shore team, including sailing legend Sir Chay Blyth who was the first person to sail the route in 1971, have been taking apart an identical water maker in a frantic bid to help her fix the problem.

Mr Roberts added: "We know how to fix the leak and there are spares on board but some of these - seals for example - have already been used."

He said there was another broken pump on board that could be cannibalised for spares.

Mr Roberts added: "She could keep going by collecting rainwater, but it's physically quite difficult to do and we can't be sure there will be enough rain. We might also need to assess how much tinned food she has left and other things that have liquid in them.

"We are all optimists by nature but we are worried about the water maker and we need to look on the practical side."

Dee is currently 5,000 miles away from the finish line and has already completed more than 21,000 miles in her 72ft yacht.

She has set herself a goal of completing the trip by May 12 which, if successful, would mean she had spent 172 days on her own at sea.