Yachtswoman fears flying

Press, 22 June 1989, Page 45

Yachtswoman fears flying

NZPA-AAP Canberra The round the world yachtswoman, Kay Cottee yesterday revealed she was afraid of flying. Cottee said here that her past year of criss-crossing the nation raising funds for the Life Education Movement was as much of a challenge as the epic voyage which made her a household name. She told the National Press Club she first had to overcome a fear of public speaking, and the media, after becoming the first woman to circumnavigate the globe alone and unaided.

“I would quite happily have arrived home and gone home,” Cottee said. “I would rather face 60 foot breaking waves every

Her fear of flying was the next obstacle to be overcome as she covered many times the distance of her global voyage in 57 interstate trips to 167 functions and countless interviews.

"I was truly terrified of getting in the pir,” she said. “I had only flown two or three times.”

After a year of accolades including the Australian of the Year award, Cottee said she had only just passed the sAust7so,ooo ($NZ988,142) mark in her bid to raise $1 million (SNZI.3B million) for Life Education. But she was confident of reaching the goal after her sponsor, the health food firm Blackmores, agreed to back her for another 12 months.