IN DOING formally what the French have been doing informally for years, Mike Golding and Dee Caffari have immeasurably improved their chances of being the first British winner of the 2008-9 Vendee Globe. Last week Golding and Caffari announced a technical alliance which will allow both teams - Aviva and Ecover - to share performance data, spare parts and development time in the lead-up to the race.

It is an imaginative union between Britain’s most experienced solo sailor and a competitive novice, which owes much to Golding’s creative instincts as Caffari’s openness of character and even more to the trust established between the two nearly seven years ago when Golding gave Caffari her first job in sailing. Golding believes that far from compromising his advantage in terms of time and experience, he is gaining from the alliance.

“If this was Formula One and Ferrari and McLaren formed a partnership, they’d be unstoppable,” he says. “The union makes both teams stronger. To reach the podium will need something way beyond previous Vendee Globes, but we’re ahead of the game now.”

By choosing an Owen Clarke Design Open 60 for the campaign, the same design as Golding, Caffari opened up the possibility of forming the equivalent of a two-boat programme. Aviva, who will pay for the privilege, will be built in the same mould as Ecover to an identical specification. Their contract stipulates two periods of side-by-side testing next summer, which will give both teams the chance to maximise their time on the water and evaluate their performance scientifically, but the two shore teams will share data, ideas and spares throughout the next 18 months.

Mostly, solo sailors are paranoid about sharing their secrets. By nature, they are loners, though the French, who have won every edition of the Vendee, are known to pool their resources. Golding had to think hard about the psychological impact of the project, while Caffari had to shed a natural sense of deference to her old boss.

“I’ve got my head around it because I think it’s a winner,” said Golding. “The fact that when the race starts we’ll be rivals doesn’t matter, we’d be rivals anyway” Golding, 46, who was involved in the rescue of Alex Thomson on the recent Velux 5 Oceans but has suffered ill luck in his attempt to win the Vendee, has a final chance to fulfil his ambition. Caffari, 13 years younger, is just starting her solo career. When the race starts in November 2008, both will be on their own.