Sailing adventurer Lisa Blair of Warriewood has taken her climate action message to Antarctica and back – twice
Lisa Blair’s first attempt to become the fastest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica had it all – snow and hail storms, waves as big as houses – and a broken mast which saw her battling to save her yacht, and herself.
After stopping for repairs in South Africa, Lisa forced herself to sail back to Australia, knowing she had not gotten the record.
“Mentally I was also trying to cope with the fact that if I didn’t do that, I would probably have to give up adventure forever because as a female, unfortunately it happens,” Lisa, 40, says. “We don’t get second chances in this world of extreme adventure.”
She came home with a world record regardless, becoming the first woman to sail solo around Antarctica with one stop, but Lisa admits it took her ‘years to build up enough resilience to be able to overcome that, to go back and do it again.’
Her second attempt in May 2022 was a success – Lisa became the fastest person and first woman to sail solo, non- stop and unassisted around Antarctica.
“The biggest gift I’ve given myself through all these projects is I know that if I think I can, I will.” Lisa holds eight world records in ocean sailing and was honoured with an Order of Australia Medal in January. The documentary, Ice Maiden, details her Antarctic adventure; as does the book, Facing Fear.
But it’s not just world-record breaking attempts Lisa’s set on, she’s also engaging the community to act for the climate.
Her yacht, Climate Action Now, is adorned with a wrap of colourful notes, sent to Lisa from around the world, each bearing an action that the sender is already undertaking to work towards a solution. Messages such as ‘I walk when I can for climate action,’ are designed to focus on solutions. Lisa speaks at schools and events, sharing the message that everybody taking at least one positive action will make a collective difference to the environment.
It was during Lisa’s first Clipper Round the World yacht race, where she spent 12 months at sea, that she saw first-hand how bad the climate problem was. “Until then I’d had the idea that I’m one person, I can’t change things. It’s just one plastic bag or it’s just one straw,” she says. “Then I sailed literally through a sea of plastic.” Lisa has seen Styrofoam boxes float past her in ‘the most pristine and beautiful environment on the planet where no one exists.’
During her second Antarctic expedition, Lisa partnered with eight science research institutes globally, including the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and ran a micro lab on her yacht, testing water samples as she went and adding the results to a ‘global database of ocean health measurements.’
Lisa’s next mission is to sail around the Arctic Circle. Highlighting the issue of abandoned boats in the ocean, she plans to sail in a yacht made of basalt rock, which is more sustainable than fiberglass. “Nobody’s ever sailed solo, non- stop and unassisted around the Arctic before,” she says. “It’s not physically been possible before until climate change and the ice caps melting, and now it’s possible.
“I’m taking it to the Arctic in our next highest impacted region of our world and I want to use that as an ongoing campaign for positive influence on change.”
Lisa will host a screening of her film Ice Maiden on 29 March at the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Newport. Visit lisablairsailstheworld.com
