Lisa Blair, multi-world record holding sailor, tells her amazing story to RSYS

A rainy Sunday afternoon and the Carabella room is full and quiet. Eyes are wide open, glued to the video screen at the front of the room, jaws dropped, sitting on the edge of their seats, gasping with awe and wonder at the footage, listening to Lisa Blair tell her story. Incredulous at how anyone could survive 12 hours of a grade 1A storms in the Southern Ocean, walls of waves the height of three storey buildings, freezing cold, fatigued, exhausted, hypothermia setting in, wet, being tossed around as though in a front loader washing machine with a sock caught in the spinner, on an erratic maximum spin cycle not knowing when it will end, or how it will end; totally demoralised AND all this after experiencing the same 4 years earlier in the same location when the outcome was far worse – dismasted and 1,000 miles from land. And yet, Lisa survived and enthralled the Sunday Afternoon audience of RSYS Members and guests with her stories of survival, focus, courage, resilience, determination, adaptation, altruism, humility and vulnerability and, importantly, achieving her dream.

Lisa Blair is no stranger to the sailing Community. Her 2017 record attempt made front page news, captivating the nation as she courageously limped back to Cape Town after her dismasting. Channelling chumbawumba, she “got up again”: repaired "Climate Action Now", sailed back to Albany, re-fit "Climate Action Now", Re-set again and in 2021, successfully broke the record for the fastest solo non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation of Antarctica (in between, she also broke the record for solo unassisted circumnavigation of Australia). In 2022 She was awarded the prestigious Australian Geographic Adventurer of the year and the coveted Australian Sailing Offshore sailor of the year award. In 2021 she skippered the first all-female crew in 16 years to complete the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, and the following year, the first female two handed yacht to complete the Melbourne to Hobart yacht race. Her book “Facing Fear” is a must read for anyone with a sense of adventure, or who seek inspiration from Lisa as to how she overcame personal, emotional and physical challenges before, during and after her voyages (valuable life lessons!). She is a passionate advocate to protect our oceans, with all her voyages focused on raising awareness and taking action.

Lisa’s sailing journey began at age 25; keen for adventure she secured a job as a chef on a charter yacht in the Whitsundays. Anyone who has visited the Whitsundays, or seen pictures of turquoise blue water & white, sandy beaches with an abundance of sea life will understand it’s magnetism, and contagious salty joy: It’s no surprise that Lisa succumbed & a seed for sailing adventures was planted. Lisa nurtured that seed over the ensuing years: fulfilling her goal of expanding her ocean experience joining many voyages including completing the Clipper race in 2011/12 (on Gold Coast Australia) which gave Lisa her first taste of the fury and wild beauty of the Southern Ocean and the extensive “garbage patches” littering the world’s oceans. The contagion had well and truly developed into a deep love of sailing and the ocean, and like most great loves, a desire to protect it from the extensive pollution Lisa witnessed during her voyages. Her determination and curiosity is evident in her mantra “just do because the world is changed by do’ers”.

As with all contagions, they mutate and for Lisa, after meticulous research and evaluation of options, meant solo sailing and determination to use future voyages to raise awareness of the devastating impact of climate change. More importantly, true to her Mantra of “just do…” educating the community to change the narrative from “my little effort doesn’t count” to “every action counts”; building momentum & community action to make more sustainable decisions in their day to day living. But first, she needed a yacht. Oh, and funding (small detail).

Lisa quickly learned that raising funds in Australia for a sailing-related cause was challenging. With her trademark determination, curiosity, and adaptation along the way, was able to create a proposal that involved breaking the record for the solo, unassisted circumnavigation of Antarctica held by Russian Fedor Konyukhov around the “Antarctica cup” “racetrack” AND a platform from which to advocate for climate action. Lisa purchased Climate Action Now in 2016 – a yacht built for the two-handed Melbourne to Osaka yacht race and perfect for her circumnavigation. True to her word to create awareness and education around Climate Action, she invited the public to write on a “post it note” one (or more than one) action, small or large, they would individually commit to, and drive momentum in the community to make more sustainable decisions. Those post-it notes were converted into the distinctive hull wrap - a daily reminder that lots of little actions can generate momentum - every little action counts. The use of post-it notes is a smart initiative – post it notes are small, fuelling the narrative that lots of small changes can make a big, and visible, difference. Lisa enthralled the audience with her stories:

• how she courageously saved her yacht and herself after dismasting in 2017, 1,000 miles from Cape Town, navigated language barriers and frustration to take on fuel from a huge container ship & construct a jury rig to enable her reach Cape Town for repairs without further assistance;
• remaining calm in her bunk as Climate Action now planed at 28.5 knots down a wave (the yachts top speed to date!);
• how, with steely grit and determination, she continually found creative solution to challenges which would have demoralised less resilient people;
• the science behind Southern Ocean conditions and in particular why rounding Cape Horn is considered the most treacherous stretches of water (the “Drake Passage” & Patagonian mountains combined funnel effect);
• how “Iceberg alley” forms at the “polar convergence line” where the tropical Atlantic Ocean current and the freezing Southern Ocean meet;
• the loneliness of reaching point nemo - “oceanic pole of inaccessibility” - the most remote place on the planet, 1,500 miles away from land (Pitcairn Island) and closer to the space station (also where space debris is dumped!)
• through regular video "Vlogs" - inviting us into her soul, her vulnerability, her deepest feelings; and how she self motivated to summons her inner strength when giving up seemed like such an attractive option.
• The joy, elation, and sheer relief as she finally finished and claimed Fedor’s record…
   

True to her desire to protect our beautiful ocean, on her record-breaking voyage, she became a “citizen scientist”. She joined “Seabed 2030 program” (https://seabed2030.org/) which invites anyone with a water craft to help map the ocean (in 2017 only 6.7% of the ocean had been mapped!) logging data such as ocean depths; deployed an “Argo research float” (https://www.csiro.au/en/research/natural-environment/oceans/argo-robotic-floats) supplied by CSIRO ( to examine deep ocean currents and composition), 8 drifter buoys for the Bureau of Meteorology (and broader global program https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/globaldrifter-program/) to improve information about the ocean surface; and a sail locker became a 24/7 “microplastic” data collection facility (e.g. the level and composition of microplastics, Carbon (PCo2) , salinity). Over 180 samples were collected and whist the results will be available for Lisa’s presentations at the Boat Show in August, preliminary results indicated some kind of plastic in every sample which is disturbing considering the remoteness of the Southern Ocean. We will look forward to those results and importantly, how we can take individual actions to reduce and eliminate.

As for the future: Lisa is focused on big plans, seeking support and raising funds to continue her important “citizen science” work and to continue the momentum to inspire all of us to take action to reduce the impact of climate change through:

• Continuation of her climate education program, developing materials for school students and teachers.
• A record Solo unassisted circumnavigation of New Zealand
• A record solo, unassisted circumnavigation of the Arctic which has never before been attempted (note: This in itself is a consequence of climate change as historically, sea ice has thwarted a consistent clear passage).
• Research into use of Basalt, a volcanic fibre 10 times stronger than fibreglass but sustainable and a lower environmental footprint to build a yacht for the arctic circumnavigation and in a larger way revolutionise the boat building industry improving sustainability.
   

Lisa kindly provided a pile of coloured post-it notes, pens and an invitation to inspire the audience to add to the growing "jar" of actions, big or small, in order to make more sustainable decisions. It was pleasing to see so many members and guests furiously writing (I hope she can read mine!), engaging with Lisa, purchasing her book and other sustainably sourced merchandise, even though it stood between them and the CCA famous Sunday pizza!

Lisa’s continued support for and dedication to sailing, women in sailing, education, climate action and protection of our beautiful oceans is inspiring. Lisa and her stories remind us that the traits that ensured Lisa is here with us today can be applied to most situations in life, and we are lucky and grateful that Lisa so generously shares her story. Wide smiles lit up the room as Lisa confirmed her continued support as a coach for the Ladies of the Sea LOTS) coaching regatta to be held in October - LOTS of happy LOTS graduates and potential graduates in the audience were delighted to hear that news!

If you are inspired to support Lisa, and her important environmental projects and action on climate change, her details are contained within her web page (https://lisablairsailstheworld.com/). And, if you are planning on attending the Boat Show, Lisa will be delivering two presentations per day, which will be similarly enthralling.

Finally - Lisa’s inspiring story is about a girl with a dream, who achieved her goal with focus, determination, resilience, courage, humility, adaptability, finding inner strength to never lose hope. A few valuable life lessons for all of us on, in and off the water. And an important reminder to “just do because the world is changed by Do’ers”.

Thank you again Lisa for an articulate, informative, and inspiring presentation!

Written by Jocelyn Webb