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Lisa Blair is an Australian solo sailor who holds multiple world records. She is also an advocate for action against climate change, which she promotes through her Climate Action Now project. She has written a book, Facing Fear, about her first attempt at circumnavigating Antarctica solo on her yacht Climate Action Now.

Solo sailing career

Blair was 25 years old when she got a job as a hostess on a boat in the Whitsundays. She completed her first ocean passage as a crew member delivering a yacht to Hawaii in 2008. In 2011 she crewed in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race as a watch leader, bowman, rigger and helmsman. Her team on the yacht Gold Coast Australia won the overall Clipper Race trophy for the 2011–12 edition of the race. Blair's solo sailing career started in 2014 when she sailed the Solo Tasman Challenge from New Zealand to Queensland, borrowing a yacht one week before the race. She then spent three and a half years planning and fundraising for her first attempt at circumnavigating Antarctica. She purchased her own boat Climate Action Now in 2015, originally named Funnel-Web, which she sailed in the 2015 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Climate Action Now is a 2003 Hick 50, 15.25m (50ft) monohull designed by Robert Hick.

Solo circumnavigations of Antartica (2017 & 2022)

In 2017, Blair attempted to circumnavigate Antarctica solo for the first time, with the goal of becoming the first woman to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica and the secondary goal of breaking the current record of 102 days held by Russia. 72 days into this attempt she experienced a knockdown causing her yacht to dismast, about 1,000 nautical miles from land. She built a jury rig and diverted to Cape Town where she spent two months repairing her yacht, before recommencing her voyage to circumnavigate Antarctica and became the first female solo sailor to circumnavigate Antarctica with one stop. The whole trip, including the stop in Cape Town, took 183 days 7 hours and 21 minutes.

In 2022, Blair began another attempt to circumnavigate Antarctica, beating Fyodor Konyukhov's 2008 record by 10 days. As of 2022, she holds the record of being the fastest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica, taking a record of 92 days, 18 hours and 21 minutes to complete.

Solo circumnavigation of Australia record (2018)

On 17 December 2018, in between her two Antartica records, Lisa established two new world records; she became the first woman to sail solo, non-stop, and unassisted around Australia, and a new speed record as the fastest mono-hulled yacht to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Australia, doing so in 58 days 2 hours and 25 minutes. She covered a total of 6,536 nautical miles, sailing anti-clockwise around Australia, including Tasmania, at an average speed of 4.69 knots.

Solo Sydney to Auckland record (2024)

On the 9th April 2024 Blair, on her boat Climate Action Now, broke two new world records; becoming the first female, and the fastest person to sail a monohull solo, non-stop and unassisted from Sydney to Auckland with a time of 8 days, 3 hours and 19 minutes (to be ratified by WSSRC). The original speed record was established on the 22nd of January 2020, by retired Australian Veteran James Prascevic set the solo, monohull record with a time of 12d 14h 41m 15s, who was sailing to raise awareness of PTSD. This record was part of her The “Cross the Ditch for Climate Action Now” campaign, aimed at raising awareness of ocean pollution issues and advocating for everyone to make a change for the health of the ocean.

Solo circumnavigation of New Zealand (2024)

On the 24th May 2024, Blair established a new sailing record; sailing unassisted, solo and on a monohull anticlockwise around New Zealand from Auckland to Auckland, a total distance of 2,672nm. The circumnavigation, which required her course to include all rocks and islands laying within 8nm of the mainland, took Blair 16 days and 23 hours (to be ratified by WSSRC).

Climate activist

During Blair's second circumnavigation of Antarctica, her yacht Climate Action Now was equipped with several scientific devices such as an Ocean Pack Race Research Unit, which measures CO2, salinity levels, temperature and barometric pressure. She also collected samples to be used to study the level of microplastics in the water, and has been working in partnership with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) to study those samples.

Blair's project, Climate Action Now, encourages individuals to think about how they can contribute towards a better future for our planet. The hull of her yacht of the same name, Climate Action Now, is designed from post-it notes that reflect actual messages from supporters and fans about what they are doing to be more sustainable.

Other projects

Media

Blair is the author of the book Facing Fear, published in 2021 by Australian Geographic, which details the story of her first attempt at sailing solo around Antarctica.  

Blair was a contestant on the first season of Million Dollar Island, which aired in 2023 on Channel Seven in Australia, hosted by Ant Middleton.

The documentary Ice Maiden (2024) is about her first solo sail around Antarctica. The tour edit version of the documentary is one of seven short films in the 2024 Ocean Film Festival World Tour, touring Australia and New Zealand.

Awards

• 2017: Spirit of Adventure Award – Australian Geographic
• 2017: Seamanship Award – Ocean Cruising Club
• 2022: Adventurer of the Year Award – Australian Geographic
• 2022: Offshore Sailor of the Year – Australian Sailing

Records

• As of 2017, the first woman to sail solo, unassisted around Antarctica with one stop, with a time of 183 days, 7 hours, and 21 minutes.
• As of 2018, the fastest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Australia with a time of 58 days, 2 hours, and 25 minutes.
• In 2019, Lisa and co-skipper Jackie Parry became the first double-handed female team to finish the Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race.
• As of 2022, the fastest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica with a time of 92 days, 18 hours, and 21 minutes.
• As of April 2024, the first women, and fastest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted from Sydney to Auckland with a time of 8 days, 3 hours and 19 minutes.

Filmography

References

1. ^ "Australian Geographic Society Gala Awards 2022: 'Adventurer of the Year' award winner, Lisa Blair". Australian Geographic. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
2. ^ "Lisa Blair". Lisa Blair Sails the World. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
3. "Clipper Race Crew Member Sets Sailing Record". www.clipperroundtheworld.com. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
4. "Lisa Blair Sailing Solo Around Antarctica". Queensland Yacht Charters. 10 September 2023.
5. ^ "The Yachts - Climate Action Now". Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
6. ^ Lynch, Jacqueline (12 June 2017). "Australian sailor Lisa Blair finally heading home after Antarctica bid halted off South Africa". ABC News. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
7. ^ Posey, Amy; Vallely, Kevin (2019). "Chapter 6 Resilience". Wild Success. US: McGraw Hill. pp. 129–135. ISBN 9781260455519.
8. ^ Dawes, Jessica. "Adventurer Lisa Blair sails into Guinness World Records 2021". Guinness World Records.
9. ^ Pauletto, Kyle; Bennett, Mark; Layton, Christine (25 May 2022). "Solo sailor Lisa Blair breaks Antarctic circumnavigation record". ABC Great Southern. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
10. ^ "Fastest circumnavigation of Antarctica by sailboat". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
11. "Fastest circumnavigation of Australia by sail boat (monohull, solo)". Guinness World Record. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
12. ^ Grant, Carolyn (10 April 2024). "Lisa Blair has Set a World Sailing Speed Record Sydney to Auckland Solo". Sail World. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
13. Thomson, Lucy (9 April 2024). "Sailing: Australian Lisa Blair smashes solo speed record from Sydney to Auckland". News Hub. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
14. ^ Grant, Carolyn (25 May 2024). "New sailing record course set in NZ by Aussie sailor Lisa Blair". Sail-World. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
15. "Sydney to Auckland World Record". Retrieved 13 April 2024.
16. ^ Grant, Carolyn (24 May 2022). "Lisa Blair Sets New World Record On Solo Sail Around Antarctica". Sail World. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
17. "Climate Action Message". Lisa Blair Sails The World. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
18. "Facing Fear". Lisa Blair Sails The World.
19. ^ "Million Dollar Island". Seven Plus. 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
20. ^ Jackson, Nathaniel C. T.; Blannin-Ferguson, James, Ice Maiden (Documentary), Jessica Watson, Dick Smith, Lisa Blair, Jackson Speed, retrieved 5 November 2023
21. ^ "Movies". Ocean Film Festical World Tour. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
22. "AG Spirit of Adventure Awards". Australian Geographic. 7 July 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
23. "Prizewinner". www.oceancruisingclub.org. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
24. Sailing, Australian. "2022 Australian Sailing Awards finalists announced". www.sailing.org.au. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
25. Colangelo, Anthony (26 December 2019). "More than a race for Melbourne to Hobart's first female duo". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
26. "Lisa Blair to sail double-handed in Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race - ORCV12". www.orcv.org.au. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
27. "2019 Melbourne to Hobart - Race 2 Results". Ocean Racing Club of Victoria. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
28. "Breaking News: Lisa Blair Sets New Speed Solo Sailing World Record From Australia To New Zealand". Ocean Film Festival World Tour. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
29. "Lisa Blair has set a World Sailing Speed Record Sydney to Auckland solo". Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.

• Living people
• Single-handed circumnavigating sailors
• Australian female sailors (sport)
• 21st-century Australian women writers
• Australian women non-fiction writers
• Australian climate activists