I firmly believe this: we grow into our goals. So if your goal is a massive thing, you will grow into the skill set you require to hit that goal, if you’re focused and determined to get to that goal
Lisa Blair is an adventurer, sailor, climate change activist and World Record holder - and you’ll meet her on Sparta Chicks Radio this week.
Lisa was 22 when she discovered a passion for sailing.
Just 6 years later, she completed her first circumnavigation of the world as part of the Clipper Round the World Yacht race.
Since then she’s gone onto sail solo to New Zealand twice, to skipper the first all-female team in 16 years to race the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht race and set not one but two World Records in the process of becoming the first woman to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Australia.
In the midst of that, in 2017 Lisa set out on her most ambitious project to date; to become the first woman to sail solo unassisted and non-stop around Antarctica and to break the men’s World Record in the process.
As you’ll hear in this conversation, that expedition did not go to plan and on a stormy night 72 days into her trip and 1,000 nautical miles from shore, her boat lost its mast and Lisa had to fight for 4 hours to save her boat -- and her life.
Not only did she survive the night and spend 9 days limping back to port in Cape Town, South Africa for repairs, Lisa then found the courage to head back into the Southern Ocean and finish the challenge - in doing so become the first woman to sail solo and unassisted (with one stop) around Antarctica.
In this conversation, Lisa shares:
* growing up as a ‘free-range kid’ without the influence of mainstream media,
* how she discovered sailing was her passion at 22,
* how she was able to commit to the Clipper Round the World yacht race and it’s £40,000 entry free, despite only having $20 in her bank account at the time,
* when she realised it was her imagination that was limiting her potential - not her ability,
* what prompted her decision to begin solo sailing and that her first time sailing solo was in fact on her first crossing of the Tasman Sea to New Zealand,
* where the idea to sail solo around Antarctica came from and what her mum said about the idea,
* how she mentally prepared for the voyage and the role of visualisation in her preparation,
* the life-threatening de-masting in stormy conditions more than 1,000 nautical miles from the land and the fight to save her boat and her life,
* how she decided to continue her voyage around Antarctica after her boat was repaired,
* the changes she’s noticed in climate and weather patterns over the last 15 years of sailing, and
* whether the non-stop circumnavigation of Antarctica remains unfinished business for her.
Lisa has a book and documentary coming out in 2020 and I will update these show notes once they are released.
Click here to listen on iTunes.
Notes and resources:
To find out more about Lisa or to say hello, you can find her on Instagram, Facebook or via her website.
