Journey for climate change

Get to know Lisa as she reflects on her life-changing and at times life-threatening journey, and what this experience has meant to her. 

Why did you choose to circumnavigate Antarctica solo?

“I have always been so incredibly passionate about the Southern Ocean and Antartica. It’s such a pristine and protected area of our world, and with the impacts of climate change the affects are taking place in Antarctica much, much faster. So for me as a champion of climate action I really wanted to use this platform and conversation piece of sailing solo around Antarctica as a way of educating the public around environmental actions and climate change.”

What do you love about the Southern Ocean?

“The Southern Ocean captured my heart when I first raced around the world with a crew of 16 people. The Southern Ocean is the storm belt of the planet, so there's about a cyclone sized storm once a week. So your tiny boat is going through conditions that most people will never experience in their life. And you’re sailing through waves the size of a two or three storey building as a normal day at sea and then you get the storms on top.

“I have had it so powerful that I have not been able to breathe facing into the wind. I’ve had to cup my mouth and turn my head to get a fresh breath of air. And in those times, once I know the boat is okay, I'll be up on deck just poking my head out and watching the storm that's roaring around me and just thinking, it is so incredibly beautiful to be able to witness the fury of mother nature in such a way where I get to survive it at the same time.

“It’s not about conquering the oceans, it’s about moving with the rhythms of the sea. And I find in the Southern Ocean you feel that rhythm so much more than in other oceans.”

What was the scariest moment on your journey?

“I think one of the biggest reality checks was through the dismasting. In that moment I was just panic stations, running around not really thinking clearly. And even after I had been going through that experience for two hours, there was a moment when I had to climb out of the bowsprit of the boat and that was the reality check, the slap in the face, where I knew if I made a mistake in the next five minutes, I won’t be coming back.

“I was hypothermic and chronically fatigued. I was losing the dexterity in my fingers, the ability to hold on was getting lost in that environment because of the freezing temperatures. Then I had to put myself in the most exposed and vulnerable position on the boat and fight to keep it floating. But I also knew that if didn't do that, I wouldn’t survive the night. I still tear up and get emotional when I talk about that. I didn't really understand until much later how much that traumatic experience would affect my relationship with the boat, my relationship with the sea. It's taken me years to heal.”

Your documentary promises an intimate look at your journey. What aspects of your experience do you hope will resonate most with viewers?

“I really wanted to make sure that as I captured the footage in real time at sea, in freezing cold, in snowstorms and blizzards, or while fighting for my life on board the boat, I could put others in that environment with me. It’s a vulnerable look at what that experience was like for me and all the hardships you go through in an experience like this. I was three months alone at sea – so the mental capacity of that, the sleep deprivation, the physical fatigue, the failures on the boat, I am sharing it all with the public.”

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton is one of the most famous Antarctic explorers who began his expeditions in Christchurch – his journeys to Antarctica were tales of resilience, perseverance and survival just like you. What’s the most important message you would you like people to take away from your journey stories?

“Shackleton is one of my absolute heroes. What he endured, what his team of people down there endured is just one of the most remarkable survival stories in adventuring history. I honestly don’t feel like I can compare to someone like Shackleton but I definitely had moments in time that would be on par with the experiences that they had down there.

“I think one of the biggest lessons that people can take from my story is that I was broken. In a broken boat fighting with absolutely everything I had to survive, and ultimately I did. If we look at that from a perspective of climate change and the impacts on our environment, we have a breaking climate and we are fighting. We can survive if we fight. Looking at a journey like this and the resilience of our planet, knowing that we do have a future and knowing that we can get there if we all work together - that’s one of the biggest lessons that people can take from it.”

Your journey is a testament to human courage and endurance. What advice would you give to others who aspire to undertake challenging expeditions or pursue their dreams against all odds?

“When I decided I was going to sail around Antarctica, it took me seven years to get going on that trip. There is this quote, ‘Just do because the world is changed by doers’, and I thought if I wanted to create action and inspire others for a better future, if I didn’t actually do that myself, and just take that first step, then I never would have reached where I am now. And ultimately, attitude is everything. If you can apply the right attitude and dedication and focus to whatever your goal is, then you have the power to create anything you want in life.”

Antarctica is often seen as a pristine wilderness. In what ways did your experience challenge or confirm this perception?

“Antarctica is such a remote location in our planet. We've got places like Point Nemo in the waters surrounding Antarctica, where mathematically you're closer to the astronauts in outer space than any human on any piece of land. So to be sailing in these waters and seeing the human impact is absolutely terrifying and devastating. For my second circumnavigation around Antarctica, I did micro plastic sampling the whole way around and we found plastic in every single sample. And this includes Point Nemo, where we found an above average amount of plastic. I don't think people are understanding the ramifications of the volume of plastic we now have in our waters. I am one boat, sailing through once, getting one water sample, and I am finding enough plastic to be present in every sample. Just imagine the volume that's out there.”

As a gateway city to Antarctica, we play a pivotal role in connecting people to the urgent realities of climate change. However, despite the scientific consensus, many still struggle to grasp the severity of it. How can we better communicate the urgency of climate change and what advice would you offer to communities like Christchurch in amplifying this message?

“When you think of the sustainability impact on Antarctica, is it is separate from your everyday life. So one of the biggest values we have is storytelling and creating these films and being able to share what the impacts are directly with an audience.

“People don’t protect what they’re not passionate about, so we need to create that passion in the people. When I started on my own journey with sustainability, I had been bombarded with so much negativity and I was overwhelmed with it. With small communities it’s about flipping the narrative to be solution orientated.

“It is quite obvious to most people there is a problem, even those who aren't necessarily sustainably minded. We need to stop focusing on the problem and instead inspire people and give them actionable solutions they can do as an individual. When people are empowered then they are going to go do a lot more with it.”