Lisa Blair

Lisa Blair OAM is an Australian solo sailor who holds multiple world sailing 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. Blair received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the Australia Day Honours List in January 2025 'for services to sailing'.

Solo sailing career Blair was 25 years old when she got a job as a hostess on a boat in the Whitsundays. 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. Climate Action Now is a 2003 Hick 50, 15.25m (50ft) monohull designed by Robert Hick. 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,

In 2022, Blair began another attempt to circumnavigate Antarctica, beating Fyodor Konyukhov's 2008 record by 10 days. , 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.

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 the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC). The original speed record was established on 22 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 post-traumatic stress disorder (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. She also collected samples to be used to study the level of microplastics in the water,

Blair is part of a consortium investigating basalt fibre-reinforced bioresins "as a scalable solution to outperform fibreglass and provide a circular solution to the growing industry problem" of waste from end-of-life fibreglass boats. The two-year, $1.9 million research partnership was announced in April 2026 and aims to develop composite materials that will be used in an upcoming record attempt, planned for July 2027 and titled The Arctic Impact Project.

The Sustainable Composites for Next Gen Boat Hulls project will produce "detailed Life Cycle Assessment and environmental impact modelling". It also involves boatbuilder Steber International and University of NSW researchers, and is backed by funding from the Australian Composites Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre .

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), directed by Nathaniel C. T. Jackson, is about her first solo sail around Antarctica. It has been included in a number of international film festivals including the 2024 Ocean Film Festival World Tour, touring Australia and New Zealand, 2024 Doc Edge in New Zealand and the Warsaw International Film Festival 2024 in Poland.

Key note speaking Lisa is a motivational speaker on topics in female empowerment, resilience and mental agility.

Awards 2017: Spirit of Adventure Award – Australian Geographic 2017: Seamanship Award – Ocean Cruising Club 2022: Adventurer of the Year Award – Australian Geographic 2025: Order of Australia Medal (OAM) 'for services to sailing' 2025: International Honorary Member, Zonta International Zonta International

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 2022, the fastest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica with a time of 92 days, 18 hours, and 21 minutes. In May 2024, Blair became the first person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around New Zealand; Auckland to Auckland with a time of 16 days and 23 hours.

Filmography