Working in partnership with d’Albora Marinas, Lisa Blair, is set to make history once again as the first all-female double handed team to race in the ORCV Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race in its 47th edition of the race. Lisa is racing with co-skipper Jackie Parry, an experienced sailor who is a strong support of women on the water and actively works to encourage and inspire women to sailing. Together the aim for this race is to encourage more women to sail and to continue to promote Lisa's positive environmental message Climate Action Now.
Lisa has this to say.
“The simple fact that I am the first to develop a all-female double-handed team for this race shows me that there is still a gap here and my hope is that my continuing to sail and set records I am able to encourage more women into sailing and at the same time create more awareness of our environment through the Climate Action Now campaign. This is not an easy race to enter taking us on a 430 nm run down the west coast of Tasmania before dipping around the bottom into the Southern Ocean where we will be exposed to all the large wind and waves. This is a tactical race where one poor decision could cost us the race so we will need to stay focused and push hard the whole way down”.
Find out more about the race click HERE.
MEET THE SKIPPERS
LISA BLAIR
SKIPPER
Lisa has been competitively sailing for over 10 years racking up over 80 000 nm in offshore sailing experience. Lisa holds multiple world records and is the first woman to sail solo around Antarctica, with one-stop before leading the first all-female team to race in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 2017. Lisa went on to sail solo around Australia in the d’Albora’s Action Project: AUS 360, again becoming the first woman and the fastest mono-hull before setting up to race as the first all-female double-handed team in the ORCV Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race.
“I am really looking forward to taking on this race. It has been on my list for a while and is likely to be another great challenge”.
JACKIE PARRY
CO-SKIPPER
After nine years of sailing around the world with her husband, Noel, Jackie qualified as a commercial skipper which led to working on an array of different vessels internationally. To fund her adventures, as well as writing five books (four nautical), she taught commercial skippers’ tickets at TAFE.
Woven between the escapades she freelanced for sailing magazines around the world and she is co-owner of SisterShip Press and Founder of SisterShip Training.
“As a supporter of women on the water I am thrilled to be partnering with Lisa Blair on SV Climate Action Now and tackling, together, the lee shore of the west side of Tasmania, in the southern ocean”.
ABOUT THE RACE
The ORCV “Westcoaster” is a legendary yacht race where tactics and sailing well can crown you as the race champion, no matter the size of boat.
Across the 435nm passage, yachts contend first with Bass Strait before taking on the wilderness and ruggness of the West Coast of Tasmania and the long ocean swell of the Southern Ocean before turning towards the finish line and the shifting winds of the Derwent.
Find out more click HERE.
