After 14 days at sea, the 16-year-old Swedish climate-change activist Greta Thunberg has arrived in New York Harbor aboard the IMOCA 60 Malizia II. Now that she’s there, she plans to both continue protesting what she sees as the world’s failure to adequately address the problem of global warming and also take part in a United Nations Climate Action Summit meeting next month.
Thunberg, who reportedly chose to cross the Atlantic under sail in order to minimize her carbon footprint, found herself having to contend with no less than six meteorological depressions and several cold fronts along the way. The result was plenty of big waves and winds of up to 30 knots.
Designed for racing, Malizia II, which was skippered by German shorthanded sailor Boris Herrmann, was hardly the most comfortable ride for the neophyte mariner, but the boat did succeed in averaging a respectable 11.2 knots over the course of the 3,711-mile passage from Plymouth, England, to the Ambrose lighthouse.
“We are proud to have had the opportunity to bring Greta across the Atlantic emission-free and safely. Her mission to highlight the climate change crisis is very much in line with the Malizia Ocean Challenge where we work with scientists and are actively involved with educating young people,” said Herrmann, whose upcoming plans include the 2019 Transat Jaques Vabre and the 2020 Vendee Globe. “The mood was very good onboard all the time and nobody felt really seasick. Greta as a non-sailor before this trip kept up very well in all conditions, and I would say she’s quite an offshore sailor now.”
For more on both the passage and Malizia Ocean Challenge, visit https://www.borisherrmannracing.com/team-malizia/
For more on Greta Thunberg, go to https://www.facebook.com/gretathunbergsweden/
August 2019
