An Australian attempting to become the first woman to circumnavigate Antarctica solo issued a distress call Tuesday after being demasted in big seas and high winds, with rescuers on standby.
Lisa Blair is 72 days into her bid to sail her yacht “Climate Action Now” 14,000-nautical miles around the icy continent on her own, non-stop and unassisted.
She was aiming to break the record set by Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov who braved storms, freezing temperatures, and the threat of icebergs to complete the journey in 102 days, 35 minutes and 50 seconds.
But the conditions have taken their toll, with her support crew saying the yacht’s mast broke early Tuesday 895 kilometres (554 miles) south of Cape Town in seven metre (22 feet) swells and 40 knot winds.
“Search and rescue in Cape Town have been notified and will provide assistance if required,” they said. “Lisa is well and uninjured.”
So far Blair, who started her voyage at Albany in Western Australia, has only issued a pan-pan call signifying a problem, and not a mayday, which is used in life-threatening situations.
In a blog post on Monday, she said it had been a testing 24 hours, including a wave rolling the boat.
“After I battled with the zipper of my sleeping bag I then glanced outside. It was a complete white-out with rain sheeting sideways and the winds howling through the rigging,” she said.
“Behind me, I could see crystal clear blue skies and in front of me was this frothing boiling mass of angry wind and rain.”
The Antarctica attempt, which has only been completed twice before, takes sailors past the three most notorious capes on the planet — Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn and Cape Agulhuss.
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