would be feasible to do an entire circumnavigation. I started to think, “Why stop there?”. A circumnav’ of the Arctic by myself non-stop is a testament to how rapidly the climate is changing. That’s what we’re going to prove.’ This, then, isn’t a record attempt.
It’s a wake-up call. To end up as a climate campaigner
is quite a journey for someone who worked as deckhand on motor superyachts. No fan of the lifestyle, Ella returned to sailing after four years. As a child, she sailed Optimist dinghies on a Suffolk reservoir and aboard her father’s Moody in the Mediterranean. She qualified as an RYA cruising instructor before becoming the second-youngest female Yachtmaster instructor, aged 25. Her Arctic expedition represents a sabbatical from her day job freelancing at sailing schools.
Yachtmaster mindset
Navigational savvy instilled by her RYA training will be ‘fundamental to making it safely around the Arctic’, she says. There’s more to the qualification than that, though: ‘I haven’t got masses of offshore miles by myself yet, but my skill set from being a Yachtmaster instructor has given me the confidence to know I can look after myself out there.’
“Probably the top two challenges for me will be the weather – storms, fog, lack of wind – and fatigue”
Top A bright day moored at Haslar Marina is a world
away from the conditions Ella and her boat will face in the Arctic.
Left Ella sailing Yeva in the Solent, building up her sea miles in preparation for the
challenge. She’ll need to. Even with a steel
ketch (chosen and bought by Ella for its go-anywhere hull and a flexible sail plan which is manageable alone), despite new foam insulation and ‘at least two or three of almost everything – sails and spares’, Ella has a lot to contend with. Apart from stops roughly every fortnight (without disembarking) to resupply food and fuel, she’ll be on her own. Solar and wind power will top up batteries alongside the engine. No marina mechanic will make repairs. Not that being alone unduly
concerns her. ‘Probably the top two challenges will be the weather and fatigue,’ she says. ‘As well as ice, areas like the north coast of Alaska
rya.org.uk SPRING 2024 31
Photos: Lucan Bradbeer, Sweet Bay Photography
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