Our next speaker found sailing at 25, working on a charter boat. Seven years later, she was alone in the Southern Ocean, trying to become the first woman to sail solo around Antarctica, when her mast came crashing down more than 1,000 nautical miles from land. She didn't give up. She built a makeshift mast, sailed to Cape Town, rebuilt her boat and went back to finish. Five years later she returned and became the fastest person ever to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica. She holds 8 world sailing records and the Order of Australia Medal. Please welcome Lisa Blair.

Lisa Blair OAM is an Australian keynote speaker and record-breaking solo sailor. She is the fastest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica (92 days, 2022), the first woman to sail solo around Antarctica (and the first woman to do it non-stop and unassisted), and holds 8 world sailing records. Author of Facing Fear and the subject of the documentary Ice Maiden, Lisa speaks on resilience, mental agility, leadership and climate action. She received the Order of Australia Medal in 2025.

Lisa Blair OAM discovered sailing at 25, working on a charter boat in the Whitsundays. Seven years later she set out to become the first woman to sail solo around Antarctica. On day 72 her mast came down in a storm more than 1,000 nautical miles from land. She cut away the wreckage, built a jury rig, reached Cape Town, rebuilt, and sailed back out to finish, becoming the first woman to sail solo around Antarctica in 2017. She went on to lead the first female team in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 16 years, and in 2018 became the fastest person and first woman to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Australia. In 2022 she returned to the Southern Ocean and became the fastest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica, taking 10 days off the record. Records around New Zealand and from Sydney to Auckland followed in 2024. Lisa holds 8 world sailing records, was named Australian Geographic Adventurer of the Year, and received the Order of Australia Medal in 2025. She is the author of Facing Fear (Australian Geographic) and the subject of the award-winning documentary Ice Maiden. As founder of the Climate Action Now campaign, she combines her voyages with ocean science, and she is now preparing the Arctic Impact Project: the first solo, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle, from Greenland in 2028. As a keynote speaker, Lisa turns the lessons of the Southern Ocean into practical tools for resilience, leadership and change.