Lisa Blair teams up with B&G to sail Antarctica

by Laura Tolmay on 6 Dec 2016 B&G is pleased to sponsor Lisa Blair in her upcoming bid to complete the Antarctica Cup Ocean Race. Lisa will be competing against the clock, attempting to beat the current speed record set by Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov in 2008. Lisa is the first woman to compete in the race and, in doing so, aims to be the first woman ever to circumnavigate Antarctica solo, non-stop, and unassisted.

Lisa began sailing professionally in 2006 and over the past ten years has crossed more than 50,000 nautical miles on open ocean. That includes twelve months and 40,000 nautical miles racing aboard winning yacht Gold Coast Australia in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2011–2012.

In her latest challenge, Lisa will be sailing the 100% eco-powered Climate Action Now. This 15.25-metre (50 foot) ocean racing yacht was originally commissioned for the 2003 Melbourne to Osaka Yacht Race. It has since been extensively refit for the rigours of the Antarctica Cup Racetrack, including a full B&G electronics installation.

Based around the B&G H5000 CPU with Performance software, Climate Action Now’s electronics also include an H5000 pilot system, H5000 graphic displays, dual Zeus² 9 sailing chartplotters, Broadband 4G™ radar system, AIS, GoFree™ Wi-Fi, and a sophisticated array of on-board sensors.

“My equipment will be tested in the world’s harshest ocean,” says Lisa. “As I sail solo I will need to deal with ice and storms and immense seas.” Her equipment is crucial to meeting the many challenges and risks she will encounter, she explains. “For example, with ice I will rely on radar to help me manage the chance of a collision.”

As Lisa must complete the racetrack unassisted and solo, the reliability and ease-of-use of her equipment are paramount. These are core B&G attributes, and our greatest contribution to Lisa’s campaign. The eco-powered nature of Climate Action Now also introduces unique requirements, taking the existing power constraints aboard sailing vessels to an extreme. Though Lisa has multiple emission-free charging systems on board, the low power consumption of B&G systems such as Broadband 4G radar will help her to make the most efficient use of her battery reserves possible.

To learn more about Lisa Blair’s Antarctica Cup Ocean Race bid, visit website. For more information about the products mentioned in this release and the full range of B&G sailing electronics, visit click here.