Welcome back to the Clean Sailors podcast. Let's talk about sea, marine, sailing and
keep it clean. I'm your host Holly, founder of Clean Sailors and a sailor myself with
a passion for the health of our mighty oceans. Through conversations with experts, innovators
and activists, all working towards improving the health of our seas, we're showcasing the
people and projects, changing the way things are done. Climate change. A phrase we've
heard all too much and increasingly over the last decades. Whether the spread of species
into new environments has temperature change or the heightened frequency and intensity
of storms, whatever your belief system, the tangible impacts of changing climate are
increasingly evident and increasingly traumatic. Our polar ice caps are probably the most
referred to as a proxy for the alarming temperature changes of our planet. These large sheets
of ice, as preserved for millions of years, have been undergoing change so much so that
once impossible and certainly inhospitable areas of our globe are opening up.
Today I'm joined by Ella Hibbet, a sailor who in just a few short weeks will slip lines
alone for the Arctic Circle, attempting the world's first single-handed non-stop circumnavigation
of the Arctic. But in her own words, this is not a record attempt. It's a wake-up call.
Ella, really great to see you. Thank you for having me. How does it feel when you hear
that played back to you? I appreciate this is an adventure that you've been planning
and working on for a couple of years now, but does it hit home at times just about what
you're doing and about to achieve? Yeah, absolutely. It still plays on the emotions
quite a bit that the reality of the situation that we're facing in the Arctic and the fact
that so many people are becoming aware of this and getting behind and supporting what
I'm trying to showcase. So it's a wonderful feeling that two years into finding all this,
people are starting to hear what we're trying to put out there as our message and what we're
trying to do for the Arctic North, really. Obviously, coming from a clean sailors' angle,
there is, of course, that element of, look, this is an ecosystem which has gone significant
and intensive change over a relatively short period of time, right? But there's also that
element of, I think, the support, obviously, for you in terms of what you're doing. And
one of the questions I'll come to you later is also what turning point between being a
crew kind of sailor with a team around you to deciding to do it solo. But I really want
to know, first of all, just how you're feeling about the expedition. Obviously, there's a
lot of work going on to your boat. There's a lot of preparation, a hell of a lot of preparation
that goes into this. How are you doing right now?
I'm good. I'm just trying to keep things on schedule, which is easier said than done.
Like you said, there's loads and loads of work that's already happened and there's still
a lot to do. So I'm hoping to have the boat almost completely finished in about three
weeks' time so that I can start training sails. I mean, when I say training sails, obviously,
I've owned the boat since 2022 and I'm a sailing instructor, so I'm happy with sort of my sailing
skillset. But it's about pulling all of the new equipment that we've kitted the boat up
with through a bit of a test. I want to get out into some heavy weather close enough that
I can turn tail and come back if something's wrong, rather than my first sort of storm
being 600 miles from land in the middle of the North Sea, heading for Iceland. At the
moment, it's just about trying to stay focused and productive.
And you've got a Roberts 38, right, which is obviously a vessel that excels at offshore
sailing. What kind of modifications have you still had to make specific to the passage
that you're doing around the Arctic?
So we've converted to Bow Cabin, which was a really gorgeous double bed that I used to
love into shelving. That's been quite a big change. And equipment-wise, I mean, the boat
structurally is made for exactly what I'm trying to do. And I made sure that the surveyor,
when I bought her, checked sort of the thickness of the steel, where it should be and that
sort of thing. But the main upgrade has been in the equipment. So she's had a brand new
stand-in, new standing and running rigging. We're getting a HydroVane actually installed
today. The water makers here, there's water generator arriving. So a lot of the equipment
we're trying to put on the boat is to try and showcase that there are sustainable technologies
that are good enough nowadays to make it around the world's harshest environment. There's
no excuse that they're not on every boat in the Mediterranean and England. It's about
fitting the boat out with that sort of equipment and then going out and testing it and making
sure that we've done a proper job of the installs and that we're good to go North.
Sorry about the folks all, but it's honestly the probably the most uncomfortable place
to sleep on a longer passage, as I'm sure you'll know. It's fine in the Banderina. I
mean, Ella, it's never really about a boat in my experience. It's never just a boat,
right? I mean, she's going to be, Eva's going to be your best friend, your home, your comfort,
your safety and security. I appreciate she really has been, but this is a different
experience, right? So what was it about her in particular that either you were drawn
to or have come to appreciate?
I sort of had four requirements for a boat when I set out looking for one to buy. I wanted
it to be less than 40 feet. I wanted it to be a catch. I wanted it to be made of steel
and I wanted to have a doghouse for interior steering. And funny enough, Eva wasn't for
sale when I found her. And at that point, the two boats closest to me geographically
that I found that I liked, one was in Panama and the other one was in Australia, which
was really unhelpful.
That's not, so it actually closed.
Yeah. I actually took students from a sailing school to Port St. at Marina and we ended
up docked on the same pontoon that Eva was on and walked past her on the way to dinner.
And just out the corner of my eye, I sort of saw her as we were heading off the dock.
And I said to the students, listen, I'll catch you up. I'm just going to have a longer look
at this boat here. And I just instantly just was drawn to her. She was in a bit of a state
of it, grimy and torn sort of sailbags and just looked a bit underworn, but so perfect
for what I'd been looking for. So I went to the harbor office and I said, would you give
my email address to the owner? And you know, if he wants to sell, he can reach out. And
he did. He reached out the next day. So then we went and had a look at the inside, which
I fell in love with because she's just, she's really pretty boat. She looks a bit like a
tank on the outside, but she's gorgeous. And then the owner told me a number that he wanted
for her, which I didn't have in the bank account because obviously before I got the sponsors
that I have in the title partner that I have now, I was working full time to sort of sell
fund. And then basically he said that he was going to put her on the market and I started
a crowdfund page. And it was through all of the donations from people supporting that crowdfund
page that I managed to put down a 20% deposit on the boat, which was enough to convince him
to let me pay him off monthly whilst I continued to work. And then that's funny enough how
I secured my first ever sponsor, which is Boatfork, who owned Hazel and Marina where
she is now. I went to see them at Southampton Boat Show in 2022 and sort of said, listen,
I found this boat for this really stupid thing that I'm going to try and do, but I can't
afford the boat cost and the mooring fees. Would you be interested in sponsoring a birth
for the boat? At this point, I hadn't bought her yet. So they said, you know, we can't
offer you a birth for a boat you don't have. And I said, I can't get the boat if you don't
give me a birth. So they said, as long as you don't mind in which marina you end up,
we'll find somewhere for you. And that all just fell into place so incredibly that by
December 2022, I owned Yay Versus, who was in Hazel Marina. And then I had a very generous
donation, well, an anonymous donation, essentially, that allowed me to pay off the rest of the
boat in one go. So that was quite an emotional day because the owner had taken such a leap
of faith on knowing that I'd get him the money somehow.
I didn't think it was just me, but when I say it's not just a boat, right, you get
that feeling.
Absolutely. And I keep talking about her like we're a team. So I keep saying, we're going
to the Arctic and people are like, I thought you were going alone. Just say, yeah, me and
the boat.
I really get it. There's a, I got sailing my grandfather's boat in Italy and I can't
describe it like if crossing say the biscuit, otherwise you just feel it is like you're
being looked after by something that's so alive and so animated. You have actually trust
in her like she's a person and I can't quite quite.
Yeah, you get to know every, every sort of noise and squeak or sound that she makes.
And the second you hear something that's unusual for that vessel, you pick it up straight away.
So you become quite in tune to the boat for sure.
Yeah. I mean, doublehandling is one thing, but obviously solo is another. I mean, on
that point, LAU's obviously been a sailing instructor for a while. So you're very, very
burst at crewing and being with others and in teams and leading teams, et cetera. So
why alone? What was it about going this alone that was really important to you?
There's a few different reasons why. First off, I think it helps maybe highlight what
we're trying to show you about the fact that if I can make the full second navigation by
myself, then it's just testament to how quickly we are losing the sea ice and how less sort
of perilous of an area of navigation the Arctic has become. And then there's also that sort
of personal goal. I mean, seeing the Arctic with my own two eyes has been something I've
dreamed about since I was little. And the more I got into sailing, the more I started
putting those two things together. And there's that sort of challenge to it that I think
I'm just excited about putting myself through. Like you said, I've spent a long time looking
after teams on boats and looking after, you know, running a competent crew course for
people that have never even seen a boat before. I know that if I can keep five other lives
at sea safe, I can look after myself. But I want to experience that challenge of the
sleep deprivation and the mental fortitude that I'm going to need to carry into this
to get out the other side. And it's something that a lot of people think I'm a bit nuts
for wanting to experience. But it's one of the biggest challenges I'm looking the most
forward to actually.
I think it's one of the most honest answers I've heard on the basis that actually it
has to be very much about almost the ugly and the tough side of it. That is almost
why you've got to do it to prove to yourself in some ways that it can be done. And you
appreciate that it's not necessarily a small feat. Obviously, you've chosen the Arctic.
You could have solo sailed anywhere. But what is it? You mentioned you've been interested
about it since you were sort of younger. But what draws you to this environment and then
specifically to sail it?
I think part of what fascinates me the most about the Arctic is how it's perceived as
this place that's so otherworldly and foreign and harsh and extreme. But there's that reality
that actually it is fundamental to the survival of the rest of the world as well. And it's
a place that has just always fascinated me in its harshness, its environment, its inhabitants
and animal life, you know, being able to see bears or the various whales that live up there.
It's just an area that I want to join bridge the gap between how people perceive the Arctic
as a sort of far away foreign place that has no impact on us and get people to realise
just how intricately linked the survival of the Arctic is to our survival as well. So
that fascination has been steadily growing for quite a few years now.
There's something we really can't underestimate. I think, you know, I mentioned at the beginning
that obviously the polar ice caps are something that we really discuss as a proxy for the
changing climate. But there's a really, really good reason why. And as you mentioned, these
are the world's refrigerators, in a sense, they're keeping us moderate temperature. They're
helping obviously reflect sunlight back out into space. Obviously, that sort of weather
system and the vortex has created their help to moderate also our weather systems. So we
really can't underestimate it's not just about, I mean, obviously going to the Arctic and
sort of witnessing it firsthand. But I think there's an element also, which is this hasn't
really been done before solo circumnavigation nonstop, which is what you're going to be
attempting and achieving. But the reason being that obviously it has been so impossible.
So already, there are enough ice has melted that this is actually an option for you to
do.
Absolutely. I mean, the Russian Hygiene Office, for example, have confirmed that my estimated
dates to be crossing Nicaragua and the Laptav seas have been navigable in September for the
last 10 years in a row, which is just an insane fact. Scientists are estimating now that the
Arctic could be entirely ice free in the summer as early as 2045, which means that I could
do this circumnavigation around the ice this year. And before I'm 50, I could sail a straight
line from Scotland to China across the top of the world, which is just really quite harrowing
sort of information and data that we're looking at. And obviously what we're going up there
to try and highlight and showcase.
What a powerful impact. It actually gave me slightly goosebumps that you could sail directly
from Scotland to China in a straight line. That's something, isn't it?
It's just insane when you stop and let that info sink in. It really does hit home, I find.
To your point, there are estimations, quite severe estimations. Obviously the Arctic could
be ice free by the early 2040s, but we are losing so Arctic sea ice at around 13% a decade,
I think, and over the last 30 years, the oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic. So this is
the stuff that's really been building up for a hell of a long time. It's been declining
by about 95%, which is astounding, isn't it? And I appreciate that these figures sound
like figures. They sound a lot, but I think probably the best analogy is literally what
you said around there being nothing in your way between our side of the globe and the
other. Obviously a journey which previously is taken whether by plane or otherwise, a
very, very long time to get to being able to hop over the top of the planet is just sounding.
Absolutely. And it's part of the reason that more commercial shipping traffic is moving
into the Arctic. There's more oil and gas drilling moving in, the more accessible it
becomes. There's more container ships and cruise ships trying to find their way through
the Northwest and the Northeast passages. And the more ships that do get up there because
of the less sea ice extent, then the less ice there is because of the more damage caused
and it's just this perpetual sort of cycle that's going to keep snowballing unless regulations
get changed and we start doing something about it. So one of the charities I'm supporting
by auctioning Yava when I get back from the end of the second nav is a charity called Ocean
Conservancy and they have an Arctic program where essentially they're trying to get the
people who make decisions for the countries based around the Arctic. So one of the problems
to backjack on that slightly is that the Arctic Ocean hasn't got a governing body. So any country
with a water line that's bordering the Arctic waters can essentially do whatever they like.
And part of what Ocean Conservancy are trying to do is get them to all sit around the table
together and make areas that are nature reserves, nature protection zones, places that we can't
set up oil and gas drilling, making sure that any ships that are going up there have appropriate
oil spill kits and fuel spill kits to be able to be self-manageable if something goes wrong
and they do start letting oil or fuel out into the water because it's the response times
for that sort of emergency up there are so slow that that's one of the things I feel
quite passionately that Ocean Conservancy are working hard to achieve.
An incredible effort and a very, very important point given international maritime law who
does look after the Arctic and to that degree, even if we did have legislation otherwise,
it's such a remote area traditionally and such an undesirable area for so many other
than say shipping and now increasingly tourism. But policing it is also another element of
it. So whilst we can legislate, I think obviously the point very much with your passage is drawing
on the education and the inspiration as to why it's so important that we do it and we
do it really well.
Absolutely. I'm a big fan of the education side of things. So I've been giving a lot
of talks at yacht clubs. I've gone to a school where I grew up in the South of France and
chatted to all the different kids and the different age groups out there about it. And
yeah, we're working with the International SeaCupers Society to do microplastics study
whilst I'm heading up there around the Arctic so that NOC, the National Oceanographic Centre
in Southampton can use that to further their research. And obviously the campaign's been
endorsed by the Scientific Exploration Society now. So there is that element of education
and research that we're really trying to bring into this as well rather than focusing on
the fact that it'll be the first time that it's been done.
And I think there's an element of, had you done this passage in many other places, then
the sort of responsibility could only have been on yourself to do your sort of personal
goal and achievement because of the environment that you've chosen. There's a lot of opportunity
as you rightly pointed out and undertaken to do the research whilst you're going around
and obviously reporting what you're seeing. So not only is it an attempt at circumnavigating
something that has never been possible solo and on stop. Essentially also obviously the
well-be-record, although that may not be your first goal, but also as a scientific expedition
in its own right. So it's really quite an incredible passage for a variety of reasons.
Thank you. I mean, part of me hopes almost that I don't make it the whole way around,
you know, to set this record to be the first person to solo circumnavigate the Arctic Circle
will be one of the most bittersweet things I think I could ever imagine doing. So there
is that hope that maybe there is enough sea ice that we might have to win to the boat over
somewhere and do it over two seasons. But from the research that I've done and the hydromatopsis
that I've spoken to and the other sailors I've spoken to that have been through the Northwest
and Northeast passages, it does look highly likely that I will actually pull it off in
a single season.
That's really something, isn't it? And just going back to your, where does it all start
for you? I mean, you're here in your mid to late twenties and you're about to do something
that has actually never been done before, although various attempts and I think the closest
anyone has come to it has obviously been double handed. And obviously there's been stops and
stuff along the way. But where does it all start for you? Where was your first experience
of even the water?
We lived in Suffolk for a short while when I was a kid. So dad was military. So I was
born in Germany and then we moved to England when I was three and we left England and moved
to France when I was nine. But between the ages of about five and nine as a way of keeping
me out of trouble and occupied on school holidays, mom and dad used to chuck me in optimists and
lasers on a reservoir up a nip switch. And that's where it really started. And then when
we moved to France, dad had a moody that we used to sail sort of Marseille to Corsica
on and do that as some holidays as a family. And then I gave up sailing for a really long
time to pursue my, my other passion, which is horse riding. I started riding horses as
a young kid as well. And by the time I was in my early teens, I was doing quite well
at that. So I left home at 18 after I finished school and went to Australia and ended up
managing a racing stables out in Australia. And then I came back to Europe and I went
to Germany to work for an Olympic dressage rider. Eventually an injury caught up with
me basically. And I went to find my way back to boats. I went on to Super Yachts as a deck
hand and a dive master. And the more I got into diving and the more of the sort of world's
oceans that I saw, the less in tune with Super Yachts I felt and basically just felt like
I didn't belong in that side of the industry at all and disagreed with a lot of the practices
that I was seeing there. So that's when I sort of took a leap of faith and took all
my savings and put myself through a fast track confident crew to Yachtmaster off shore course
and really just rekindled my passion for sailing. So about two months after I finished the Yachtmaster
off shore course, I did the cruising instructor course in England. Got hired the evening that
I passed that and basically never left the school that I'd come here to do that on. And
then a year later was the RWA's second youngest female Yachtmaster instructor. And I couldn't
picture myself doing anything that's not boat or ocean related now. So this is me for
life, we'll see what comes after the Arctic, but it would definitely be something to do
with boats still.
I think for most people, the Arctic just do that. It's such an achievement. It's not
even preparing for that kind of element. It's such an achievement. You've done a hell of
a lot to date. And in some ways, sorry about the horse riding and the injury, et cetera,
but it clearly is something that has seemed to open up relatively seamlessly. I'm not
saying easily at all. And I appreciate the challenge and the journey and the work that
you've been through and obviously still going through in order to prepare this before the
hard work for the passage even starts. But it really, even the listening to it sounds
like this is really where you are supposed to be.
I feel so as well. And I keep thinking to myself that the passage isn't going to be
the hard part. It's all of this sort of prep and planning and the last two years trying
to get the sponsors. And I only landed my title partner for funding the extition and
helping me with the marketing side of things and social medias in January of this year.
So I was very, very close to basically telling all of the sponsors that I'd gotten on board
over the last couple of years that we'd have to postpone to next year because of the shortness
of the timeline of not having the funding and that backing that I really needed. And
then my fairy godfather, as I call it, one of the co-founders of company called Capital.com
said that Capital.com would like to come on board as my title partner. And that was the
game changer. So now it's a fight for trying to get everything done in the timeframe that
we're working with to be able to leave this year. And then there's the usual visas and
permits and that sort of thing. So I'm waiting to hear back on my visa from Russia, which
I've applied for. I wanted to apply for that one first because I thought if I didn't get
it, there's not a lot point having visas for all the other countries set up, which are
going to be easier processes to go through. So I applied for that about two weeks ago
and they said I'd hear back in three to three and a half weeks. They basically said no news
is good news. So if I don't hear anything, I can assume that I'm getting the visa and
I haven't heard anything yet. So fingers crossed, my passport should be back with me in a week
or a week and a half with a merry little stamp in it.
Absolutely. You're so close. Ellie, you've obviously had lots of experience in various
different elements of the industry, such as Superyachts, as you mentioned. How has that
experience helped informed the way you're going to conduct your own boat? You mentioned
some of the products and equipment that you've put on on Yava in preparation for this Arctic
Passage, whether it's because of that environment specifically or just an opportunity to help
lessen the boat's pollution on our waters. How have you approached your victo-ling and
equipment planning? Yeah, it's a bit of both of what you just said, but essentially I'm
approaching everything with safety for myself first and then safety for the environment
second as my top two reasons for doing anything that we're doing to Yava. So food wise, I'm
predominantly going to be living off of freeze-dried food that you rehydrate and pastas, essentially.
And the waste out of that is all relatively small, so I can carry the waste with me on
the boat in a large space that I've got in the bottom of the cockpit where the steering
cables run is essentially going to become the trash store. The water maker that we've
put on the boat is so that we can avoid taking tens of thousands of litres of plastic bottles,
essentially with us. And then there's the products that you guys are going to be supplying
from Clean Sailors, which are sort of sustainable eco-friendly products, which I'm super excited
about. And it's just about minimising our impact on the environment, all the way down
to the bilges of the boat, if you like. So I've got a sponsor called Wave International
who creates these filters for your bilge water system on the boat. And it's a filter that
sits in the pipe between where the bilge pump starts pushing water up into the pipes and
where the pipe lets it go overboard. And this filter will catch microplastics and microfibres
and anything at all that might make its way down there, bearing in mind that Yeba's got
floorboards with thermal insulation and carpet. Obviously, there's, you know, there's fibres
around there that I don't want going outside of the boat. So yeah, right down to the bilge
is basically everything's been about my safety and the environment safety, as much as we
can do to lessen both of our impact, mine and the boat, on where we're going.
How difficult or expensive or inexpensive did you find pulling all that stuff together?
The filter for the filtration system was really, really simple. Actually, it's just a case
of cutting the bilge pipe, if you like, into two sections and you slot the filter in the
middle and just a couple of Jubilee clips and you're good to go. So that was a change
that I had never seen one on a boat before until Wave approached me about putting one
on Yeba and it's so clever and such a small little unit that I really do think there's
room for those to be on a lot more pleasure and commercial craft than what have them currently.
Especially when, I appreciate it doesn't help necessarily black water, but certainly where
holding tanks, et cetera, in the UK in particular, are not so prolific. Obviously, greywater is
one of those things where anything we put down our drains, as you all know, on our boat,
goes into the sea. But it sounds like I think one of the things that we often hear, certainly
through clean sailors, is that it's expensive or I don't know where to find the products,
but it's always great to hear that you've done very objectively and very independently
been able to find some solutions that can help mitigate your impact whilst you're out
there. Ella, I appreciate you have got a few more jobs to do on your boat.
My electrician sat in the cockpit waiting for me. Dear electricians, thank you for
your patience. But sincerely, it's just great to chat more about your adventure. I'm really,
really excited for you and I'm sure I share the sentiment with many that are very much
looking forward to your final weeks of prep and obviously then your departure. But Ella,
all the very best and as again, your own words again, that this isn't a record attempt,
it's a wake up call. And if you had one message for sailors, ocean lovers or actually anybody
listening, what would it be? I think just to try and minimise our impact is really the
best thing that we can be doing as sailors to protect the environment that we enjoy so
much. So look at your boats, look at your systems, see if there's anything that can
be swapped for more sustainable technologies or grab yourself one of these bilge filter
systems and just try and take care of the environment that we all love to enjoy together.
Ella, soon to be world first single handed nonstop circumnavigator of the Arctic Circle
and ocean minded human being. Thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.
I've been listening to the Clean Sailors podcast. All relevant links to the projects
and people we talk to can be found with the podcast link. For all episodes or to get in
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