THE SEA NOMAD-LIZ CLARK: SURFGIRL MAGAZINE

Sailor, environmentalist and surfer Captain Liz Clark captured enraptured imaginations world-wide following the publication of her stunning self-penned autobiographical tale of her high-seas adventures living aboard her 40 foot sailboat in Swell (both the boat and book’s name) in 2015.  Charting the epic highs and lows of acquiring and preparing Swell as a sea-worthy vessel following Liz’s graduation from UCSB with a degree in environmental studies, to her awe-inspiring voyages and ensuing high-jinx through the US, Central America and across the Pacific Ocean to Tahiti (peppered with plentiful surf), Liz’s honest accounts of the splendour of a life at sea, of the often jarringly hard challenges she faced, of her incredible voyage of self-discovery and of her environmental activism that grew in parallel chronicalled an extraordinary decade of resilience and personal development. 

Since the publication of Swell, Liz has now based herself on-land in Tahiti, a place whose peoples, culture, natural beauty (and animals) clearly captured her heart.  We catch up with Captain Clark from her home-base, finding out what came next for the intrepid adventurer and activist…

Words: Sophie Everard

SURFGIRL MAGAZINE

This self-admittedly enormous Liz Clark fan, reader, has to admit, was unfathomably excited to be interviewing the internationally renowned sailor and environmentalist.  If you haven’t read Swell, the brilliantly captured adventure of Liz’s experience’s aboard her boat, this page-turner of an adventure classic is a must-read, taking the word “inspirational” to new peaks.  As we left Liz in the final pages of Swell organically settling into life in Tahiti, I wonder how land-based life has been treating her?  “Life is good!” She begins.  “It’s been a turbulent time, for sure, but I’ve been very fortunate that my loved ones and I have not been affected by the pandemic in the ways that matter most. I’ve got a lot to be grateful for at the moment, like my wonderful partner, meaningful work that I love, a healthy family, our happy pack of dogs, and a new kitten.”  After 10 years at sea living aboard Swell, her lovingly and at times, painfully restored sailboat bequeathed to her by a mentor-like figure and great friend in the United States, Barry Clark, how come’s the change, I wonder, what led to this new chapter of her life? “After writing the book aboard the boat, I was ready for a change after more than ten years living aboard Swell”.  Liz tells me.  “ I was ready for a few more comforts, and I wanted the experience of growing food. I also felt like I needed a more efficient space from which to do my activism work…”.

Liz’s clear passion and growing work around environmental activism and sharing her first-hand learnings from her proximity at sea to the natural environments and cultures she came across was distinct in Swell.  “Over the decade as a sea nomad, almost all of my activism work was focused on raising awareness through social media, blogging, and sharing my observations and experiences, which is wonderful and important. But I was longing for the experience of working on more hands-on projects…So when the book was finished, I expanded my activism work to include local projects and helped found a non-profit through which to do so. I wanted to dig in and learn what it’s like to create positive change on a community level.”

Liz’s work now includes working on the aforementioned non-profit, A Ti’a Matairea Island Protectors, which was started by a group of surfers who “wanted to create positive change in the community where we live” she explains.  “We realized that there was no other organization standing up for animals or the environment in our area, so although most everyone has busy lives and full-time work, we created the non-profit and gathered local members. Our mission is to protect our local environment and animals (both wild and domestic), and empower our youth to become the next generation of Island Protectors.  Along with regular beach cleanups, school presentations, and the animal rescue work, our first projects have been related to the protection of our ocean lagoons. We helped the local government create a network of sand-bottom anchorage zones around the island to help visiting boaters know where to anchor to avoid causing damage to live corals. And we are currently working on a fishing protections project, where the local fishermen are helping us create new fishing regulations and “no-take” zones, to help restore the ecosystems that have been severely overfished.”

Liz’s love of animals clearly and lovingly comes across in Swell and on her social media channels, the sweet relationship with her now-deceased cat Amelia, a rescue that lived abroad Swell with Liz, followed passionately by her many global fans. This love clearly ignited a passion for work in animal activism, Liz sharing that “when my beloved cat, Amelia (aka Tropicat), died in a dog attack, I wanted to do something to give back to the stray animals in Tahiti (Amelia was a stray).  There are an alarming number of stray dogs and cats on almost all islands in French Polynesia, which causes a lot of suffering for the animals and problems for people and the environment too. So I mounted a fund in Amelia’s honor and began working on a way to make sterilization of dogs and cats more accessible for people here who cannot afford it…We also give medications for mange to stray dogs and families who have dogs with mange that cannot afford the medication.”

Is Liz’s impactful work on the ground now in French Polynesia a great illustration of the fantastic work that can be done by honing in on a local community, such is the vastness and greatness of the challenges facing our planet today? It can feel overwhelming for budding activists to find a place to get started, and I wonder if she feels grass-roots local activism is a good place to start? “If you’re entirely new to environmental awareness, I think the best place to start is with your own personal choices and lifestyle.”  Liz suggests, “once you get in your groove in that department and want to do more, then it’s definitely time to start looking around your community and asking yourself what are the big issues, what skills or strengths can you bring to the table to help, what are you passionate about protecting or changing, and then familiarizing yourself with local groups already doing good work. And hey, start your own if you get inspired!”.  And if we boil it down the changes we can make ourselves at home, Liz is full of ideas, suggesting “you can try to eat more consciously by choosing local, in-season, organic, and mainly whole and plant-based foods. Composting is a super effective thing you can do at home which reduces the greenhouse gases released from landfills and contributes to healthier local soils. As surfers we can choose a sunscreen like Avasol suncare that does not contain chemical UV blockers or nanoparticle zinc which are bad for the ocean. Reduce your plastic dependence. You can carry your reusable water bottle, silverware, coffee cup, shopping bags, etc with you so you can refuse single use plastics and the excess waste created by take-away items. Reject fast fashion and shop second hand, or quality options that will last. Before throwing something away, find out if it can be repaired, or ask yourself if it could be upcycled into something else you need. When you do buy something new, try to support eco-conscious and socially responsible businesses and avoid excessive and or plastic packaging. Choose natural alternatives to chemical-based body, haircare, and cleaning products. Vinegar and baking work like magic for cleaning! It’s also super important to switch your bank to one that refuses to invest in fossil fuel projects and aims to do good for the planet—like Aspiration in the US, or Triodos in the UK, Australian Mutual Bank in Oz…”.

With so much keeping her busy now on land, I wonder how her daily life has changed from living aboard Swell?  “Well, if the surf is good, I’m up early. My partner and I love to dawn patrol. When we’ve caught enough waves, we come home and pick some fruit in the garden for a smoothie, have breakfast, do a little cleaning, and then get into whatever projects we’re each working on. I always have emails to return and computer work or meetings for A Ti’a Matairea, then I try to spend the late afternoon outside, either on Swell or in the yard where I’m doing some trial-and-error food growing, pulling weeds, playing with our six dogs, yoga, meditation, fruit picking. Some days I do a tour through a neighborhood to distribute dog medicines. If there’s no surf, Tahui and I like to freedive or paddle our one-person outrigger canoe. We also spend a lot of time helping out our neighbors, family, friends. We enjoy pitching in when people need a hand.” 

Life sounds, well, swell, and I ask Liz is she ever has a hankering to head out back to a permanent life at sea again? “Yes, I do” she starts. “It’s a life of such freedom, autonomy, surprise, and immersion in nature, all of which I love so much. But for the moment, I’m really loving the new challenge of working for change on a local level. I feel dedicated to doing more to save the planet at the moment, so this feels really right for now. But I’ve been eyeing the north eastern Pacific as a place I’d like to sail and explore someday!”.  And with that Liz signs off, her parting words “your dreams are as important to the world as they are to your soul, don’t give up on them! PS Swell is being adapted for a film series!”.