Daughters of Amelia Earhart in spirit, these women too have challenged the confines of society and nature and embarked upon their own adventures to a place where the horizon knows no bounds.
Jessica Watson – Solo Sailor
JESSICA WATSON was only 11-years-old when she heard about 18-year-old Jesse Martin’s successful 1999 attempt to solo circumnavigate the globe nonstop—and from that moment on, her life changed. When she turned 13, she told her parents that she was going to venture to do the same thing. “How young is young?” critics questioned of so dangerous a trip for an inexperienced, relatively immature girl to embark upon. To make matters worse, on her trial voyage, her sailboat, Ella’s Pink Lady, collided with a 63-ton, 738-foot bulk carrier that delayed her official launch. Not to be defeated, Jessica later wrote, “Any doubts about whether I could cope mentally…vanished.”
On March 15, 2010, after sailing solo for 210 straight days, through storms with winds of over 75-knots and seas 15-meters high, she landed in Sydney Harbor, three days before her 17th birthday—the youngest person to circumnavigate the world solo, unassisted, and nonstop. A documentary film has been made about her voyage and she has written a book about her adventure called True Spirit.
Ocean Ramsey, Marine Conservationist – Freediver
OCEAN RAMSEY freedives with Great White sharks—32 species to date, the largest one almost 20 feet in length, gained international attention to the Oahu, Hawaii-based author, marine conservationist, scientist, entrepreneur, model, designer, scuba instructor, nonprofit founder, speaker, safety officer, surfer, and world traveler. Her bestseller, What You Should Know About Sharks, provides important first-hand information on the ocean’s most feared inhabitant—and could help save lives. “I hope with a deeper understanding people might also begin to appreciate, care, and my deepest hope is that they might even be inspired enough to join me in efforts to help save the lives of sharks who are currently being slaughtered by the millions,” Ramsey wrote.
Sarah McNair-Landry: Polar Explorer & Expedition Trailblazer
When SARAH McNAIR LANDRY was 18, she skied, unsupported, to the South Pole, At 19, she made it to the North Pole by dog sled. She is the youngest person to ever reach both poles—and that’s just the beginning of her adventures. In 2016, Sarah led a kite-ski expedition with professional kayakers Erik Boomer and Ben Stookesberry across the Greenland Ice Sheet, the world’s first Arctic River paddle descent. In the early stages of the expedition, she broke her back—and continued on, despite the terrific pain. Since then, she has successfully led nine full-length South Pole expeditions, six full-length North Pole expeditions, and many epic dog sledding and kite skiing expeditions throughout the Arctic, Greenland, and the Antarctic. Today she offers custom adventures through her company, North Winds Expeditions.