*Liz Clark has accepted the role as our Team Rider Captain and Mentor. She is a role model to many individuals and has graciously accepted this role to be a mentor to our young Smart Girls Who Surf and Surf-Vival Team Riders. She is also a Surf-Vival Team Rider as she sails around the world.
School: University of California, Santa Barbara; B.S. Environmental Studies
Biography: After a sailing trip with her family to Mexico at the age of 10, Liz Clark decided what she wanted to do with her life: sail around the world and protect it from human destruction. At the age of 15, Liz started surfing. The combination of surfing during all her free time, and her natural ability, eventually led her to UCSB and their surfing team. For four years she competed for the college and became the 2002 College Women’s National Champion (after winning at the NSSA Nationals). Although she excelled in competitions, Liz realized surfing was more about adventure, nature and self-discovery than it was about competition. Her surfing obsession fueled her idea of a free life at sea with access to remote waves. After Liz graduated, she crewed on different boats to gain experience and soon found herself a captain of her own boat. This boat, named Swell, is a 40 ft. sailboat that Liz sails, lives on and fixes herself. Swell has taken Liz to parts of the world and surf only most people can imagine, and all along the way Liz learns from locals and has become increasingly aware of the damage that humans have on the environment which in turn, fuels her motivation to protect it with even more heart and soul.
Media Coverage and Sailing Timeline:
February 2004- Purchased Swell and began two years of overhaul and preparation for voyage.
Jan/Feb 2006- Started voyage heading south towards Baja California and Mainland Mexico
March-Aug 1006- Visited Mainland Mex, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica
Aug 2006- 6 page Photo Spread/Captions published in FOAM Magazine
Sept/Oct 2006- Feature article in Surfer’s Path Magazine “Ahabs Daughter”
Oct 2006- Featured in National Geographic Adventure Magazine “Big Dreams”
Nov-Dec 2006- Sailed from Costa Rica to Northern Panama
Dec. 2006- Named 7th in “Years 100 Most Important People, Ideas, Trends and Gear” in Outside Magazine; Wrote column for Surfing Magazine “Where’s Lizzy”
Jan-Mar 2007- Stayed in Panama’s Western Islands repairing and preparing Swell to cross the Pacific. Interviews in Sailing Magazine, Santa Barbara and San Diego Newspapers
May 2007- Cover/ Feature article for WEND magazine
June 2007- Sailed to Galapagos Islands
June/July 2007- Crossed the Pacific to French Polynesia
August 2007- Names one of top five “World’s Most Committed Surfers” in Surfing Magazine
Aug-Oct 2007- Sailed to Marquesas and Tuamoutus
Nov 2007-Jan 2008- Stayed in Tuamoutus. Worked on Pearl Farms and tuberiding
May 2008- Feature Article for SAIL Magazine “Crossing More Than Miles” about the 22-day trip across the Pacific with her Mother
Feb-May 2008- Solo 1500-mile trip up to the Line Islands, Christmas and Fanning Island
June-Aug 2008- In Society Islands
Aug-Nov 2008- Haued boat into Tahiti for major overhaul, did 99% of the work herself
Sept 2008- 2 page Patagonia advertisement featuring her voyage published in Surfing Magazine
Oct 2008- Second articles published in WEND magazine “Positively Buoyant”
Jan 2009- in California, Flew back to Tahiti to finish work in the boatyard
Feb 2009- Re-launched Swell
Projected Itinerary 2009-2010:
July-Sept 2009- American and Western Samoa
Oct 2009- Tonga
Nov 2009- Arrive in New Zealand by beginning of South Pacific hurricane season
Nov 2009- Apr 2010- New Zealand
May 2010- Nov 2010- Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea
