Her Planet Earth’s All-Female North Atlantic Sailing Expedition 2026

From Iceland to the Faroe Islands, a team of women will cross one of the world’s most demanding oceans - where resilience, sisterhood, and purpose meet the raw power of nature.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - SINGAPORE – April 2026

In August 2026, Her Planet Earth will lead an all-female offshore sailing expedition across one of the world’s most demanding oceans - not only to test human limits, but to raise funds and awareness for the protection of critical marine ecosystems.

Crossing more than 550 nautical miles of the North Atlantic from Iceland to the Faroe Islands, a team of 15 women will navigate isolation, cold exposure, and rapidly shifting weather systems in one of the most unforgiving stretches of the North Atlantic - where survival depends on resilience, trust, and the ability to perform under constant uncertainty.

A curated team of women from across industries and backgrounds will take on the crossing alongside an experienced all-female offshore leadership crew.

This is a high-stakes mission carried out through an extreme expedition.

Taking place from 15-21 August 2026 aboard the expedition vessel SV Sea Dragon, this physically punishing and mentally unrelenting crossing will unfold in volatile open-ocean conditions - far from land, far from immediate support, and entirely dependent on the strength of the team.

The expedition supports a women-led seaweed initiative with Conservation International in Fiji - helping coastal communities build sustainable livelihoods while restoring and protecting fragile marine ecosystems.

This journey marks Her Planet Earth’s 19th global expedition - and a defining evolution of its adventure portfolio.

While the organisation has sailed before, this will be its first true open-ocean crossing aboard a high-performance expedition yacht - leaving coastal routes behind for a significantly more demanding, technical, and immersive experience.

“This expedition is about far more than navigating a remote stretch of the North Atlantic. It is about what happens when women step into environments that demand resilience, trust, and leadership - and discover what they are truly capable of,” said Christine Amour-Levar, Founder of Her Planet Earth.

A Different Kind of Expedition

This is not a cruise.
It is a working offshore passage.

Participants will become active crew members - learning to steer, navigate, handle sails, and stand watch through shifting conditions, day and night. Life onboard demands focus, adaptability, and trust.

No prior sailing experience is required. But one thing is essential:
a willingness to step fully into the experience.

Her Planet Earth has taken women to sea before. But this journey is different.

This is the open ocean - where there is no coastline in sight, no easy reset, and no shortcut through discomfort.

Only wind, water, and the team beside you.

The Route

The expedition will begin in Reykjavík, Iceland, before departing eastward across the North Atlantic toward Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands.

Covering approximately 553.5 nautical miles, the route will take the team through a windswept and exposed corridor of ocean known for rapidly shifting weather systems, cold temperatures, and powerful seas.

Far from coastal shelter, this crossing offers a rare opportunity to experience the North Atlantic in its truest form - vast, volatile, and deeply humbling.

The Ocean as Teacher

The North Atlantic is not forgiving.

Weather systems shift rapidly. Temperatures drop. Sleep is fragmented. The rhythm of life is dictated by wind, waves, and watch rotations.

And that is precisely the point.

There are few environments left in the world that strip away distraction so completely.

At sea, there is no noise - only clarity.

This is where resilience is built.
Where leadership becomes instinctive.
And where a group of individuals becomes a crew.

A Mission Beyond the Horizon

While the journey itself is deeply transformative, its purpose extends far beyond the Atlantic.

This expedition supports a women-led seaweed initiative with Conservation International in Fiji, helping coastal communities build sustainable livelihoods rooted in marine ecosystems.

Women in Fiji are sustainably harvesting and processing seaweed using generations of local knowledge, supported by training, infrastructure, and improved market access. These initiatives strengthen both economic resilience and environmental stewardship at the community level.

This is climate action in its most grounded form:

Local
Regenerative
Women-led

The expedition contributes through awareness, advocacy, and direct funding support.

Leadership at Sea

The expedition will be led by an experienced all-female offshore sailing team, under the leadership of Sandra Marichal, a Franco-British offshore sailor with over 40,000 nautical miles of experience - nearly twice around the world.

A former senior corporate executive turned ocean adventurer, Sandra has raced across the world’s most challenging waters, participated in elite sailing campaigns, and led expeditions focused on both performance and purpose. Today, she is the founder of Panexplore, a global expedition yacht company, and is committed to reshaping the sailing industry through sustainability, access, and gender equity.

“The ocean has a way of stripping things back to what really matters. Out here, there is no room for hesitation - you learn quickly to trust yourself, trust your team, and step into leadership in a very real way,” said Sandra Marichal, Mission Leader of the expedition and one of the Founding Partners of Her Planet Earth.

Under her leadership, participants will not simply cross an ocean.
They will learn to navigate it.

Rewriting the Narrative

For generations, offshore sailing has been a male-dominated space.

This expedition challenges that narrative.

It places women not as passengers, but as navigators, decision-makers, and crew.

It reframes adventure not as escape, but as engagement.

And it demonstrates something powerful:

When women are given the space to lead in extreme environments, they do not just rise to the challenge - they redefine it.

More Than a Journey

Over the years, Her Planet Earth has taken women across some of the world’s most remote and demanding landscapes - from deserts and mountains to polar regions and coastlines.

This North Atlantic crossing continues that legacy.

But it also marks a shift.
From exploration to immersion.
From witnessing nature…
to working within it.

More than a journey, this is a test of resilience - and a reminder of what becomes possible when women step fully into the unknown.

About Her Planet Earth

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Singapore, Her Planet Earth is a non-profit organisation and global women’s advocacy movement working at the intersection of female empowerment and environmental conservation.

Through bold, self-funded expeditions to some of the world’s most remote and threatened regions - from the Arctic to the Antarctic - the organisation raises awareness for sustainability while directing funds to projects that strengthen climate resilience for women and communities on the frontlines of environmental change.

Her Planet Earth supports a diverse portfolio of initiatives spanning wildlife conservation, regenerative agriculture, coral reef restoration, reforestation, seaweed farming, and community-based livelihood development across Asia-Pacific, the Himalayas, the Middle East, and Africa.

Each program is designed to strengthen the resilience of women most affected by climate change - ensuring they have the resources, skills, and opportunities not only to adapt, but to thrive and lead.

About Conservation International

Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together.

Conservation International works with communities, industry and the Government of Fiji to protect forests, reefs, fisheries, and freshwater through a ridge-to-reef approach. Its work includes the Sovi Basin, Fiji’s largest terrestrial protected area, and the Lau Seascape, which covers about 8% of Fiji’s EEZ.

Conservation International partners with women-led seaweed cooperatives to strengthen income generation, improve processing capabilities, and expand market access - positioning women as leaders of regenerative, community-based economies.

Visit Conservation.org to learn more, and follow us on ConservationNews,  Facebook, Twitter, TikTok,  Instagram and YouTube.

The Team

The expedition will bring together a carefully curated group of 15 women from diverse nationalities, backgrounds and stages of life - united by a shared courage to step beyond the familiar and into one of the world’s most demanding natural environments.

Unlike traditional travel experiences, this is a working offshore passage. Each participant will play an active role onboard, contributing as part of the crew and supporting one another through the physical, mental and emotional challenges of life at sea.

Together, these women represent the spirit of Her Planet Earth - ordinary women choosing to do something extraordinary in service of a larger purpose.

Meet the team and read their full profiles here.

Support the Mission & Follow the Journey

To follow the journey and stay updated on stories from the field, connect with Her Planet Earth:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herplanetearth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/herplanetearth
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/herplanetearth

📧 Media inquiries:connect@herplanetearth.com

Across One of the World’s Harshest Environments - For the Future of Our Oceans