Jo Royle - Internationally recognized yachts woman

Jo Royle, 30, has sailed as far north as Iceland and south to the Antarctic, through her career as an ocean going skipper. In 2004 she circumnavigated South Georgia, where she spent time living amongst four ton elephant seals, growling fur seals, albatross and thousands of penguins, whilst witnessing first-hand the detrimental effects of human–influenced climate change. This expedition changed her life’s focus from simply exploring the ‘blue heart’ of the planet - to wanting to better understand peoples relationship with nature.

Jo’s quest led her to embark on numerous ocean going expeditions. The yachts and expedition form a platform for corporate partners; environmental NGO’s and schools to collaborate in their own journey towards a more environmentally sustainable future.

Most recently Jo skippered the Plastiki expedition (www.theplastiki.com). She was part of a small team who built an ocean going raft out of 12,000 old plastic drinks bottles and a recyclable plastic. To test the build she skippered a team of five, fairly green, guys for a five month voyage across the Pacific, from San Francisco to Sydney. This expedition highlighted the amount of plastic that is clogging up the ocean, as well as exploring new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle waste.

Jo’s time working at sea has taught her that we are all sea creatures, as our health is intrinsically linked to the health of the ocean. She believes that our role is to act as caretakers of the planet, and not let the barriers between us and nature get too great. Jo feels that we need to get ‘out there,’ spend time immersed, to learn to love the natural world – as we only protect what we love.

Jo’s next campaign will see the build of a high performance expedition yacht showcasing sustainable design and technologies. The vessel will form a platform to take young people, scientists and artists to work with communities living in areas vulnerable to the affects of climate change- with the united goal to increase the percentage of marine protected areas globally.

Alongside her ocean advocacy work, Jo is completing an MSc in Environmental Science and Society at the University College London.

Jo has been awarded 2010 RSGS Patrick Geddes Environmental Medal and Red Hot Woman 2010 for inspiring woman in the eco/ethical category. The Plastiki campaign was vote 22 in the TIME Magazines’ top 50 inventions for 2010.

Talks

Living for the Sea

Through sharing fun sea stories on navigating through pods of whales and ice bergs, or going to the toilet in hurricane force winds, Jo reveals how our lifestyles are impacting on the natural world, and what we as individuals can do about it. Her talk brings together the traditional subjects of maths, science, geography and art, as well as inspiring younger people to think outside the box. Stories are shared through film, music and photography.