Teenage environmentalist Greta Thunberg sailed “close to Bermuda” in November while she made her way back to Europe after taking her fight to combat climate change to the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The 16-year-old Swede, best known for sparking the worldwide “school strike” to protest global warming, posted twice on social media about her proximity to Bermuda on her current sea voyage across the Atlantic.
On November 17 Ms. Thunberg tweeted, “Day 5. Sailing close to Bermuda! Very comfortable onboard La Vagabonde! I’m busy teaching the others how to play Yatzy [a popular Scandinavian dice game similar to Poker Dice].”
And the following day she posted: “Day 6. Sunshine sailing north of Bermuda! Had some rough weather but very happy and comfortable onboard La Vagabonde. Now heading for the Azores.”
The climate activist is sailing on board the catamaran La Vagabonde with an Australian family as she makes her way to Spain from Hampton, Virginia for December’s United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Sailing is the Swedish teenager’s preferred mode of transportation: she refuses to fly because of the airline industry’s disproportionately large global carbon footprint..
Ms Thunberg first became known for her activism in 2018 when, at age 15, she began protesting outside the Swedish parliament for stronger action on global warming by holding up a sign saying :”School strike for the climate.”
Soon, other students in Sweden and around the world began holding similar protests. Together, they organised a school climate strike movement under the name Fridays for Future, a campaign that includes student supporters in Bermuda.
Ms Thunberg addressed the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference. And in August 2019 she crossed the Atlantic from Plymouth, England to New York, US, in a carbon neutral 60 foot racing yacht to address the UN Climate Action Summit as well as to participate in environmental rallies throughout the US, Canada and Mexico.
Ms Thunberg has been the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. She was named one of the hundred most influential people of 2019 by Time magazine.
