Greta Thunberg sets sail for Europe after hitching a ride from the US to Portugal on YouTubers’ catamaran, despite rough seas expected on the Atlantic at this time of year 

  • Swedish eco warrior Greta Thunberg sets sail to Portugal from US on catamaran
  • Greta is hitching a ride to Europe to attend a UN climate summit in Madrid
  • An Australian couple offered their boat after Greta issued a plea on social media 

Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg has set sail from the United States bound for Europe board a catamaran. 

Greta is hitching a ride to Portugal from where she will attend a UN climate summit, after an Australian couple offered to sail her there on their boat.  

Rugged up and carrying a large backpack, the 16-year-old and her father Svante boarded ‘La Vagabonde,’ a 14-meter catamaran belonging to Australians Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu. 

The catamaran left from Hampton, Virginia and will be Greta’s home for the next two to three weeks, depending on the weather conditions. 

The seas are expected to be rougher on her return journey, given the season, but the teenager is not perturbed. 

Carrying a large backpack, the 16-year-old and her father Svante boarded ‘La Vagabonde,’ a 14-meter catamaran belonging to Australians Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu

The 48-foot catamaran departs Hampton, Virginia on Wednesday with Greta on board 

The Swedish teen activist waves from catamaran La Vagabone as it departs on Wednesday morning just before 8am 

The Swedish activist, who became world famous for founding the ‘school strikes for the climate,’ is ending a hectic 11-week North American sojourn that made headlines at every turn as she criss-crossed the United States and Canada.

During her trip, she excoriated world leaders at the United Nations, met former US president Barack Obama, received the keys to the city of Montreal and road tripped across the continent in a Tesla electric car lent to her by actor and ex-governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Overall, Greta described her trip to North America as ‘extremely educational’ as she prepared to cross the Atlantic once more.  

In a parting shot, the young activist said US President Donald Trump was ‘so extreme’ a climate skeptic he unintentionally may be waking people up to the dangers facing the globe. 

Sewdish climate activist Greta Thunberg boards the catamaran La Vagabonde as she sets sail to Europe in Hampton, Virginia on November 13

Greta walks aboard the catamaran as she sets sail to Europe from Virginia on Wednesday, rugged up in a windproof coat and black beanie hat 

The catamaran left from Hampton, Virginia and will be Greta’s home for the next two to three weeks, depending on the weather conditions

Greta waves as the catamaran sets sail from Virginia in the US. The seas are expected to be rougher on her return journey, given the season

Greta Thunberg speaks to reporters during an interview aboard La Vagabond

‘I thought when he got elected, now people will finally, now people must finally wake up,’ she said in an interview Tuesday.

‘La Vagabonde’ left shortly before 8 amwith six people on board for the trip: Elayna Carausu, 26, and her partner Riley Whitelum, 35, together with their 11-month-old boy Lenny; 26-year-old professional British sailor Nikki Henderson, Greta, and her father Svante.

‘We were kind of the only boat around the area that was willing to cross the Atlantic this time of year,’ said Carausu.

The boat leaves little to no carbon footprint and uses solar panels and hydro-generators for power. 

The seas are expected to be rougher on her return journey, given the season, but Greta says the prospect of harsh weather doesn’t perturb her.

‘We were kind of the only boat around the area that was willing to cross the Atlantic this time of year,’ said Carausu

La Vagabonde sets sail on November 13. ‘We were kind of the only boat around the area that was willing to cross the Atlantic this time of year,’ said Elayna Carausu

La Vagabonde sets sail from Virginia. ‘She’s a very brave, independent, strong young lady. It’s inspiring and I’m honestly amazed at what she’s doing,’ Carausu said of Greta 

‘She’s a very brave, independent, strong young lady. It’s inspiring and I’m honestly amazed at what she’s doing,’ Carausu said.

She added that the crew has ‘decided to have a vegan boat for Greta, mostly.’

Greta plans to attend the COP 25 climate summit in Madrid, which starts in just under three weeks on December 2, before heading home to Sweden. 

The boat sailed from Hampton, in the US state of Virginia, aiming to reach Portugal, more than 5,500 kilometers (about 3,500 miles) away. From there she will the make her way to Madrid in Spain for COP 25. 

The Australian couple offered to sail Greta to Spain after she had issued a plea on social media for help getting back across the Atlantic Ocean, after the summit was moved at the last minute from Santiago in Chile to Madrid due to the protests in the South American country.

They have a YouTube channel boasting more than 1.1million subscribers called Sailing La Vagabonde, which documents their travels onboard the boat.

Greta Thunberg (pictured at a climate change rally in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 8) described her trip to North America as ‘extremely educational’

The catamaran carrying Greta sets sail from Hampton, Virginia to Europe on Wednesday 

‘Through our videos we hope to inspire others to explore alternative options of living and to spread ocean awareness,’ the couple said in their channel description.

Ms Thunberg refuses to fly in planes because of the carbon footprint.

In August, she used a zero-emissions sailboat to sail across the Atlantic ocean from Plymouth in the UK to reach the United States in a 60 ft racing yacht equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines.

 

Source: Read Full Article