Greta Thunberg 'not worried' about Plymouth to New York yacht sail

Greta Thunberg on board the yacht. Credit: Greta Thunberg / Twitter

World-renowned climate activist Greta Thunberg says she is “not worried” about her two-week cross-Atlantic sailing trip from Plymouth to New York.

The Swedish teenager, whose “school strikes” inspired a global protest movement, will make the trip on a high-tech racing yacht so she can attend a UN summit without using planes or cruise ships which emit greenhouse gas emissions.

The 16-year-old, who will be joined by her father Svante Thunberg, is due to depart Plymouth’s Mayflower Marina later today (August 14).

The racing yacht which will take Greta to New York.

Having taken part in training exercises in Plymouth Sound yesterday (August 13), Greta said she is “not worried” about spending the next two weeks on board the small boat - but admitted she is already feeling the effects of sea-sickness.

Greta, who is taking a sabbatical year from school, will be joining large-scale climate demonstrations and speaking at the UN Climate Action Summit hosted by secretary-general Antonio Guterres in New York in September.

She is also planning to visit Canada and Mexico before travelling to this year’s UN climate conference, which is taking place in Santiago, Chile, in December, making her journeys by train and bus.

The youngster is crossing the Atlantic in the 60ft sailing yacht, which is fitted with solar panels and underwater turbines to generate zero-carbon electricity on board.

Greta said she is already feeling the effects of sea-sickness.

The vessel is captained by Boris Herrmann, and Greta will also be accompanied on the two-week journey by a filmmaker, her father Svante and Pierre Casiraghi, the grandson of Monaco’s late Prince Rainier III and American actress Grace Kelly.