Lia Ditton is passionate about sharing her extraordinary experiences at sea, through talks, writing and translating her experiences into contemporary art installations. The only woman to complete the OSTAR 2005 single-handed transatlantic race, the experience formed the basis of Ditton’s 2006 installation, Absolute Solitude: One Woman, One Boat in which... Read more
Lia Ditton is passionate about sharing her extraordinary experiences at sea, through talks, writing and translating her experiences into contemporary art installations.
The only woman to complete the OSTAR 2005 single-handed transatlantic race, the experience formed the basis of Ditton’s 2006 installation, Absolute Solitude: One Woman, One Boat in which Ditton lived on her boat next to the Tate Britain Gallery for 28 days – the same number of days as it took her to sail to America.
A licensed captain, Ditton came 2nd in the Route du Rhum, France’s most-prestigious, single-handed transatlantic race; captained the boat from the film Waterworld starring Kevin Costner; become the 53rd woman to row the Atlantic and the 64th woman to row any ocean, and project managed PlanetSolar the largest solar-powered boat in the world.
Now 37, Lia Ditton has over 150,000 nautical miles of experience – the equivalent of 8 laps of the globe – eaten 2 years worth of freeze-dried food, gone a month without a shower and raced a sailboat over 40 knots!
In early 2019, Lia Ditton will depart from Choshi, Japan and endeavor to row 5,500 nautical miles, alone and unsupported, across the North Pacific Ocean to the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. To date, 18 attempts have been made to row this distance. Two were successful. Both were men. If she succeeds, Ditton will be the 1st woman 3rd person in history to do so.
Ditton’s second book, 50 Water Adventures To Do Before You Die! was commissioned by Bloomsbury to inspire others.