Welcome to “Girl Surfs World,” Independent.com’s new online
column following the adventures of Liz Clark, the 26-year-old UCSB
graduate currently sailing and surfing all around the world.

liz%20clark.jpg

Clark, a former collegiate women’s surfing champion, spent
nearly a year outfitting her 40′ sailboat, appropriately named
Swell, and finally set sail in November 2005 on a mission
of global circumnavigation devoted to surf exploration, open-ocean
adventure, and promotion of environmental awareness. She worked
close with Santa Barbara Maritime Museum founder and UCSB
Environmental Studies professor emeritus Barry Schulyer to prepare
for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

What began as dream in the fourth-grade, when Liz’s parents took
her out of school for the year and embarked on a 5,000 mile sailing
odyssey along the coast of Mexico, has, over time, become an
unfolding reality. The young sailor/surfer spent her senior year of
college living aboard a 50’ sailboat often captaining trips out to
the Channel Islands and up the coast to the Hollister Ranch. She
then followed those adventures with a post-college surf-oriented
sail along the coast of Central America, making it as far south as
Costa Rica.

Upon returning, her desire to realize her childhood dreams
burned as strong as ever, but only one key ingredient was missing:
a boat. A meeting with Schulyer, who’s an accomplished ocean
adventurer in his own right, offered a possible path. After
initially considering his 26’ foot boat as an option, Schuyler
helped her find and raise funds to purchase the locally anchored
Alisio, which they turned into the Swell of her
dreams.

This blog is dedicated to following Clark’s dreams, complete
with photos and text from Clark as she sails down the coast of
Central and South America and beyond. Our plan is to post Clark’s
tales every Monday morning on this website, but that all depends on
her computer access while in the middle of the ocean.

To see The Indy‘s November 9, 2006 cover story about
Liz Clark, click here. To see the latest in her adventures, just
go to “Girl Surfs World.”

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