The Transatlantic Voyage
Two weeks at sea to avoid the emissions of flying — the crossing that made her American tour possible.
Why sail
By mid-2019 Thunberg had been invited to the UN Climate Action Summit in New York (September 2019) and COP25 in Santiago, Chile (December 2019). Having stopped flying because of aviation’s emissions, she needed another way across the Atlantic. The answer was a racing yacht: the 18-meter Malizia II, a zero-emission vessel equipped with solar panels and hydro-generators.
The crossing: Plymouth to New York
She departed Plymouth, England, on 14 August 2019, accompanied by her father Svante, skipper Boris Herrmann, and co-skipper Pierre Casiraghi. The crossing took roughly two weeks through rough North Atlantic weather. She arrived in New York on 28 August 2019, greeted by crowds and a flotilla of sailboats — and by a widely reported exchange with waiting journalists about the voyage’s hardships (seasickness, basic conditions aboard a racing yacht).
From New York she traveled overland to Canada and then across the United States by train and electric car, speaking at rallies including the large climate rally in Iowa City on 4 October 2019 and demonstrations in Denver, Los Angeles, and at Standing Rock.
The emissions debate
The voyage’s climate credentials were contested — the subject of Criticism and Response:
- The claim: the crossing itself produced no CO₂.
- The complication: Herrmann flew back to Europe afterward, and a replacement crew member flew to New York — meaning flights were still involved in the overall operation. Thunberg’s team said the flights were offset; critics argued this undermined the symbolism. Both positions are documented in contemporary coverage.
The return: La Vagabonde
After COP25 was relocated from Santiago to Madrid amid Chilean protests, Thunberg needed to get back to Europe quickly. In November 2019 she accepted a ride on the catamaran La Vagabonde, sailed by the Australian YouTubers Elayna Carausu and Riley Whitelum with their infant son. They departed Hampton, Virginia, on 13 November 2019 and arrived in Lisbon, Portugal, on 3 December 2019, from where she traveled overland to Madrid for the summit.
Source notes
Dates and details come from contemporary reporting (AP, Reuters, BBC, The Guardian) and the voyage participants’ own accounts. The emissions debate is presented with both sides attributed, as covered in the press at the time.