A grandmother who had never set foot on a yacht until seven years ago is preparing to sail 2,700 nautical miles across the Atlantic to show that life after 70 can be an adventure.
Karen Leiserach, a retired NHS manager from Port St Mary, will join a seven-strong crew for the crossing from Las Palmas to St Lucia.
She hopes her challenge will inspire others to try something new while raising funds for Sailing for the Disabled Isle of Man, where she serves as membership secretary.
Karen, who turned 70 this year, said: ‘My personal mission is to promote living life after 70.
‘I want to show others how this can be achieved if you want to do something completely different while having fun and making great friends.’
Until 2019, sailing was entirely unfamiliar to Karen. A friend suggested she try it as an outlet for her energy, and a taster session changed everything.
She said: ‘I detested sports at school, and was a master of excuses why I couldn't join in PE sessions. Prior to 2019 I lived a fairly slothful life but after my initial taster sail with the charity, I realised I had caught the sailing bug.
‘Since then I have trained extensively in sailing schools in Scotland and Croatia, achieved Royal Yachting Association qualifications, lost 23kg to get fit, and managed to keep working two days a week.’
The ARC Rally is scheduled to depart Las Palmas on November 22, with the crew aiming to reach St Lucia around December 20, subject to weather conditions.
The crossing will test her new skills.
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Sailing for the Disabled helps disabled people and volunteers learn to sail or rediscover their skills on the water. It has more than 200 members, welcomes people of all abilities and keeps its 48ft yacht, Pride of Mann III, at Douglas Marina.
Karen, a mother of three and grandmother, moved to the island in 2011 with husband David and their children after a career in business, industry and senior NHS management.
She later worked in Manx Care's Older People Services before retiring from full-time employment in 2022.
She said: ‘Our family was seeking to find an alternative lifestyle to the arduous daily commutes and silo living we experienced in the Home Counties.
‘The opportunity of being selected for the ARC rally is both very exciting and a bit fearsome.
‘On the one hand I am looking forward to being involved in the intensive teamwork required to make it across to the other side of the world but on the other hand I am wondering if all the technical training and work on personal resilience I have undertaken is enough. We will see!’
The seven sailors have experience and qualifications for long-distance offshore challenges.
Karen will also have support from her instructor and a shore-based sailing team in Douglas, with whom she plans to keep in daily contact about weather developments and route adjustments.
A donor has covered Karen's costs, allowing her to focus on encouraging contributions towards the charity's work.
For more information or to support the challenge, visit www.sftd-iom.com.
