Eli - eXXpedition Round the World 2019 - 2021

Hi! Thanks for visiting!
I am Eliana Sequeira and I am a Portuguese pharmacist, currently living in Macau, China. I am honored and lucky enough to be one of the newest members of exXpedition Round the World 2019-2022!
I will start by explaining what this project is: exXpedition Round the World 2019 - 2022 is an all-female sailing voyage and scientific research mission, divided in 30 legs and over 38,000 nautical miles, starting and ending in the UK. Research on board will highlight the impact of plastic and toxics from land-based activities on oceans, ecosystems and human health. exXpedition was founded in 2014 by Emily Penn and Dr Lucy Gilliam aiming to make the unseen seen.
I am stoked to have been selected as 1 of 14 women to sail on exXpedition round the world Leg 13 in June, 2021 (Vanuatu to Cairns, Australia) in the Pacific Ocean on a 72 foot scientific exploration vessel. We will be doing research on plastics in the ocean. With this expedition we hope to raise awareness and ignite public support on this issue, explore actions and solutions to the devastating environmental and health impacts of single-use plastics and toxics in the world's ocean, to inspire others to take action and to promote women in science, leadership and adventure.

I will be part of the research and data collection team aboard the sailboat and I am also going to be a part of the planning solutions team. I will be contributing with critical thinking to find new solutions to help preserve our oceans.

I am the kind of person who believes we can all make a difference with our actions and positive change.

I was born in Porto, it was in Portugal that I lived most of my life, and where I first paid attention to this problem. I completed my Master’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2013 and my concern for public health and the toxic effects of micro plastics in our body are increasingly manifesting itself.
Besides my interest in science, research, nature and all living things, I recently discovered a new passion: scuba diving. My passion for diving strengthened my relationship with the ocean and I want to understand more about it. Since I am living in Macau, China, I took a dip in the Pacific and Indian Ocean and from that moment on I saw the magnitude of the problem of plastic pollution, becoming aware in how it affects marine life, like sea turtles, fishes, whales, coral reefs and countless other marine species and habitats.
Travelling is another great passion of mine, and I’ve been visiting to many fragile and remote marine environments lately and I could not see a single one  that was untouched by the impact of ocean plastics and human waste.

My motivation for joining exXpedition is my passion for the ocean, new adventures, challenges and exchanging ideas with inspiring people with the same mindset. I want to see in first-hand the extension of this big problem and be able to create a positive change. I live focused on not creating harm to environment, and in preventing it as much as I can from occurring to the environment through my interactions with it. It goes beyond an idea and extends to actual practices that influence how communities, businesses and individuals conduct themselves.
I hope to use this experience to raise more awareness around plastic use and pollution. I expect that this adventure will help me to get the means to reduce the impact of these problems, especially in Asia, where I am currently living, because is really alarming.
I am looking forward to gain more knowledge and resourcefulness from this experience so that I could apply and share the same advocacy in our community that hopefully would increase awareness and encourage initiatives from different people for the betterment of our future.

However, this project, by its scale and grandeur, has huge financial costs. To make the exXpedition possible, the crew committed to volunteer our time and contribute to the cost of the trip. This money goes to the core costs of logistics, equipment and vessel maintenance - a trip around the world is a big project. I am saving a lot to increase my participation, but any donations to help support this cause would be gratefully received. I am fundraising through this platform to raise money for this voyage, if you can spare some change for this very worthwhile cause I would be very grateful. Raising money will help cover some of the participation costs for leg 13, in June 2021. This will be around £10,000 (around 11.000€) including the cost of flights to Vanuatu and back from Cairns (Australia) as well the crew fees. Any additional funds raised on the cost of my trip will be passed on to exXpedition to help us reach more people and spread the message about plastic pollution and toxic in our seas.

More info here: http://exxpedition.com
Visit also my website and stay tuned on my adventure: https://elibragada.wixsite.com/elithesailor

Any donation big or small is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and for your support!

With love, Eli