Women and the Wind: Crossing the Atlantic in a 50-Year-Old Catamaran
The first roots of the idea came up in 2017, when Weltzien discovered Mara Noka floating in a Panamanian bay. She bought the boat on a whim, upending plans for a solo backpacking trip through South America. She'd already been traveling the world by boat for more than two years after quitting a career in real estate; she had been exposed to life at sea first by a family she worked as an au pair for and then again as a crew member on a 70-foot-long Polynesian voyaging canoe. Growing up between Brazil and Florida exposed her to various water sports, but it was only after those formative years as an adult that Weltzien embraced a dream of becoming a fortified, professional sailor. Buying Mara Noka was another dream realized—now she was the captain of her own ship.
Weltzien was living and sailing on Mara Noka in January 2020 when she arrived in the Canary Islands, where she met Heilmann at a party. Beyond a shared passion for the ocean and its care, both women spoke Portuguese, and both had a fake tooth; coincidences that cemented a fast bond. Heilmann was born and raised in a hippie commune in Denmark, where she spent summers sailing with family. While she wasn't particularly interested in the sport, she grew passionate about the ocean, and eventually, she moved to the Canary Islands after falling in love with the surf and the slower way of life. At the time of their meeting, Heilmann was working as a Project Coordinator for the Clean Ocean Project, an organization dedicated to beach clean-ups and ocean conservation education worldwide.
Well I'll give them some props they recycled a 50 yr old boat .... they are way more green then the stunt Greta pulled