Navigating uncharted waters with a stranger

A British expat with a passion for the sea has recently published her memoirs, Come Sail With Me, an account of a 13,500-mile voyage she undertook around the Atlantic with a man she barely knew.

Along with an insight into the perils of battling the elements, especially during hurricane season, the book recounts the adventures of two people (and a cat) who defied the odds to complete an incredible journey that most could only ever dream of.

Born in Devon in 1963, author Wendy Leo-Smith spent her childhood on the family’s farm and never ventured abroad until she was in her twenties, since the demands of dairy farming left no time for family holidays.

Becoming a widow at the age of 27 changed her perspective on life. Wendy started to dream of sailing around the world, although she had never been on a yacht.

An impulsive decision resulted in Wendy buying a 45-metre yacht and spending the next five years learning the ropes while cruising the south-west coast, Channel Islands and Brittany.

“A friend, who later became my second husband, loved sailing. We had the opportunity to buy a yacht, which my bank manager said was a bargain, so we bought it. I had never been on a yacht before, but I just loved it from day one,” Wendy tells SUR in English.

Her passion for sailing intensified after her 20-year banking career came to an end.

In 2001, she relocated to Malaga to set up a yacht management company with her second husband, but the marriage finished four years later and Wendy was left to fend for herself.

It was shortly after the break-up of her marriage that Wendy’s life took a drastic turn following an irresistible offer to sail a performance yacht to Brazil with a man she hardly knew, but who would eventually become her third husband.

The offer came from Rory, a South African she describes as being “far from ordinary”, whose plan was to sail to Brazil, via West Africa, on Zingara, his racing yacht. This was a chance that, although it made her a little nervous, she could not refuse.

“I first met Rory when I was managing a yacht company and he sailed into Gibraltar for repairs. We crossed paths a couple of times, and then I did some work on his boat, but I didn’t really know him at all before I packed my belongings in a holdall and took off,” she says.

The book recounts the joys and perils of the couple’s day-to-day life, from being spellbound by the sea life to petrified by the elements. The journey was plagued by pirates, tropical storms and hurricanes and countless disastrous events, including dismasting in the Gibraltar Straits, an event that, by sheer luck, Wendy managed to survive.

During the five-year voyage, their route took them way off the beaten track to remote communities and dangerous cities. Wendy knew that a once-in-a-lifetime adventure like this would expose her to risk, all of which were recorded in her diary - the inspiration for her book.

“I started re-reading my diaries and I shocked myself at how eventful our trip had been and I found it hard to believe what had happened. There was very much that I had forgotten. It was Rory who suggested that I turn it into a book, because it is an amazing story,” Wendy concludes.