Who is Leona?
Well, she is rather lovely, I have to admit:
Sleek.
Fast.
Elegant.
Responsive.
Welcoming.
I suppose if you have to share your husband with a mistress, Leona is not a terrible choice.
After all, even I love spending time with her.
All kidding aside, Leona is a Moody 54, built in Germany in 2017. At 56’ feet in length, she is big enough to carry a happy party and small enough that David can single-hand her. The deck-level saloon means that I can walk into the galley and still see the horizon, a key element in maintaining one’s equilibrium: spiritual, mental, and most importantly, physical. It means I can whip up a meal without whipping anything else up at the same time.
Always a plus.
I am sure there are all sorts of technical terms I should be using to describe her keel and beam and rigging (gaffs? shrouds? skegs?), but for now, suffice to say she is a smooth-sailing, even-tempered queen, and she will carry us south to Tahiti in style.
Let’s go! Or as they say in Pape’ete, E haere ana'e !
A beautiful portrait of Leona by the extremely kind and talented Renee Kelleher
Who is the crew?
David Papalones Walker
Go west, young man.
This adventure has been a long time in the making.
Likes? a long run, a good beer, and a square meal.
Dislikes? school rice pudding.
Jeff Taylor
Jeff and Leona joined forces with Team Walker at the same time in 2017, and his first cruise with us was Leona’s shakedown around the south coast of England.
But that was certainly not his first rodeo: Jeff started sailing as a teenager and then finagled his passion into his career. He has crossed the Atlantic multiple times, including in Leona with David and Georgie, Other than the Start Point Rodeo with us in June of ‘17, his sailing highpoint is voyaging from England to Australia with wife Doreen in Saphir, their Najad 331. Inspiration is their middle name, and thank the Lord he is on this adventure with us.
Likes? sailing into harbour after an ocean crossing.
Dislikes? sailing into harbour after an ocean crossing.
Georgie Momo Walker
She’s a globe-trotting save-the-world eco-chick with a yen for adventure, a love of the waves, and the best little Blue around. She has already survived an ocean voyage with her father, so now she figures she can double the fun by adding her Mama to the crew.
Likes? chasing wild hares, recounting her dreams, pickles.
Dislikes? hot cars, folding laundry, wet paper.
Polly Princy P Walker
Your faithful scribe and chronicler.
I am new to this type of fandango. However, with a little patience from the rest of the crew, I am up for the challenge.
Riding my pony….Check.
Riding the waves…. E haere ana'e!
Likes? epic fantasy novels, kitchen disco, sea otters.
Dislikes? board game cheaters.
Where are we going?
This is a great map of the various routes across the Pacific; we, of course, are going another way. Our plan is to head south out of Santa Barbara to San Diego for the official check-out, then south-west to the Marquesas and the Tuamotus, and finally, Pape’ete, Tahiti. After that, Fiji, New Zealand…?