About Wendy Leo-Smith

“Fate took my ordinary life into uncharted waters”

Born in 1963, in Sidmouth, Devon. Wendy spent her childhood on the family’s farm with a menagerie of animals. She didn’t venture abroad until her twenties, since the 24/7 demands of dairy farming left no time for family holidays.

Widowed at 27, changed her perspective on life, and she started to dream of sailing around the world, although she had never been on a yacht. Wendy impulsively bought Nimbus, a Caribe 45, spending the next five years learning the ropes. Cruising along the idyllic south-western coast, Channel Islands and Brittany.

As Wendy’s passion for sailing intensified, her 20 year banking career stagnated. In 2001 she relocated to the South of Spain to set up a yacht management company with her husband.

Four years later, their 10 year marriage came to a messy end, leaving her determined to make it alone on the Costa del Sol.

In 2005, an irresistible offer came to sail a performance racing yacht to Brazil, with just the owner, Rory. She packed her entire life into one hold-all, and had five exceptionally eventful years cruising 13,500-miles around the Atlantic.

In 2018 Wendy took on a new challenge, yet again out of character, to write “COME SAIL WITH ME” a true account of these travels.

Wendy now lives with Rory, their dog Boza and Bobbie the cat in the South of Spain. Zingara and travel remain an integral part of their lives.

Her other hobbies are touring, motorbikes, cycling and knitting.