Plastic
BY PAT BRADFORD
NCE UPON A TIME there
was a beautiful young
woman named Kiana. She
was living in Bocas del Toro, Panama,
aboard a 75-foot Polynesian cata-maran
when she fell in love. It was
not your ordinary kind of love. This
was between the girl and a boat, the
Mara Noka, age 50.
It may have been a match made in
heaven.
It was 2017. Kiana Weltzien, then a
21-year-old former Miami real estate
professional, purchased the aging
Mara Noka the following year over
the phone from California and flew
to Central America to take posses-sion.
Thus began the journey from
nomad girl with zero sailing skills
to a seasoned captain of her own
vessel and course. She now has more
than 11,000 nautical miles behind her,
including multiple ocean crossings,
a number of them solo.
Right, from top to bottom: Onboard the Mara Noka in
June 2022, Captain Kiana Weltzien, sailor, writer, water-woman.
Cleanwater activist Lærke Heilmann, sailor,
surfer, artist. Filmmaker Alizé Jireh. Opposite: The S/V
Mara Noka at anchor just south of Seapath Towers,
Wrightsville Beach on June 14, 2022.
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com
KIANA WE ALLISON POTTER LTZIEN ALLISON POTTER
23
WBM