Art, Sailing, Surf & Life Between Worlds | Laerke Heilman of Women & the Wind

There is a moment in Women & the Wind where Laerke Heilmann reflects on growing up with childhood stories about a Danish sailing family’s voyages at sea. These stories left a mark on her imagination, but they were not isolated tales—her own family had their own open-ocean adventures. She was merely a baby when she first set sail, beginning a lifelong relationship with the sea before she could walk or talk.From an early age, Laerke felt at home in fluidity—whether in the motion of the ocean, the rhythm of dance, or the expressive world of art. Her upbringing in a communal house, coupled with her time at a Waldorf school, encouraged a creative and independent way of thinking. She carried this curiosity into adulthood, following an unconventional path that led her across continents. A spontaneous move to Brazil to study dance immersed her in Afro-Brazilian culture, while a trip to the Canary Islands brought her into deeper contact with the ocean, this time through surfing. Laerke would later return to lay roots in the Canaries, where she joins me in this rare, recorded conversation, sharing tales of her life’s twists and turns along the way.Laerke’s skills are as multidimensional as her journey. Fluent in four languages, a talented graphic designer, and a passionate ocean advocate, she now combines creativity with action. She spearheaded the Women & the Wind project, selling everything to fly across the world to meet Kiana in the boatyard to refit Mara Noka, a timeline of two weeks becoming one whole year before they set sail.In the year and a half I’ve been working on the movie, Laerke has come across as the quieter of the three women, but in life she is unafraid to take a leap into the unknown. It was an absolute pleasure to hear her story in more depth and revisit the beginnings of Women & the Wind from her lens. Laerke will be on tour with Women & the Wind from the end of April through to the European summer. We’ll be catching up in person, FINALLY, here in Bretagne, in May. Discover the movie tour dates and community screenings HERE. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit voyagevirage.substack.com/subscribe