I Am Woman Leap of Faith

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Many of us dream of sailing the world or learning how to fly. Yet only a few, like adventurer Pat Evans, truly make it happen.

Pat was a tomboy, growing up in Cape Town with a dad who taught her to sail and offered her the rare experience of exploring the world by yacht for two magical years after she finished school. Their relationship was not always easy, but Pat’s dad gifted her with a lifelong passion for the ocean and the exhilarating experience of feeling free on the high seas.

When she returned to South Africa, Pat married, had three daughters and settled in Natal where she built up a dairy farm with her husband. But the marriage was not happy and Pat had to dig deep, surviving a lot of pain before deciding to leave. Her decision was not met with support from those around her. After all, being a divorced single mom in the 1970s was pretty much taboo. Despite this, Pat leapt into the great unknown with her three young daughters and moved to Cape Town.

While juggling the pressures of motherhood and making a living, she learned how to fly and made a career out of it - eventually buying a Tiger Moth and becoming one of the very first South African women to fly one and take people for trips. Word soon spread about this diminutive go-getter who was determined to live her dreams.

Pat also restored a yacht with only one person to help her and, more recently, bought a cabin in Mozambique where she has created an oasis for holiday-makers, whom she teaches to sail and appreciate the country’s magnificent coastline.

Pat Evans has taken many Leaps of Faith to stay true to herself and her adventurous spirit. Yet her biggest adventure has been the one within. Learning and unfolding as a woman; experiencing a deep and committed love for her children; dealing with the tragic loss of her daughter to cancer and realising that the worst thing one can ever compromise is oneself.

Join us for a wonderful story of adventure, experienced through the eyes of a feisty 68-year-old – a woman who will always buck the trend and insist on flying free.

Find about visiting Pat’s Mozambique hideaway

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