# The Nona — The Cruise of the Nona character guide

> The Nona in The Cruise of the Nona by Hilaire Belloc.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Nona, the solid noble Nona

**First appearance:** 0002-the-cruise-of-the-nona

## Snapshot

The small, solid, noble boat that carries the narrator out of Holyhead at midnight, pulling steadily to wind while the coast of Wales slides past.

## Who they are

She is the narrator's vessel and constant companion, a little ship whose stature suits one man's strength and whose behavior under sail supplies the book's recurring measure of patience and craft. When the breeze dies inside the breakwater, she must be towed out by dinghy; when a light north-easterly rises over the Anglesey flats, she pulls to it steadily enough with all sail set. Her dependence on wind and tide makes her the stage on which the narrator's reflections on skill, luck, and the sea are tested.

## Relationships

### [The Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cruise_of_the_nona_se/characters/the_narrator)

_friendship_

The Narrator shares a deep, contemplative companionship with the Nona, using the voyage as a framework for philosophical and historical reflection.

## In the story

### [To Maurice Baring](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cruise_of_the_nona_se/chapters/to-maurice-baring)

The narrator's boat, personified as a companion with a life parallel to his own.

### [The Cruise of the Nona](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cruise_of_the_nona_se/chapters/the-cruise-of-the-nona)

The boat, which is left at Bideford River at the end of the voyage.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cruise_of_the_nona_se/characters/the_nona
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cruise_of_the_nona_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cruise_of_the_nona_se/characters