Blue Horizons: Dispatches from Distant Seas

This book reads like a novel about the cruising experience and why people want to sail to far away places. It's not a How-To book; Beth's other book "The Voyagers Handbook" is an excellent How-To reference for offshore sailing. In Blue Horizon Beth shares her reasons for sailing to far away places and her inner feelings and awareness during her travels. She describes the beauty, the satisfactions, the thrills and the fears she experiences. This book can be enjoyed by the non sailor as well as the sailor. An added treat is to put the Lat & Long for each destination into Google Earth and view photos that travelers have inserted. The photos provide a view of the scenes that Beth and Evan enjoyed.

Blue Horizons is a collection of articles originally appearing in Blue Water Sailing magazine. Presented as a series of expanded log entries or perhaps long letters home, Leonard chronicles a six year sailing adventure through the high latitudes of the northern and southern hemispheres. Blue Horizons is more than a travelogue or the story of a sailing adventure, it is one woman's journey of self-exploration as she and her partner Evans sail around the world. Leonard explores her relationship with her partner, her friends and family, herself and her world. Along the way we are treated to vivid descriptions of the majesty of the high latitudes and the generosity of those who live in the far corners of the world. Leonard's accounts are frank and honest. No, it is not all paradise; one can get seasick, one does get angry with one's partner. Perhaps the most poignant passages are those addressing her relationship with the sea, and the personal transformations that occur on long ocean passages. Sailing brings one closer to the natural world, a world Leonard aptly describes. Blue Horizons is a compelling read. If you're considering an ocean voyage, Blue Horizons is a must read. For the rest of us, it is enjoyable read of one woman's exploration of seldom traveled lands and herself. Dave Lochner NauticalReads

Having sailed many of the waters that ms Leonard describe, all I can say is;, I wish I could express myself half as well. She is so much in tune with herself, her partner, Hawk and her surroundings. A very beautifull book.

The saxophone's "sweet golden voice, resonating through the cave... becoming liquid as the water beneath the boat", remains with me as we pass by the cliffs of Nolsoy, in the Faroe Islands, located between Scotland's Outer Hebrides and Iceland. Later on we witness an uncommon sight - "a full-grown male orca more than thirty feet in length swims with his pod of females and youngsters." The image of the orca's "sheer black fin as tall as a man" cutting through the water is vivid and I am breathless when I put the book down. I am on deck with Beth and her partner Evans when they are tossed about like a toy in savage water and gale-force winds off Tierra del Fuego. Her description of cruising the daring passage along Chile's west coast - where the "Katabatic winds blast downward off the snow-capped rocky mountains in williwaws, capable of knocking down a fifty-foot yacht", is riveting. No, I'm not a sailor, but I enjoy the discovery of new wonders each day, and the adventure of facing the unknown and finding you can meet the challenges set before you offers one great satisfaction. This book is a compelling read. As a writer myself, I appreciate the author's lyrical writing style, as well as her gift for capturing experiences and holding readers hostage until the last page is finished. Each time I ended a chapter, I couldn't wait to see where we would travel next. I found myself dragging out the heavy atlas to get my bearings at the beginning of each chapter - the author has thoughtfully written the coordinates of every place they sail. The only criticism I find worthy of mention is that the book contains no glossary. Few readers may use one, but it would have greatly enhanced my experiences of reading about off shore cruising. Ms. Leonard is willing to open and share her life while offering thoughtful considerations for living our own lives with more enthusiasm, more determination, more joie de vivre. I was drawn into the questions she posed for herself- what am I willing to give up for living a life filled with high adventure and accompanying risks? One can't help but admire the courage it takes to endure the hardships Beth Leonard and Evans Starzinger have experienced. The author offers a book filled with vivid details recounting captivating adventures. I loved it!

This book details both the best of times and the worst of times of long voyages. What I like about this book is that the author describes her inner journey as well as the outer journey. Recommended for both armchair sailors, and those seriously contemplating going cruising.