This week, I’ve been re-reading Beth Leonard’s Blue Horizons. It’s a great book and I highly recommend it.
You’re probably far more familiar with Beth’s Voyager’s Handbook, a comprehensive manual of everything you need to know to plan for and set off on a long-distance voyage aboard your own boat. Blue Horizons is a totally different type of book, although it too covers the realities of cruising.
Blue Horizons is Beth’s tale of their second major voyage — 6 years and 50,000 miles through the high latitudes. Actually, the book is a collection of the “Blue Horizons” columns she wrote for Blue Water Sailing magazine. But far from being a series of “this is what we did today” pieces, much of it deals with the trials and joys of cruising, the wonderful times and the times when she’d rather be almost anywhere else.
Dave’s and my cruising is nowhere near as adventurous as Beth and Evans, yet I find myself smiling and nodding so many times as I remember feeling the exact same way at times. If you’re thinking of cruising and wondering what it’s really like, well, the details of your travels will be different. You’re not likely to face the same conditions or challenges they do. But the thoughts and emotions are likely to be the same. To use Beth’s description, the highs are higher and the lows lower than living ashore. And if you, like me, read the book after cruising a while, I’m sure you’ll find yourself nodding time and again as you read a passage and say “yep, I understand.”
Perhaps the best description was given by one of the reviewers on Amazon: Blue Horizons tells of the inner journey that occurs over the course of the actual journey. No one is unchanged by cruising.
Full disclosure: Beth gave me a copy of her book back in 2007 when I organized a talk she did for Club Cruceros in La Paz, Mexico. We’ve become friends but I have no financial interest in her book. In re-reading the book this week, it simply struck me again how perfectly it describes the emotions and attitudes of cruising, and I wanted to tell TBG’s readers about it.
- Print and Kindle edition — Blue Horizons on Amazon
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Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
Candy Ann Williams on Facebook says
Thanks for sharing-I will put it on my list.
Maryalice Mackey says
Hello…I just wanted to know if you had any ideas on what to do with bacon grease?
Thank you.
Maryalice
Carolyn Shearlock says
Hi Maryalice!
I let it cool a bit right in the pan, then scrape/pour it into a jar or even a plastic bag just as for the rest of my garbage. If you’re using a plastic bag or jar, be sure it’s cool enough not to melt the plastic. If you want, you can read more about how I handle garbage.
-Carolyn
Kyra says
Oh this is one of my favourite books! I agree with you – it’s beautifully written and “real” – this book is in our permanent collection aboard Nyon. I love the story about her grandmother and dolphins…
VL Wood on Facebook says
I’ve ordered the (Kindle) book and I can’t wait to start reading. Thanks for the suggestion.
Lupari Sue says
Another one to add to my cruising list…
Kyra Crouzat says
Love that one, in my permanent collection!
Sailing with Totem says
me to Kyra! and I know that “bookshelf inches” are hard won on a boat… this book is no contest.
LaDonna Thomas says
Agree, I really enjoy her books
Sailing with Totem says
I adore this book. <3 For those who only know her through her practical writing (namely, The Voyager's Handbook), Beth excels at capturing the cruising spirit in these reflections.