Follow Here To Purchase Beyond the Horizon

Author: Werner H Kraus, Author

Publisher: Xlibris

ISBN: 978-1-4568-2274-3


Werner Kraus, author of Beyond The Horizon, retired at the age of 48 so he could follow his lifelong passion, circumnavigation aboard his sailboat Colombine. (Back cover, 2014) During this venture Kraus met and married his wife, Folau.

In the Introduction (2014, p.13) Werner states “Even a boat that is well-equipped and in good shape, when you leave, can and probably will develop problems.” “If you need lots of repairs, and you will need some, you may face many unexpected expenses.” (p.16) “If you are traveling on a finite budget, you will be surprised at how quickly the money disappears.” (p.17) As far as married couples considering this undertaking Kraus suggests “…be very aware that twenty-four togetherness for extended periods can be very injurious to a relationship.” (p.18)

Each chapter spearheads another topic of this adventure. For instance, Chapter 1 Getting Ready, states that it took Kraus three years to get his vessel ready for this sail. (paraphrase, 2014, p.21) He outlines what items he purchased and what he believed would be required on such a lengthy voyage.

There are pictures of places that Kraus and Colombine stopped and visited. There are stories about the people he met and interacted with. There are tales about how little sleep he got during some trips and how treacherous certain passages were. “Navigating through Alaska was a bit of a challenge.” (2014, p.35) “In Alaska, anchorages are generally deep, with a thirty-foot tidal range…”. (p.49) There is information provided about marinas and docking spaces along the way. There is notation regarding the weather, dates, times, and sea life that Kraus experienced during this circumnavigation and how he handled various situations. There are statements about the good and bad points of each place he landed which may come in handy should you decide to follow his route in your own circumnavigation.

Kraus calls his wife, “my Tongan princess”. (2014, p.92) They spend Christmas in Aukland, Australia and Kraus said they were “…anxious to see the city lights…” after being at sea for so long. (p.100) About Australia and foodstuffs he said “Meat and dairy products were fairly cheap…alcohol was more expensive than in the US.” (p.108) Kraus recounts some of the country customs searches they experienced as they forged country to country on this magnificent voyage and some of the harrowing weather too.

All in all, Kraus and Folau sailed 46,836 nautical miles and seven and a half years of their lives doing this circumnavigation. (2014, p.285) That is a lot of time and effort. Bravo!

The pictures and stories were very interesting, but had the pictures been in color I would have been more interested and enjoyed them more. I used to think that I would like to try to circumnavigate in a sailboat too, but am now too old (53 years) to fathom what it takes to get this project underway and keep going.