Evans Starzinger

Evans Starzinger and Beth Leonard are among the leading blue water cruising sailors today. During the 1990s they completed a circumnavigation aboard a Shannon 37' ketch, using the typical tropical route but including Cape Hope. During the 2000s they have taken a custom built Van De Stadt designed 47' aluminum fractional sloop on a second circumnavigation, above the Arctic Circle and around all five great capes - Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin, South West Cape, Tasmania, and South West Cape, New Zealand. This included a 9,000-mile, 59-day, non-stop leg sailing east in the Southern Ocean from Puerto Williams to Fremantle. In 2007, they completed a second 65,000-mile circumnavigation, east about, under all the great capes and above the Arctic Circle. In 2008, they cruised around Patagonia, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and then up the Atlantic in 2009 to St Helena, the Caribbean and back to Chesapeake Bay to return to the same slip from which they started the voyage on Hawk. Since the completion of these two circumnavigations they have been back and forth to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia several times.

Leonard and Starzinger have won a number of noteworthy awards for their cruising, including:


 * The 2003 Vasey Vase by the Ocean Cruising club for a 9,000 miles/59-day non-stop passage in the Southern Ocean and the 2009 Vasey Vase for their 2008 cruise to South Georgia
 * The Far Horizons Medal by the Cruising Club of America for their voyages
 * The Seven Seas Award, which signifies the highest international recognition to a cruising sailor whose experiences on the sea demonstrate a deep commitment to good seamanship and an understanding of their ship and environment. In the 57 years of SSCA's existence, this honor has been awarded only 16 times.
 * Leonard's book, Blue Horizons, won the Outdoor Literature category of the 2007 National Outdoor Book Awards in the US. It is the first time a sailing book has won the Literature prize.

Before their first voyage, they both worked for McKinsey & Company, a corporate strategy consulting firm. Between the two voyages, Starzinger was a vice president at General Electric, running an IT business unit and Leonard wrote three books. Starzinger has been the CEO of two start-ups (North Thin Ply Technology and Augmented Reality Labs) and the offshore safety regulations advisor on two US sailing accident investigation panels. Leonard is the editor of Seaworthy magazine and a director of technical services at BoatUS.