Lakewood Ranch author tells his sailing adventures in 'Ocean Speed'

It would seem the most important sailing ever done by Lakewood Ranch's Bob Krieg occurred off the coast of South Africa during a rescue operation of a fellow sailor who had lost control of her boat.

Indeed, Krieg's 2008 rescue mission — towing fellow American Carolyn Au 400 miles across the Indian Ocean — was fraught with danger. Au, who had met Krieg on the island nation of Mauritius and agreed to sail their boats together to Richards Bay in South Africa, lost control of her boat when "something big" sheered her rudder.

Without navigational control, she was in big trouble. Krieg, who was single-sailing a 48-foot ketch, was faster and he had went on ahead and was approximately 100 miles in front of Au when her problems surfaced. She was radioing for help, but no one responded.

Krieg knew he would be risking his own life to go back for her, but he felt a "maritime duty," and turned his boat around. The entire episode is covered in Krieg's new book "Ocean Speed," which is published by Seaworthy Publications. You can find the book online at Amazon.com.

But, no, that wasn't his most important sailing.

That came much later, in 2020, when he took his wife Sarah Burt sailing on Sarasota Bay on his new 19-foot Flying Scott, a day sailer that Bob Krieg thought would enable them to enjoy some recreational sailing during their years together.

Bob, who had gone on his 3 1/2-year sail of a lifetime from 2006 to 2009 after his first wife had died of cancer, had sold his sailboat, so when he met Sarah in 2013, there was no threat that she would have to go on the water.

"No, absolutely not, I am not a water baby," Sarah Burt said. "I am a forest girl. I like the mountains. When I met him, he already had sold his boat."

They eventually married in 2016 and life was good on the land.

But Bob Krieg missed the water, and he eventually bought the Flying Scott that builder Tyler Andrews delivered himself.

Andrews wanted Bob Krieg to take it out on Sarasota Bay to test it out, so he decided to take Sarah along.

Bob Krieg said the winds were blowing 20 knots.

Photo by Jay Heater

"I was terrified," Sarah Burt said. "I had gone out on my parents' big motor boat, but here I was on this teeny weeny thing. It got really windy, and it would tip. I was looking directly into the water."

"She grabbed Tyler's arm," Bob Krieg said with a laugh. "He still has the bruise."

While she still will go out on the boat once in a while, Sarah Burt said, "I would rather play with my orchids. It's his life, and he is very focused on it."

That sailing trip pretty much defined where they stand when it comes to sailing, hence, its importance.

Bob's and Sarah's story is fun for many reasons. Like many people living in Lakewood Ranch, they each have suffered loss that was tough to get over, but they found a new love and a new future.

The story also is more proof that you don't have to share passions to have passion for each other. Sarah Burt knows that even at 79 years old, her husband still has a love of the sea, and isn't about to let his age keep him on the couch. Bob Krieg, who spent 22 years in service engineering and technical assistance for General Motors, knows he can share his love of sailing with his wife through stories, and his book, and not such much by doing.

Photo by Jay Heater

I love the fact that Bob Krieg understands his limitations because of his age, but he isn't about to stop challenging himself. He is reworking his Flying Scot to be a racing boat and he is about to begin challenging much younger sailors in the region.

"This is different from when I was sailing a 48-foot ketch," he said. "In a large boat, a small mistake doesn't result in a large difference in course or speed. In a small boat, it's a challenge. And at 79, I have had to learn another dance.

"I have to concentrate more now. Now I have to think about it, I have to plan it. I know the thinking process slows down a little bit at my age. But am I going to sit around and watch Netflix, or am I going to challenge myself?"

Writing Ocean Speed was a challenge. It was a four-year process of learning the business of publishing, and editing his notes down from their monster length. The book takes various forms. Part of it showcases Krieg's storytelling and his eye for detail. But a big part of the book also is a guide to safe and effective sailing. He documents his preparations and gives tips for long voyages.

"Writing a book isn't an adventure," he said. "It's work."

Bob Krieg was 61 when he pulled out of St, Petersburg in February of 2006. His 3 1/2-year tour took him through the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, to the Galápagos Islands, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Tonga, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Australia, Africa and many, many more places. He completed his trip in June 2009.

Sarah Burt loves the stories.

Courtesy image

"I learned the most fascinating thing," she said. "You can pick up other people, all around the world. (Bob) picked up two guys who became his crew."

He also picked up a few women passengers with the hope of finding a lifelong mate. That never worked.

"I sailed 20,000 nautical miles, and I couldn't find a mate," he said.

Bob Krieg said he also was surprised how many people were waiting at ports to hitchhike to another place in the world.

"I didn't know there were people like that wandering the world," he said. "There were women walking the docks, looking for someone who would take them from here to there."

Sarah Burt noted that a couple women couldn't stand not seeing land for so long.

"It's just blue on blue on blue," Bob Krieg said. "And you are confined in that space for five weeks crossing the Pacific."

Bob Krieg did say technology is so advanced that he had many of the home amenities, such as a flat-screen TV, a laptop computer and more. And, you could always read a book.

"You know, there are used book stores all over the world," he said.