BOOK REVIEWS

YACHTSMAN'S TEN LANGUAGE DICTIONARY -- Barbara Webb & Michael Manton with the Cruising Association. Published by Adlard Coles Nautical at œ14.99. 223 pages, A5 format (210mm x 144mm) between soft covers. ISBN 0-7136-4087-1

I shall never forget Ann Fraser's tale (complete with hilarious mime) of her attempt to buy paint-stripper in Madeira. Had the new edition of the Yachtsman's Ten Language Dictionary been available she would have found it on page 158 -- `decapante' (conjuring up images of a bulk-buy of ladies' underwear?).

Seriously though, Barbara Webb's invaluable dictionary first appeared no less than thirty years ago, with the more recent editions covering eight western European languages. In this latest version, updated by Michael Manton with help from members of the Cruising Association, Turkish and Greek have been added to the previous English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. At the same time the vocabularly has been brought up to date to cover marina berthing, electrics and electronics, and terms relating to GRP yachts to name but a few.

Perhaps œ14.99 does seem a little pricey for a physically small book with no pictures or colour, but on the other hand it must represent many thousands of hours of research over the years. And it'll fit readily in the average oilskin pocket, though I can see the cover getting dog-eared quite quickly unless protected.

My only quibble regarding actual use of the book is that ten Introductions, each on its own page, effectively bury the indices well into the text (page 14 for the English version, 32 if you happen to be Greek). However an elastic band works wonders!

AH

ATLANTIC SPAIN AND PORTUGAL -- Oz Robinson and Mike Sadler, Revised by Anne Hammick. Third edition. Published by Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd at œ35.00. 234 pages (A4, hard covers), with a chartlet and colour photograph of nearly every harbour listed. ISBN 0-85288-254-8

Updating a coastline the length of that covered in Atlantic Spain and Portugal could have taken months by boat, allowing for the vagaries of wind and weather. Anne Hammick devised a more original and time-effective way -- by campervan -- and having accompanied her for a large chunk of it, I can vouch for the determination and conscientiousness of her research -- and also for the deluges of rain which fall in Galicia and dripped into my sleeping bag.

Many changes and developments have been integrated into this new edition, including some ports justifying only brief coverage in previous years and particularly the many new marinas in both Portugal and Southern Spain, where the Junta de Andalucia is developing a string of yacht harbours between Isla Cristina on the Portuguese/Spanish border and Barbate near Gibraltar. Many new aerial photographs establish at a glance the layout of breakwaters and landmarks. It is a pity that some of these appear to be slightly out of focus -- perhaps the result of poor weather conditions.

The introduction includes a useful update on current formalities and documentation requirements for EU nationals, such as evidence of VAT status and a skipper's Certificate of Competence. Another useful addition is a Magnetic Variation plan for the area, which also shows Traffic Separation Zones from Cape Finisterre to Gibraltar.

Reading Atlantic Spain and Portugal recalled not only the sometimes difficult entrances on the Portuguese coast, where breaking swells on shifting sandbars are common, but also the pleasure of small fishing harbours like Sesimbra and peaceful Vila Nova de Milfontes; and on the southern Spanish coast, the quiet anchorage and deserted village of Sancti Petri where we were given a warm welcome by the Club Nautico.

The third edition of Atlantic Spain and Portugal will be in my bookshelf when I set off to revisit this coastline next year, this time by boat.

AF

RED SEA PILOT -- Steven Davies and Elaine Morgan. Published by Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd at œ30.00. 295 pages (A4, hard covers), with hundreds of carefully drawn anchorage charts and diagrams but no photographs. ISBN 0-85288-253-X

The Red Sea Pilot has brought together under one cover the diverse information necessary for the planning and execution of a cruise through the Red Sea. No longer seen by most cruisers as a gauntlet to be run in order to reach the Mediterranean or Indian Ocean, the Red Sea is becoming a cruising destination in its own right. Perhaps it is the accuracy of electronic position fixing, or the realisation that there are fewer places in the world where one can swim in crystal clear waters, dive on magnificent reefs and swing at anchor in an uninhabited bay, and with this pilot close at hand the challenging 1200 mile stretch of water unfolds page after page into a palatable reality.

In addition to the background information one would expect to find in a pilot -- routes, charts, tides, equipment, weather and weather forecasting sources -- the authors have thoughtfully included a section devoted to this unique environment; the reefs, marine and bird life, the desert and pollution.

The text and chartlets are arranged for those cruising from south to north, but as the organisation of anchorages is by latitude a north to south passage is easy to plan, reading the book from back to front. Regrettably, some of the plans corresponding to a chapter heading are not found on a facing or following page, but several pages into the chapter. The chartlets and anchorage diagrams lack the clean, crisp graphics we are so familiar with in the Imray pilots, which I suspect reflects the nature and manner in which some of the data has been collected -- it is taken from sketches by yachtsmen and women who have, in most cases, dropped a hook and spent the night. There are far to many small marsas, khors and sharms (inlets) for a single yacht to cover in one season, and the authors have duly acknowledged some of the individuals and other sources used in the compilation of this very thorough pilot.

Consistency of experience is difficult (does `poor holding' mean that the person writing up the anchorage dragged there?) with such wide sources, while the sketch charts are a reminder that the information is from a fellow cruiser and may be `sketchy'. GPS positions are given whenever known, but the data used in the initial survey, possibly a hundred years ago, has not been updated. We found the Admiralty charts to differ by up to 2 miles from our GPS positions in parts of northern Sudan -- even more reason to climb to the spreaders for reliable eyeball navigation.

In this part of the world one must accept that procedures and services will change and that navigational markings may disappear, and that in a first edition there may be errors that only become obvious (one hopes!) on arrival at a reef entrance. Nevertheless, the Red Sea Pilot is a major achievement and invaluable for anyone contemplating a cruise in these waters.

MWS

THE VOYAGES OF JOSHUA SLOCUM -- Edited by Walter Magnus Teller. Published in hardback by Sheridan House / Adlard Coles Nautical at $29.95 / œ16.99. 401 pages including occasional line drawings and sixteen pages of b/w photographs and prints. ISBN (US) 0-911378-55-3

With Slocum's centenary in mind, this is a timely publication edited and with commentaries by Walter Teller, who has made a long and deep study of Captain Slocum's life and exploits.

To many people Slocum was the first man to sail singlehanded around the world. Full stop. That's it. He wrote the book; we read it. But there was far, far more to the man than that. He was a Master Mariner who went to sea in his mid teens and really stayed there for the rest of his life. He worked his way up in trading ships to become master of the fine ship Northern Light, then owner and master of the barque Aquidneck. With that ship lost to him in South America, he built and, with his family, sailed home to Washington DC in a `canoe' shaped along the lines of a Cape Ann Dory and rigged as a Sampan with three junk sails, which, incidentally, he found to be a supremely practical rig. Later he was involved in the movement of an extremely strange warship from North to South America. It was only towards the end of his life at sea that he renovated the Spray and sailed her around the world.

Throughout his seagoing, Slocum wrote about his exploits. This book draws all his writings together in one volume, making a fine collective work and, doubtless, presenting many of us with the opportunity to discover much about him that we did not know. For example, I wonder how many besides me knew nothing of his rescue, when master of the Northern Light, of some Gilbert Islanders he found adrift in an open boat?

It all makes surprisingly good reading. And that comment comes from one who read Sailing Alone Around the World at the tender age of thirteen and so disliked it that, until now, thirty-two years later, he has studiously avoided Captain Slocum's writings. I can only commend this book to you.

CJ

FAEROE, ICELAND AND GREENLAND -- edited by Oz Robinson from information compiled by Christopher Thornhill and Major WW Ker. Published by Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd at œ15.00. 84 pages (A4, soft covers), with 32 b/w plans and chartlets. No photographs. ISBN 0-85288-268-8

This book is the first of the RCC Pilotage Foundation low budget publications covering the less frequented cruising regions of the world. It fully achieves its stated objective of providing a yachtsman's perspective to the Admiralty Sailing Directions, and as such is an excellent supplement for each area covered. There is a wealth of information relevant to the cruising yachtsman, given in a clear and concise manner, but other sources of reference would be essential. For exploration ashore the Lonely Planet guidebook recommended in the cruising notes was exceptionally good.

There are few harbour plans, and no photographs to bring the text to life. Drawings are all pen and ink, without shading, making them difficult to interpret. Take a crayon and colour them in yourself. It is also difficult to differentiate between names of islands and names of towns and villages, as the same typeface is used for both. This makes it necessary to look very closely at the text, and correlate it with the diagrams. Perhaps it is deliberate, to make one examine the text more closely!

We found the information in the book basically accurate for the places we visited, although inevitably improvements and small changes have taken place in many harbours. The main contributors were John Gore-Grimes, Willy Ker and Chris Thornhill, following cruises to the region over a ten year period. Contributions from many other people have also been incorporated. As would be expected from such experienced sailors the general information on the region as a whole, and on each individual area, is exactly what you need to know to complete a successful cruise.

We were glad to have the Faeroe, Iceland and Greenland cruising notes aboard, and would put it on our list as essential reading for anyone planning to cruise this area.

G&AJ

MODERN BOAT MAINTENANCE: The Complete Fiberglass Boat Manual -- Edited by Bob Streiffert. Published in paperback by Sheridan House / Adlard Coles Nautical at $22.50 / œ14.99. 192 pages including 300 line drawings. ISBN (US) 0-924486-71-6, ISBN (UK) 0-7136-4465-6

When this book was first published in Britain in 1989 it carried the title Glassfibre Boat Manual. This was a far better description of the book than its present title, which is somewhat misleading as it is less about maintenance than fitting out from a bare hull.

There is a vast amount of information in the book, though some of it is inevitably rather thinly covered. Early chapters look at boatbuilding methods, working with glassfibre, repairs, installing bulkheads and so on. There is guidance on fitting heavy items to a glassfibre sandwich, installing light fittings, windows, cockpit drains, making gratings, fitting headlinings, plumbing and gas installations.

Rigs and rigging types are discussed, sails, materials, repairs, maintaining sails. Engines too come under detailed scrutiny, followed by electrical installations. Finally there is a section on safety and maintenance -- requirements for lifejackets and liferafts, dinghies and inflatables, laying up for the winter ashore or afloat, then a look at leaks and corrosion.

Lots of basic information, worth looking at if you are restoring or building a boat, but not the `maintenance' manual of the title.

CJ

NORWEGIAN CRUISING GUIDE -- John Armitage & Mark Brackenbury. Second edition. Published by Adlard Coles Nautical at œ19.99. 200 pages, colour board covers, b/w charts and photographs. ISBN 0-7136-4115-0

In the past, winters evenings could be spent scouring the last ten years' Flying Fish for the next summers' cruise. In this way you gradually got the feel of a new area -- hopefully with the benefit of a range of weather and opinions. Now in a small 200 page volume most of that cruise planning information has been conveniently assembled.

The first twenty pages cover general information, passage planning, buoyage and details of the well respected Batsport charts. A useful chart finds the midnight sun!

The middle (major) part of the book, split into nineteen sections, gives thumbnail sketches of most of the usable harbours and anchorages from Spitzbergen to the Swedish border. Coordinates are given, presumably to avoid confusion with similar looking locations rather than as an aid to electronic navigation. There follows a further thirty pages of cruise planning distances, and a glossary one might have expected to follow the first section.

It would have been wonderful to see the spectacular photographs in colour, as I did. In the absence of colour, some shading would have helped clarity of the chartlets.

So, a well presented aid to Cruise Planning but definitely not a Pilot.

PBF

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF SAILING CREW -- Lin Pardey with Larry Pardey. Second edition. Published in hard covers by WW Norton at $35 US, $45 Canadian. Distributed in the UK by Waterline at œ22.95. 388 pages, many cartoons and b/w photos. ISBN 0-393-03726-6

Even more excellent advice is crammed into every page of this update of Lin Pardey's original compendium on the Care and Feeding of Offshore Crew. Practical solutions are provided for all the familiar situations which arise on every voyage whether long or short, fully crewed or two-handed. Everything is covered from the comparative keeping qualities of limes versus lemons to the construction of ice-boxes and water gatherers. There are simple directions on the preservation of water, food and fuel, what kind of stores to take, how to provision in home and foreign ports, conversion tables, topical tips on safety, diet, health and cleanliness, seasickness and how to plan ahead for it, stowing, trash disposal, galley planning and equipment, dress onboard and abroad, wet weather gear and many other essentials.

Lin (or Larry's) diagrams of constructed items such as tilting tables, gimballed stoves, heat diffusers and even sitz bathtubs appear clear and descriptive -- a wealth of experience is apparent in every covering sentence. Her menus and recipes are innovative yet practical, the cartoons (though unflattering to the author) are evocative, and the photographs skillfully demonstrative. The lay-out of the book is original, hinged on day-to-day observations as they occur on a 4000 mile passage from Japan to Victoria, Canada, the information easily accessed with an extensive index; yet all is written in a light, self deprecating and entertaining manner.

The `galley slave' may certainly hold the only creative job aboard. This book is an invaluable companion to anyone, however experienced, contemplating that office on an ocean voyage.

MT

BOATOWNER'S MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL MANUAL -- Nigel Calder. Second edition. Published by Adlard Coles Nautical at œ35.00. 592 pages between hard covers with innumerable figures, tables and troubleshooting charts. ISBN 0-7136-4291-2

Nigel Calder has become a full time professional technical writer specialising in the marine field. For this much enlarged second edition he has involved himself in very comprehensive research. The list of firms whose co-operation he acknowledges reads like a who's who of the marine equipment industry. The book is written for the poor struggling owner desperately trying to keep the show on the road and will earn its space on any ocean cruising bookshelf.

It is six years since the first edition was published and the advances, particularly in the field of electrics and electronics, have been significant. The first 244 pages are devoted to these matters and the depth of Nigel's explanations are quite remarkable. In some cases one may feel that one needs a short cut to the nitty gritty!

The second half of the book deals with matters mechanical, in the same thorough manner, beginning with diesel engines, with emphasis on starting problems, smoke and so on. Transmission and shafts occupy a chapter of their own. Following chapters deal with refrigeration, plumbing, pumps, steering systems, stoves, spars, rigging and deck hardware. At least one can choose the gear that Nigel approves and have a troubleshooting guide immediately to hand when it does not work out quite as expected.

MP

ROGUE STORM (titled RESCUE IN THE PACIFIC in the US) -- Tony Farrington. Published by Waterline Books / International Marine Publishers at œ18.95 / $21.95. 273 hardback pages. ISBN (UK) 1-8531-0735-2, (US) 0-0702-1367-4

This book is made as significant by what is left unstated as by what is written. A well documented, well written history of some of the eighty crews who faced a three day storm between New Zealand and Tonga on board their cruising boats. The nine crews featured in this book each sent out calls for help.

The crew of Mary T cancelled their PAN PAN after getting the boat to lay to an improvised sea-anchor that created a slick and dropped the boat's speed to less than 2 knots. They then solved leak problems, got some rest and eventually jury-rigged their boat to reach Fiji under sail. Silver Shadow took a severe knockdown and was dismasted while running, and was then rolled completely. The captain suffered a shattered shoulder. After sending a MAYDAY, the crew rigged a large sea-anchor, set up a temporary short mast to set a sail aft to heave-to, then downgraded the urgency of their situation from 5 (scale of 1 to 5) to 2. Rescuers could then go to the aid of others in more urgent need of assistance. (Silver Shadow waited a further forty hours hove-to and suffered no further damage).

Five crews suffered knock-downs, roll-overs and dismastings while running or laying a-hull and asked for rescue. Two yachts were sunk by the salvors, the others were still afloat many days later. Quartermaster, a 40 footer, radioed telling of being knocked flat three times while running at about 4 knots. The radio net operator hinted that the skipper might try heaving-to if running wasn't working. The exhausted skipper decided to run on. His decision was his last communication. Quartermaster's liferaft, inflated but empty, was the only salvage found.

As well as the importance of a knowledge of heaving-to and of the merits of sea-anchors or drogues, two other points are clearly shown. In these storm conditions, liferaft canisters were wiped off boats and lost during knock-downs, or tethers broke when the rafts were inflated, before the crew could consider boarding. Secondly, tired crew become scared crew, and scared crew want `off'. Transferring to a big ship may be far more dangerous than staying with the boat until the storm abates.

Although no one was killed during rescue operations, further injuries did occur. Rescuers quoted made it clear that none had practiced or carried out at-sea rescues in conditions like these. They were, in effect, learning on the job.

I recommend this book. But I wish Tony had written a companion volume based on interviews with others who weathered this storm. It is an irony of the sport we call cruising that those who do well year in, year out, rarely get mentioned in print. But I know it would be difficult because sailors who did not call for help would modestly say `I was lucky', or they would have already cruised onward far from reporters, storms forgotten as they enjoyed the sunlit anchorages of Tonga and Fiji.

MLP

A SAILOR'S GUIDE TO WIND, WAVES AND TIDES -- Captain Alex Simpson. Published in hardback by Waterline Books at œ14.95. 145 A5-sized pages, with many line drawings but no photographs. ISBN 1-85310-571-6

`There can be few situations in which one is more continually aware of wind and weather than at sea. The smaller the craft, the more intimate is that awareness.' So starts the introduction to A Sailor's Guide to Wind, Waves and Tides and a clearer exposition of the entire subject it would be hard to find. Okay, so you don't actually need to know why or how the whole powerhouse of world climates turn in order to decide whether to reef or not, or the reason most of the world experiences noticeably different heights at springs and neaps in order to read a tide table, but it seems a natural progression.

Captain Simpson seems to have near perfect qualifications to explain these potentially complicated phenomena. He spent fifteen years in the Merchant Navy become coming ashore to teach (as Head of Hull Nautical College amongst other posts), served a spell as Chief Technical Adviser to the International Maritime Organisation, skippered a 74ft sail training schooner out of Aberdeen, and currently sails his own Sea Dog ketch on the south coast of England. That he has the gift of writing clearly about a complex subject, introducing and explaining technical terms without frightening his amateur readership, is obvious.

There is no need to list the contents -- for once, the title is almost entirely accurate -- except to draw attention to the concluding section on `Ships and Boats in Waves'. Though largely talking about ships rather than yachts, sailing craft do get several paragraphs and much of the theory can be applied to both.

My only quibble is with its April publication. This is what I would consider a `winter' book, to be read when time is less valuable and daylight hours short. But our all-too-brief summer will take care of that. AH

PRACTICAL BOAT CANVAS WORK -- Lisa Carr. Published in hardback by Waterline Books at œ16.95. 136 pages, nearly all with at least one line drawing and/or b/w photograph. ISBN 1-85310-567-8

I was very enthusiastic about Lisa's Practical Sail Care & Repair (see Flying Fish 1994/2) and only wish I could be as unreservedly complimentary about her latest. For some reason the publishers have gone from the neat, softcover, A5 style of the former to a larger, clumsier -- and more expensive -- hardback format, at the same time printing the many diagrams and line drawings rather larger than, I suspect, the artist intended. My other criticism has to do with repetition -- of the twenty-six projects described, at least seven already feature in the previous book, sometimes with entire chunks of text, drawings and photographs reprinted.

Having said that, if you do not already own Practical Sail Care & Repair then Practical Boat Canvas Work has a lot to recommend it. Projects range from `Stowaway Lazy Jacks' (not really canvas work, but let's not quibble) through `A Multidirectional Wind-scoop' to `Replacing Windows in a Spray-hood'. Okay, so in my time I've done all three without a book to show me how, but really only the first was a success at the first attempt. Also, making it up as you go along so often leads to wastage of materials -- or coming to an abrupt halt for want of a particular item. As in all the best cookbooks, Lisa kicks off each section with a list of `What you will need'.

My praise, two years ago, of Lisa's writing style `very clear, with a logical progression of thought/subject' most definitely stands, and I do wonder if the inevitable dislocation of working with a British publisher whilst yourself living on one of the smaller islands of Greece -- one of Lisa's recent letters spoke of `three days of gales, thunderstorms, water flooding over the front, and no ferries' -- may not be somewhat to blame for the less-than-perfect production.

All-in-all a useful book if you want to carry out any of the projects, but not one that will find its way onto every yacht's bookshelf per se.

AH

Finally, Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd tell me that the following two books are now available, though review copies have yet to be received:

The South Atlantic Coast of South America -- Pete and Annie Hill. Published by the RCC Pilotage Foundation in collaboration with Imrays at œ17.50.

The Irish Cruising Club Sailing Directions to the East and North Coasts of Ireland, price œ34.00.

I hope to be looking for reviewers -- any volunteers?