BOOK REVIEWS

SURVEYING SMALL CRAFT -- Ian Nicolson. Third edition. Published in hardback by Adlard Coles Nautical at œ19.99. 224 pages, with 16 b/w photographs and 60 line drawings. ISBN 0-7136-3949-0

This completely revised and updated edition of Ian Nicolson's classic work, first published twenty years ago, contains valuable advice for professional and amateur surveyors, boat owners and those contemplating the purchase of a new or secondhand boat.

Fibreglass, wood and metal construction are covered extensively, while separate sections deal with the particular considerations of such subjects as keels and bilges; rudders and steering gear; masts, sails and rigging; and arbitration and regulations. The early chapters look at the general considerations of surveying, damage inspections and the tools and equipment required by a surveyor.

This is not just a book packed full of practical hints on yacht surveying, but a record of a lifetime of experience surveying, designing, building and, above all, sailing and using boats... Early in the book Ian writes: `Surveyors need to know about fibreglass and steel, spar-making and keel-casting, about resins and upholstery, about erosion and corrosion. It's a long list. Above all, though, they need experience afloat. It's on the water that boats get into trouble and this is where a surveyor learns much of his job.'

Ian served an apprenticeship under the Poole yacht designer Fred Parker in the 1940s. He later worked for JI Thornycroft before sailing half way round the world to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he worked for a year with a Canadian naval architect. He then moved east across North America and built a 30 footer which he sailed, singlehanded, across the Atlantic - before the days of self-steering gear. After three years on the editorial staff of Yachts & Yachting he became a partner in the old-established Scottish firm of A Mylne and Company and is now the senior partner.

If a disproportionate amount of this review has concentrated on the author, not the book, this is because his background experience at the practical end of everything to do with yachts make him uniquely qualified to write such a book. It is not only essential reading for anyone owning, buying or surveying a boat, but also compulsive reading for those with no interest in the specialist subject. It is a summary of a lifetime of experience in boats and offers something to everyone.

Oh - needless to say, Ian is a founder member of the OCC, having qualified in 1952, and has long been our Port Officer Clyde. What more can be said?

PC

SAIL INTO THE SUNSET: A HANDBOOK FOR ANCIENT MARINERS -- Bill and Laurel Cooper. Published by Adlard Coles Nautical at œ12.99. 160 paperback pages, with 20 b/w photographs and 30 line drawings by Laurel. ISBN 0-7136-3951-2

The Coopers' previous book Sell Up and Sail has always been a favourite of mine and I was delighted to see that they have now produced this version for more ancient mariners. By a strange coincidence I first set eyes on the book on the very day that we sold our beloved Rival 41 and sensibly opted for a different sailing lifestyle. Instead of having a large boat in the UK with all the maintenance that that entails, we now hope to be going further afield. Sell Up and Sail produced so many good ideas when we were doing just that for a year that I opened Sail into the Sunset with pleasant anticipation. Chapter 2 is called `Ancient Mariners', and knowing that the Coopers are East Anglians like myself I thought I might recognize some of them, but when they even included my ancient father who sailed a Norfolk Punt well into his seventies I was really hooked!

Bill and Laurel are in their middle sixties and have liven on their boats for the last eighteen years. This does not mean that they expect us all to stay at sea. They put the options from a day boat on the Broads to a full-time cruiser, although I did feel that there was too much emphasis on living aboard and not enough on the compromise of motor-sailing. Thus can we motor in the cold and the rain and sail in the sun! They certainly do not decry the joys of a motor-cruiser and holidaying on the canals of Britain and further afield on the continent. They also do not pretend that there are no problems. Living aboard in the winter can be extremely miserable. We must find climates conducive to our years. There are many ways in which we can have a boat to grow old in, but we must work at it. And we must be comfortable -- there are some hints on this, and we can all think of more geriatric aids. They also forget, and have short memories like the rest of us, and have two whole chapters on how to cope with this.

This book is a good read, and you don't have to be old. The whimsical sense of humour keeps you going even in the chapters that could otherwise be just information and Laurel's drawings are a delight. Her parents for their last boat bought what seemed to be a suitable small boat that could be trailed, but they did not sail in it first; it was a `cow to sail' and she illustrates this. I could not begin to draw a cow sailing... I would much rather have seen one of her drawings on the front cover, and it might have appealed much more to the middle-aged dreamer to whom the book is largely addressed.

This is an optimistic book. The only problem is that they give you too many options. Which should we try first?

JKV

THE ATLANTIC ISLANDS -- Anne Hammick. Second edition. Published by the RCC Pilotage Foundation and Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd at œ34.00. 260 pages (A4 format between hard covers), with some 120 harbour and island plans and 121 colour photographs. ISBN 0-85288-267-X

Why buy it? For the colour photographs? For the new port and marina plans? For the updated navigational information?

For all these reasons and more. This book is a must for those who will or might or think they might or hope they might visit the islands. Those who do not wish to be seduced by the new photographs into visiting, revisiting or dreaming of visiting these islands should endeavour to avoid reading it. For all others on or near the North Atlantic, this is wholly necessary expenditure.

So far as facilities and navigational marks are concerned, five long years have passed since the First Edition of this guide to the Azores, Madeira, Canary and Cape Verde islands was published. This period has been marked by many changes affecting the cruising yachtsman in the area, which have necessitated this new edition. This time the burden of updating the whole book has been entirely shouldered by Anne Hammick, who has included much additional material. Of particular interest is information on the new marinas in the Canaries and the expanded treatment given to the Cape Verde islands which now occupies forty pages to the previous edition's twenty-three. However, whilst the information is new the old clear style has been adhered to, giving that immediate access to information so necessary when about to arrive at the end of an ocean voyage.

In her role as compiler and updater, Anne makes no secret of her gratitude for the continuing supply of information provided by the host of cruising folk returning from successful cruises through the `Western Ocean' to the `Indies and beyond'. One is reminded of the illustrious Richard Hakluyt (producer of the early English sailing accounts in the latter part of the 16th century) who, because of his acquaintance with `the chiefest captains at sea, the greatest merchants, and the best mariners of our (English) nation', was selected to go to Paris in 1583 with the English Ambassador and occupy himself chiefly in collecting information of the Spanish and French movements, and `making diligent inquiries of such things as might yield unto our western discovery of America.' It was Hakluyt who, when at Christ Church, Oxford, lectured in that university on geography and `shewed the old imperfectly composed, and the new lately reformed mappes, globes, spheres, and other instruments of this art'.

So far as this reviewer is concerned, this new edition keeps up the previous high standard even if it appears to assume that all UK yachts are fitted for British Calor Gas as opposed to Continental Camping Gaz. The Atlantic Islands can be recommended with its `new lately reformed mappes and other additions'.

PBC

I CAN SAIL CIRCLES -- David Beard. Published by the author at Aus $24.50 (about œ11.50) and available from him at 10 Dean Road, Alexander Hills, Queensland 4161, Australia. 190 paperback pages, with 16 colour and about a dozen b/w photographs. ISBN 0-646-20627-3

David Beard tells the story of two epic voyages in two widely differing boats. The first was a very brave effort by two young men, himself and a companion, to sail from England to Australia in 1955. The second was an equally brave venture thirty-five years later in a much more substantial vessel, when he became the first man to circumnavigate Australia, non-stop and singlehanded -- a voyage for which he was awarded the OCC Rose Medal.

The first voyage is a compelling saga if only for the traumas and disasters that eventually force the abandonment of the enterprise. The second is an intriguing story of one man's dogged determination to achieve a difficult goal, with the added spur that the Save the Children Fund was to gain from the success of the trip.

It has to be said that David's skills as a seaman are rather greater than his talents as a writer and publisher. The accounts of his first voyage are, it would appear, largely compiled from material written at the time. They are less easy to read than his recent writing, which is naturally more mature and grammatically more correct. It also may be that `down under' there is a more casual attitude to spelling. For instance, the reproduced letter from the Office of the Lord Major of Brisbane spells the name of the Lord Mayor in two different ways on the same page; so perhaps David's own inconsistencies should be overlooked.

MP

PRACTICAL SAIL CARE & REPAIR -- Lisa Carr. Published in paperback by Waterline Books at œ11.95. 128 pages with 25 b/w photographs and dozens of (very clear) line drawings by the author. ISBN 1-85310-463-9

Too many books have titles which bely their contents. This one does not. There can be few aspects of sail care and repair not covered, all in a truly practical, straightforward manner which will be totally accessible to the non-specialist while (I would guess) teaching even the most experienced a thing or two.

Lisa Carr-Grant is our Port Officer Representative for Kastellorizo in Greece, where she is a partner in Kenavo Yacht Services which offers among other things, sail repairs and alterations plus general canvas work. She is also a yachtswoman of considerable experience who well knows the use and abuse to which cruising sails are exposed. It is a bonus that she also writes well -- very clearly, with a logical progression of thought/subject and even the occasional flash of humour (mashed rhubarb to remove rust stains?).

A very large part of the book is (rightly) devoted to routine care and preventative maintenance, including folding, cleaning and stain removal, attaching chafe patches, and beefing up the sacrificial/protective strip on the leech of a roller headsail. Also covered are the finer points of designing and making a mainsail cover, sail bags etc -- here is someone who knows all about the dangers posed by ultraviolet.

Following a few pages on `The Basic Sail Repair Kit' we get into `Sail Repairs at Sea'. As Lisa says in her introduction: `Most books ... have been written by sailmakers in the comfort and space of a sail loft. It is another thing entirely to be at sea in a Force 8 gale with the last headsail blown out, and at least a couple of days to go before landfall...'. Particular emphasis is given to those spots which most often cause trouble -- clews, reef points, batten pockets etc -- with basic `get-you-home' repairs followed by instructions on how to transform rough mends into something more permanent on reaching harbour, or at least when the initial panic is over. The book rounds off with a section of `Useful sew-it-yourself ideas' including awnings, sea anchors, even home-made fenders!

It goes somewhat against the grain to write a review which is all praise and no criticism, but to my mind this book deserves it. Had I not been sent a review copy I would almost certainly have bought it, and with Wrestler's limited bookshelf space and my decidedly limited budget that is praise indeed!

AH

MARINE LAW FOR BOAT OWNERS -- Edmund Whelan. Published in paperback by Adlard Coles Nautical at œ12.99. 206 pages, with 25 b/w photographs and 10 line drawings. ISBN 0-7136-3911-3

This book bears a strong resemblance to the RYA publication The Yachtsman's Lawyer, of which a revised version was produced in 1993. The similarity is perhaps not surprising as both books share the same author, who is the RYA's legal and government affairs manager. The advantage which Marine Law for Boat Owners has over the RYA publication is that as well as being somewhat fuller it is written in a more readable style without the textbook impression of the RYA publication.

Marine Law for Boat Owners is a clear and user friendly exposition of the relevant law and can be recommended to all boat owners and aspiring owners. Among the topics discussed are ownership and registration; buying and selling a secondhand yacht; buying a new yacht; construction and equipment regulations; the rules of the road and collisions; insurance; salvage; marina and mooring contracts and pollution.

It is a pity that in the otherwise excellent precedent in the appendix for an agreement for a syndicate ownership of a yacht, the clarity of style lapses temporarily into unnecessary legal verbosity with the word `whereas' repeated five times in the first half page (and in capital letters at that) and we are told `now it is hereby mutually agreed between the parties as follows' when simply `it is agreed' would have sufficed. It is hoped that this will be put right in the second edition which this book should merit.

MEF

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT YACHT -- Joachim F Muhs. Published in paperback by Adlard Coles Nautical at œ8.99. 128 pages, with 19 b/w photographs and 42 line drawings. ISBN 0-7136-3950-4

In many ways this is an unfortunate book. Its intent, to guide the prospective purchaser towards a carefully considered, understood and well judged purchase is admirable, but how much the less experienced sailor will benefit from it is open to question.

The main problem stems from the translation of the original German into a form of English that uses unfamiliar language for quite technical concepts. For example. `lateral buoyancy' in place of lateral resistance. There is trouble too with diagrams and their captions not matching in detail and with some of the formulae not being typeset according to strict mathematical convention.

There is a lot of information in the book to help the reader compare possible boats and assess their likely performances and understand their probably behaviour at sea before ever boarding and sailing any of them, but great effort is demanded of the reader to extract that guidance and help. This reviewer really could not escape the feeling that the book will not be easy for the novice to read and understand and will not greatly benefit the experienced (OCC members) who will already have a feel for much of it. Having said that, the formality of putting everything down mathematically does concentrate ones mind and make you think.

CJ

SIMPLE GPS NAVIGATION - Mik Chinery. Published in paperback by Fernhurst Books at œ9.95. 96 pages with many b/w photographs and chartlets. ISBN 1-898660-00-X

USING GPS - Conrad Dixon. Published in paperback by Adlard Coles Nautical at œ8.99. 90 pages with several b/w photographs, chartlets and diagrams. ISBN 0-7136-3952-0

Fernhurst have produced many useful and well presented handbooks on nautical subjects, and their latest on the subject of GPS is a worthy addition to this series. There is no doubt that the subject is here to stay and even some of the diehards have a GPS as a back-up to more conventional astro-navigation. Chinery makes the point that the user handbooks, sold with the equipment, are invariably excessively complicated -- and this is certainly my experience. His presentation is simple, concise, clear and does not require one to be `computer literate'. He takes the reader through the basic theory (if you really want to know), on to the various types of set, both fixed and portable, and the latest chart plotters and their interface with GPS. This introduction is followed by advice on installation and programming.

We can, if we wish, stop at that stage and just see our regularly updated position on the screen; otherwise we progress to waypoint navigation. As a bonus, he includes using GPS both ashore and in the air. His explanation of `selective availability' and Differential GPS is also quite readable and will help one to understand possible errors in the system.

Conrad Dixon has also produced a useful handbook but not, in my view, quite so `reader friendly'. There is no doubt that the subject is well covered, following similar lines, from a description of the system, to the installation and setting up and on to basic position finding. I do not, though, find his book so clear and concise -- the diagrams are clear but the text is not so easy to follow and I found the instructions for entering data somewhat complicated. He does score, though, if you have the particular equipment he describes, such as the Magellan or Apelco, and I am sure his instructions will be preferable to the Manufacturers' Handbooks.

Both volumes deal well with GPS errors and, in particular, the different Horizontal Datums in use around the world. For example, some of the older Caribbean charts are based on 19th century surveys and a position based on the WGS84 standard can produce errors of more than half a mile! Let us also not forget that the US Government, who have full control of the system, have been known to switch it off for various reasons. This happened, with consternation to many, at the start of the 1992 ARC.

The subject of GPS navigation is covered well in both books --- but my money is on the Fernhurst volume.

MPG

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