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Book Reviews:
Maritime Britain - Paul Heiney
The Last Voyage of the Lucette - Douglas Robinson
The Handbook of Sailing techniques - TwainBraden
Keepers of the Sea - Captain Richard Woodman MNI
MARITIME BRITAIN – Paul Heiney. Published between soft covers by Adlard Coles Ltd at £12.99. 296 pages (slightly smaller than A5), nearly all containing colour photographs and/or historic b/ws. ISBN 0-7136-7091-6
Flying Fish does not normally carry reviews of books (other than pilot books) with a clearly limited appeal in terms of area. Maritime Britain is an exception, however, not merely because the author is an OCC member, but also because it will appeal to anyone who has ever visited Britain, hopes to visit Britain, or merely enjoys picking up miscellaneous maritime facts and admiring handsome maritime photographs. Most members, in fact.
Maritime Britain is published to coincide with SeaBritain 2005 <www.seabritain2005.com>, a string of events organised to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, but has an appeal which will last for many years.
Starting in northwest Scotland and sweeping clockwise around the British coast, Paul devotes anything from one paragraph to five or six pages to virtually every coastal museum – some maritime, some more general – and other point (or person) of interest one could think of. For instance, who built the Nab Tower, and why? (see page 165); how did James Cook, the son of a humble labourer, become one of the greatest figures of the 18th century? (see pages 50–55); will Chatham Historic Dockyard be open in early February? (see page 141). Groups of shipping forecast areas provide convenient section headings, each accompanied by a very clear map and rounded off with a ‘gazetteer’ of names, addresses, contact details and opening times.
If I have a single criticism of Maritime Britain it is that, at 520 grams (18 oz), it’s a bit heavy for a pocket, but this is largely due to the high grade paper, without which the photographs would lose much of their quality. Otherwise the coverage is comprehensive and, so far as I could tell, very accurate, the photographs well chosen, and the occasion touch of gentle humour adds spice to the otherwise factual text. There is only one further problem – will it live aboard, in a shoreside bookshelf, or in the car?
PS: By the time Flying Fish appears, Paul should be somewhere in mid Atlantic taking part in the Singlehanded Transatlantic Race – the ‘Corinthian’ rather than the ‘'Grand Prix' event, that is – aboard his and Libby’s Biscay 36 Ayesha of St Mawes. Some people do get around!
AOMH
THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE LUCETTE – Douglas Robinson. Published between soft covers by Seafarer Books <www.seafarerbooks.com> at £13.95 (UK) and US $23.95. 372 pages, including 16 of colour and b/w photographs, plus a number of line illustrations and an endpaper map. ISBN (UK) 0-95427-508-X, (US) 1-57409-206-5.
Older OCC members will need no reminder that Lucette was the yacht which Dougal Robinson and his family had to abandon off the Galapagos in 1972 after an attack by a pod of killer whales. The subsequent 38 days they spent in, first, their life raft and then, when it disintegrated, their dinghy, is well chronicled in Survive the Savage Sea, the book about their experiences which Dougal wrote and which has been published in many languages around the world. It is required reading for anyone venturing offshore in a yacht.
The Last Voyage of the Lucette, written by Dougal’s eldest son, Douglas, incorporates most of the text of Survive the Savage Sea but also includes a complete record of their voyage after departing Falmouth in January 1971. There is insight into the emotional highs and lows experienced by the family, together with some new information including details of the shipwrecks that both Dougal and Douglas experienced at different times during their careers in the Merchant Navy. With both being shipwrecked twice, Douglas has pointed out to his own sons that this is a family tradition best avoided in the future!
The Foreword is written by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and constitutes an excellent review of the contents. It is reproduced here with Robin’s permission:
‘I have always thought that the ideal family partnership skills for survival in a boat or raft had to be a Master Mariner and a State Registered Nurse. Dougal and Lyn Robertson were therefore ideally qualified for their ordeal of 38 days in a liferaft, with their three children and another youngster, when their yacht was struck by killer whales and sank. But their survival had as much to do with the whole family's determination and improvisation.
‘Many years ago I remember being enthralled by Dougal Robertson's book, Survive the Savage Sea. For all any seaman knows, his or her boat might sink any time, so it made sense to try and learn from the experiences of others how they had survived. I can remember meeting them at a Boat Show and being frustrated that there were too many interruptions to have a really good chat, so my desire for more information was confined to the book.
‘But the loss of their yacht and their amazing survival is only part of the whole story. Here Douglas, who was eighteen years old at the time, recounts the full adventure. It starts with their purchase of the boat, goes through those difficult early days as everyone learns how to live in the confined spaces of a small yacht, their adventures as they crossed the Atlantic and the Caribbean, to their eventual passage through the Panama Canal on their proposed east-to-west circumnavigation. The Pacific Ocean is huge and did not experience the shipping traffic of the Atlantic in those days so once their yacht sank the chances of being sighted and rescued were much reduced. They were lucky, but it was not all down to luck and that is why this book, and Dougal's original book, should be compulsory reading for anyone planning a world cruise. Modern communications have made the oceans safer, but many of the basic lessons to be found in this book still apply. The fact that this is real live adventure and both books are an easy read makes this a pleasure, not a chore.’
Robin Knox-Johnston, October 2004
PJC
THE HANDBOOK OF SAILING TECHNIQUES – Twain Braden. Published by Brown Books Ltd and Lyons Press at Aus $25.00 and US $19.95. 192 pages between soft covers. ISBN (Aus) 1- 897884-94-X, (US) 1-585746-44-4
This is an excellent book to be read and understood by prospective OCC members or those starting out in sailing. Members should have learned the contents of the book before (or during) their qualifying voyage, but there is absolutely no harm in revising one’s knowledge, especially before handing it on to new crew.
The author, Twain Braden, is described as a sailor and journalist of many years experience. As an instructor at the Ocean Navigation School of Seamanship he taught navigation and pilotage throughout the United States, as well as skippering yachts and other sailing vessels on the US East Coast and in the Caribbean.
The model used is a 6 metre (20ft) day-sailer, with sloop rig and inboard diesel engine, GRP hull with full keel, and steered by tiller. There are no photographs, but 120 line drawings detail equipment and clarify sailing practices.
Chapter titles include Ocean and Harbour Environment, Boat Anatomy, Essential Sailing Equipment, Communications, Anchoring and Mooring, Navigation, Surviving at Sea and Getting Started. At the end is a section entitled Further Reading, which includes Larry and Lin Pardey’s books as well as those by other well-regarded authors. In addition, websites in the UK, US and Australia are mentioned.
The chapters which particularly appealed to me were those on Commmunications, with an explanation of VHF, HF, SSB and DSC, and Essential Sailing Equipment, which covers safety gear and when it should be used, explaining PFD lifejackets, safety harnesses, life rafts, EPIRBs, abandon ship kits and tool and first aid kits. The section on surviving at sea is also well-written.
The chapter headed Getting Started is ‘Dedicated to the person who cannot follow written instructions and needs to do whatever it is that needs doing to really learn how it’s done. For even the quickest learner, however, there are some sailing fundamentals that should be considered before getting started’.
In summary, The Handbook of Sailing Techniques it is a valuable primer for the learner – and we all never cease to learn.
JSM
KEEPERS OF THE SEA – Captain Richard Woodman MNI. Published in hard, cloth covers with laminated dust jacket by Chaffcutter Books <www.chaffcutter.com>, e-mail <sales@chaffcutter.com>, at £25.00 from book shops, or direct from the publisher at 39 Friars Road, Braughing, Ware, Hertfordshire SG11 2NN, UK for £25.00 + £4.00 p&p (payment by cheque drawn on a UK bank). Non-UK bank account holders should contact the publisher prior to placing an order. 240 landscape format, 250mm x 196mm pages, with 165 illustrations, 44 colour photographs and a loose insert plan. ISBN 0-9532422-8-5
This is a new, expanded and fully updated edition of a book first published by Terence Dalton in 1983. It is the story of Trinity House, the organisation responsible for the provision and maintenance of navigation aids around the coasts of England and Wales and Gibraltar, its yachts and tenders. It is a serious historical work which has been meticulously researched by the author, a merchant navy officer whose career included eleven years in command of various Trinity House vessels (generally called ‘yachts’ or ‘tenders’). This gave him first-hand insight into the workings of Trinity House and he was able to access many of its records.
Keepers of the Sea records the whole of the history of Trinity House from its founding in the reign of King Henry VIII to the present day and covers, in detail, its many activities in maintaining and servicing lighthouses, lightships and buoyage, and providing pilotage.
The origins of lighthouses from the times of the Romans, and the subsequent history of lighthouses, sea-marks and buoyage prior to the formation of Trinity House are described. Trinity House was incorporated by Royal Charter before there was a Royal Navy when, at times of war, the King chartered vessels from ship owners. It was closely involved in the resulting negotiations, as it was with the training of navigation officers for the Royal Navy until the late 19th century.
Keepers of the Sea is generously illustrated, including many photographs originating from the late 19th century and reproductions of even older prints and paintings. The foreword is written by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KGKT, Master of Trinity House, and there is a loose insert of folded plans of the steam tender Satellite built for the service in 1924.
PJC
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