An ex-yacht chef uncovers the dark reality of life at sea. By the age of twenty-two, Melanie is ticking life's boxes as if filling in a routine survey. Good grades at school? Check. Reliable university degree? Check. Steady graduate job? Check. Her two feet are planted firmly on solid ground; her life to date perfectly mirrors society's expectations. That is until she finds herself plunged into the superyacht industry, like an ice cube thrown into a cut crystal glass of the finest whisky, having stepped foot on a boat just three times before. Not only is she required to learn how to run, sail, and race a multi-million-pound yacht on the job, she is forced to adapt to a wholly unnatural life afloat, largely confined to a bunk bed, crammed galley, and live-in colleagues. Oh, and to devise, develop, and deliver fine dining menus for some of the wealthiest people on the planet. No biggie. From the Mediterranean to the Caribbean to the Arctic she cruises, visiting places many can only dream of, orienting herself in an environment few have the opportunity to observe. But while her culinary knowledge evolves and her on-board responsibilities grow, the world as she knows it begins to close in. The depth of the ocean no longer phases her; it's the darkness inside which she fears. Behind Ocean Lines is a deeply personal account of a deterioration in mental health against a backdrop of opulence. It is, shockingly, not an anomaly in the industry. It is about time the public is told.

Imray-Iolaire charts for Caribbean are widely acknowledged as the best available for the cruising sailor. They combine the latest official survey data with first-hand information gathered over 60 years of research by Don Street Jr and his wide network of contributors. Like all Imray charts, they are printed on water resistant Pretex paper for durability, and they include many anchorages, facilities and inlets not included on official charts. Plans included: Mamora Bay (1:10 000) Falmouth & English Harbours (1:20 000) Nonsuch Bay (1:40 000) Jolly Harbour Approaches (1:25 000) For this edition the chart has been fully updated using the latest depth surveys. The chart also includes a new plan of Jolly Harbour.

A convenient A2 format chart pack of The West Country provided in a sturdy plastic wallet. 2400.1 Land's End to Trevose Head 1: 180 000 WGS 84 Includes plans Newquay Bay (1:10 000) and Saint Ives (1:15 000) 2400.2 Approaches to the Isles of Scilly 1: 120 000 WGS 84 2400.3 Isles of Scilly 1: 40 000 WGS 84 Includes plan St Mary's Road (1:25 000) 2400.4 River Camel 1: 30 000 WGS 84 Includes plan Padstow Harbour (1:10 000) 2400.5 Salcombe Harbour 1: 15 000 WGS 84 Includes plan Salcombe (1:9000) 2400.6 River Yealm 1: 12 500 WGS 84 Includes plan Continuation of River Yealm (1:15 000) 2400.7 River Fowey 1: 9000 WGS 84 Includes plan Continuation to Lostwithiel (1:20 000) 2400.8 Dartmouth to Fowey 1: 150 000 WGS 84 Includes plans Polperro (1:3500) and Looe (1:10 000) 2400.9 Fowey to Lizard Point 1: 110 000 WGS 84 Includes plans Mevagissey Harbour (1:3500) and Gorran Haven (1:30 000) 2400.10 Lizard Point to Land's End 1: 75 000 WGS 84 Includes plans Penzance (1:12 000), Newlyn Harbour (1:10 000) and Mousehole (1:5000) 2400.11 Helford River 1: 17 000 WGS 84 Includes plan Continuation of Helford River to Gweek (1:17 000) 2400.12 Falmouth Harbour 1: 20 000 WGS 84 Includes plans Mylor Yacht Harbour (1:10 000), Falmouth Marina (1:5000) and Falmouth Inner Harbour (1:10 000) 2400.13 Plymouth Harbour 1: 20 000 WGS 84 Includes plans King Point & Millbay Marinas (1:10 000) and Continuation of River Yealm (1:20 000) 2400.14 Plymouth to Saltash and Saint Germans 1: 20 000 WGS 84 Includes plans Mayflower Marina (1:5000), Sutton Harbour and Queen Anne's Battery Marina (1:7500) and Plymouth Yacht Haven (1:5000) 2400.15 Saint Mary's, Tresco and Surrounding Islands 1: 20 000 WGS 84 2400.16 River Dart 1: 15 000 WGS 84 Plans Kingswear, Continuation to Totnes. Various individual sheets of this chart pack are available separately. These form part of our 'small format Y chart series' that mirror coverage of charts from the corresponding atlas and printed A2 size. For details of these please see their individual web page (Y43, Y44, Y45, Y46, Y47, Y48, Y49 and Y50). This pack is available non-wiro bound.

In February 2001 twenty-four year old Ellen MacArthur completed the Vendée Globe, the world’s toughest race. As the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe singlehanded and as the fastest woman to ever have done so, her achievement was remarkable. But how had a young woman from landlocked Derbyshire come to find a new home among the waves?

In Taking on the World, Ellen tells her story, from saving pennies to buy her first boat through sailing around Britain as a teenager to racing the Vendee Globe itself. Enthralling and inspiring in equal measure, its shows how courage, passion and determination can overcome all obstacles – and how one young woman made her dreams come true.

At the age of 57, Peter Keating set out to sail, single-handed, across the Atlantic. It was a lifelong dream of a lifelong sailor and though it was to be a solo journey, his waking and sleeping hours were spent in the 'company' of his memories and erstwhile companions and friends. From Werner and crocodile surfing, to Gerhardt and the Gulag. From Charlie of Morova Lagoon, to Fred from Fransesca. Their stories, along with the Mafiosa of Malta, Leo from the Chesapeake, the myth of Napoleon on St Helena and many more besides, were weaved into Peter's as they hauled along, day after day, from horizon to horizon on the voyage from Norfolk, Virginia to Lisbon, Portugal. They were there to help and inspire him and, when he was caught in the middle of Hurricane Barry, to ensure he reached out and survived. When at his lowest ebb, along came the ghost of Sam, a friendly old sailor who kept Peter entertained through the long, lonely hours of the dog watch. Together they fill the pages of this book, yet this is not simply a sailing log of a trip from the New World to the Old. This is a story of individuals who have all lived on the edge. It shows what happens when you are brave enough to push yourself beyond your current boundaries and above all, go out on a limb. Yes, it will help you to understand more about deep oceaning, its joys and terrors, but perhaps it will also help the adventurer inside you to reflect on how you would cope in similar circumstances. Ultimately, this is not just Peter Keating's journey alone, but the journey of us all when we go out on the edge - to peer over any horizon - and to finally emerge the better for having left our safe harbour.

Plans included: Mayflower Marina (1:5000) King Point & Millbay Marinas (1:10 000) Sutton Harbour and Queen Anne's Battery Marina (1:7500) Plymouth Yacht Haven (1:5000) Continuation of River Yealm (1:20 000) Plymouth Harbour (1:20 000) Plymouth to Saltash and Saint Germans (1:20 000)

To celebrate 60 years of sailing Scottish waters, the author single-handedly sailed Halcyon, a 32' wooden yawl, from Fairlie on the Clyde, round the Mull of Kintyre by way of numerous inner islands to Barra in the Outer Hebrides and to the Atlantic side of the islands, not often visited by cruising yachts. Bad weather forced a diversion to explore the sea lochs of the west coast of Harris and Lewis, the islands of Taransay (of the BBC's Castaway series) and Scarp, famed for its ingenious 'Rocket Post' experiment. While visiting these numerous islands, he met local people and experienced the sometimes violent extremes of weather such as when he was storm-bound in Stornoway for several days. There are stories galore about the island people, snippets of interesting history, legends and folklore, tales of the sea and island life, the Hebridean fishermen and lighthouses - thus uncovering another dimension of island life. Bob recounts his travels and tales, some previously unpublished, in a relaxed and highly-readable style. As well as being a unique travel book, it is an insight into the rapidly-changing ways of island life and a useful sailing guide to the Western Isles and anchorages in the Hebrides. It would be of immeasurable help to sailors keen to venture into some of the lesser-known sailing areas of Western Scotland. This vivid and entertaining story of adventurous sailing among Scotland's beautiful but challenging Western Isles will be enjoyed by keen sailors and armchair travellers alike - a truly memorable journey of over 1000 miles!