One clear morning in May, Nick Thorpe left his Edinburgh flat, ducked off the commuter route and hitched a ride aboard a little white canal boat, heading west towards the sea. It was the first mutinous step in a delightful boat-hopping odyssey that would take him 2500 miles through Scotland's canals, lochs and coastal waters, from the industrial Clyde to the scattered islands of Viking Shetland. Writing with characteristic humour and candour, the award-winning author of EIGHT MEN AND A DUCK plots a curiously existential voyage, inspired by those who have left the warm hearth for the promise of a stretched horizon. Whether rowing a coracle with a chapter of monks, scanning for the elusive Nessie, hitting the rocks with Captain Calamity or clinging to the rigging of a tall ship, Thorpe weaves a narrative that is by turns funny and poignant - a nautical pilgrimage for any who have ever been tempted to try a new path just to see where it might take them. Part travelogue, part memoir, ADRIFT IN CALEDONIA is a unique and affectionate portrait of a sea-fringed nation - and of the drifter's quest to belong.

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.

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.