From the golden beaches of Durban to the thunderous waves of Hawaii’s North Shore, Godfather of the Waves charts the extraordinary life of Mike Larmont – the man who shaped South African surfing in every sense of the word.

Raised on South Beach, Larmont’s ocean odyssey began with borrowed surf mats and a dream. By the time he was a teenager, he was hand-shaping boards with a breadknife, launching a movement that would define a generation. His story surges from the heady surf culture of the 1960s and ’70s – a time of wild waves, wild parties and fierce freedom – through the challenges of sporting isolation in the 1980s, to the renaissance that followed.

Along the way, Larmont became a world traveller and entrepreneur: making connections with local and international legends, manufacturing boards and other surfing gear, running the local franchise of global brands such as Rip Curl, co-founding Zigzag magazine, spearheading the rise of windsurfing in South Africa, and coaching South African surfers in world championships. His journey is one of grit and grace – from underground shaper to international icon, surviving shootouts, wipeouts and the relentless tides of change.

Told with honesty, humour and heart, Godfather of the Waves captures the untamed spirit of surfing and the soul of a man who never stopped chasing the next perfect ride.

A globe-spanning narrative adventure about how the euphoria of cold water can transform - and even extend - your life.

Lifelong athlete and Sports Illustrated writer Chris Ballard worried his days of exercise were numbered. Then he received a fateful text message about a trend taking hold around the world: submerging in freezing cold water.

It wasn't only thrill seekers or wellness gurus extolling its power. Swimmers have long known that when paired with cold, their sport delivers extraordinary rewards; now, modern research has shown that just a few minutes in cold water can deliver remarkable benefits: heightened energy and focus, reduced inflammation, and relief from depression and anxiety.

In The Plunge, Ballard travels to laboratories and swims in waters around the world, from Portsmouth to the Pacific, tracing the roots of cold water swimming in ancient practices largely lost in the modern world.

He immerses himself in the growing tribe of cold-water junkies of all ages, shapes and nationalities, from pioneers like Lynne Cox to visionaries like Ram Barkai, whose audacious dream of getting ice swimming into the Olympics edges closer to reality.

And, from cold plunging to open water swimming to ice swimming, he tests his limits in this extreme sport, eventually becoming a US national champion, his body and mind transformed along the way.

Blending history, cutting-edge science, colourful characters, and propulsive narrative storytelling, it's a rollicking, eye-opening adventure that reveals how a single act - stepping into cold water - can unlock resilience, connection, meaning and joy.

What would you put on the line for what you believe in? For Chris Bertish, the answer is everything. ALL IN!

In 2017 Chris became the first person ever to stand-up paddleboard across any ocean. Defying all odds, he paddled 7500 kilometers solo, unassisted and unsupported, for 93 days across the Atlantic Ocean, from Morocco, Africa to Antigua in the Caribbean. During three months at sea he was targeted by a great white shark, towed by a giant sea squid, capsized multiple times and surfed down 10-meter waves as challenging as anything he had faced in any Mavericks Big Wave Surfing Championships.

Too many times he found himself hanging on the edge of his modified SUP for dear life. He also become one with the elements, and ultimately succeeded in doing something everyone said was simply impossible.

This is the story of his incredible journey.

This guide offers spectacular and diverse diving in South Africa and Mozambique.

Dive with sharks, squid and sardines, exploring cold-water kelp forests, pristine tropical reefs and poignant shipwrecks. This guide features 180 of the best dives, with first-hand descriptions and site maps. Key dive information and contact details and a comprehensive marine species identification guide.

Book chapters include

• Cape Peninsula and False Bay
• Southern Cape Coast – Gansbaai & the Garden Route
• Port Elizabeth, Port Alfred & East London
• South Coast – Aliwal Shoal, Landers & Protea Banks
• Durban & North Coast
• Sodwana Bay
• Northern Maputaland – Mabibi & Kosi Bay
• Southern Mozambique
• The Manta Coast
• Vilanculos & the Bazaruto Archipelago
• Nampula – Nacala Bay, Baixo do Pinda, Memba Bay and Ilha de Mozambique
• Northern Mozambique – Pemba & the Quirmbas Archipelago
• Inland dive sites
• Marine species Identification Guide
• Contacts

This guide will give you the information you need to be a responsible diver. Learn to care for the marine environment as well diving culture and gear you would need. This book is a must-have for any diving enthusiast.

"My name is Samantha and I’m an alcoholic. At the time of writing, I’ve been sober for 13 years, 11 months and 16 days. And yes I still count. I promised I would never speak about it publicly until my children understood what that meant, that mommy was an alcoholic. I think they may have understood long before I did."

From Whiskey To Water is the no-holds-barred memoir by one of South Africa’s most loved radio talk show hosts, Sam Cowen. Having kept her alcohol addiction well away from the public eye for over 14 years, in this tell-all tale, Sam finds the courage to talk about her struggle with her addiction to whiskey, food and finally to a passion that saved her life – marathon swimming. Told in her characteristically hilarious dead-pan style, this is one of the bravest books you’ll read this year.

"So this is a book on how I stopped drinking? No, it’s not. It’s how I stopped drinking, started eating, became clinically severely obese, stopped eating (everything that wasn’t nailed down) and swam my way to freedom. No, it’s not. It’s actually about addiction and learning and sadness and anxiety and love and drive. It’s about channelling the unchangeable into the miraculous. It’s about dragons and learning how to put them to sleep when you can’t slay them. It’s about being my own Daenarys."

Well established as 'the East Coast yachtsman's bible', this 20th edition of Jan Harber's classic cruising companion marks the book's 60th anniversary. Dating back to 1956 when Jack Coote, Jan's father, produced the first black and white edition, East Coast Rivers, now extending from Lowestoft to Ramsgate, continues to cover the rivers, curlew-haunted creeks and intricate shoals and swatchways of the Thames Estuary and surrounding rivers. Comprehensive pilotage and nautical information based on years of local knowledge is complemented by port information and local maritime history, helping cruising sailors to make the most of their visit to the East Coast. The text is illustrated throughout with updated charts and photographs, including spectacular aerial shots of a number of the rivers and entrances that make up this cherished cruising ground. Not only a pilot guide, this is the memoir of a family's history; exploring, capturing and celebrating this extraordinary sailing area.

What does it take to win gold at the Olympic Games? How many years of hard work and dedication does it take to prepare for such a feat? How many disappointments do you have to endure on this journey?

Danielle Brittain has walked this journey over and over again – her two sons won Olympic gold for South Africa in rowing, all four of her sons have rowed at top levels, and she is currently the team doctor for the SA rowing team. Danielle has faced her own battles with cancer and then watched as her son battled Hodgkin’s Lymphoma during his Olympic training and overcame it and went on to win gold after his recovery in this high-performance sport.

The Olympic wins for the South African teams at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics were iconic moments for South Africa and Brittain’s descriptions of what the wins meant for the individuals in the teams, their families, the coaching staff and ordinary South Africans demonstrates the power of sport to unite the country.

A rowing story, a family story, a cancer survival story, a South African story – and the story of a mother watching it all unfold.

Dave's autobiography tells how, from simple beginnings, he manages to serve an apprenticeship in engineering, before deciding it wasn't for him and embarking on an adventure underwater. Firstly, with a bunch of friends salvaging scrap metal from shipwrecks, before blagging his way into the world of offshore oilfield deep diving. It was intended to be a short-term thing to make the deposit on a house and turned into 40 years in the industry, culminating in becoming the offshore manager of some major oilfield construction projects around the world. Dave takes us through his life's journey, near-death experience and involvement with several major incidents. He explains how it feels to live part of your life in the claustrophobic environment of a saturation diver, and reflects on some of the politics and events that occurred in this unique industry. He reflects on life's lessons as they presented themselves. The book is interspersed with anecdotes and amusing tales of and from the people he met along the way, characters, who come alive with their witty asides and darkly comic humour. Away from work, Dave and his wife, Marion, travel the world together, and their travels are heady and packed with adventure, as they ski, kayak and dive in idyllic locations. Whether bungee jumping in New Zealand or cycling across Central America, Dave and Marion are never afraid to take on a challenge.

Dave's autobiography tells how, from simple beginnings, he manages to serve an apprenticeship in engineering, before deciding it wasn't for him and embarking on an adventure underwater. Firstly, with a bunch of friends salvaging scrap metal from shipwrecks, before blagging his way into the world of offshore oilfield deep diving. It was intended to be a short-term thing to make the deposit on a house and turned into 40 years in the industry, culminating in becoming the offshore manager of some major oilfield construction projects around the world. Dave takes us through his life's journey, near-death experience and involvement with several major incidents. He explains how it feels to live part of your life in the claustrophobic environment of a saturation diver, and reflects on some of the politics and events that occurred in this unique industry. He reflects on life's lessons as they presented themselves. The book is interspersed with anecdotes and amusing tales of and from the people he met along the way, characters, who come alive with their witty asides and darkly comic humour. Away from work, Dave and his wife, Marion, travel the world together, and their travels are heady and packed with adventure, as they ski, kayak and dive in idyllic locations. Whether bungee jumping in New Zealand or cycling across Central America, Dave and Marion are never afraid to take on a challenge.

"I am very thankful to the crew of HMS Lightning for the hospitality we were met with and the way they treated us ...after being adrift for seven days in the lifeboats Although it was night time when they picked us up, they gave us food and hot drinks as much as we could swallow and tried in every way to make us feel comfortable, which they did with great success They shall never be forgotten by us Norwegians" John Dann born and educated in Wales. He enjoyed a career in the travel industry, served briefly in the RNR at HMS President and Drake enjoys maritime history, now a writer, living and sailing in Cornwall.

There are few people who can resist the appeal of gliding over the open sea in a trim and handsome yacht, or the glamour of the great international yachting challenges. Unlike dinghy sailing, yachting offers the opportunity to cruise in comfort to exotic destinations, and advances in design and technology make today's boats safer and better appointed than ever before
But getting started can be a complex and costly business. The Yachting Handbook is aimed at the sailor who wants to move up to bigger, more advanced craft. The book covers the basics - technical, legal and financial - of buying the right vessel and fitting it out for your needs, as well as the care and maintenance of hull, rigging, engine, water and electrical systems. Chapters on navigation (both celestial and electronic) and weather and tides will offer the essentials of these complex and fascinating subjects, and chapters on planning cruises, cruising routes and races will provide inspiration for anyone who's ever dreamed of venturing beyond the harbour mouth.
There is comprehensive coverage of emergency procedures. Illustrated throughout in full colour, The Yachting Handbook will appeal to sailors of all experience levels. Contents include: Choosing a cruising yacht; Preparing your yacht; Communications and Navigation; Weather; Safety and Emergencies; Cruising and Cruising destinations; and Racing.

Having skippered and delivered in excess of 750 Motor Cruisers over the past 40 years, totalling a distance equivalent to 29 times around the world, has provided me with a number of adventurous and sometimes hair-raising stories to tell. Thankfully, I have lived to tell the tales! "Homeward Bound" starts with daily notes of the author's last single-handed voyage from the south of France to the south coast of England. In between these notes he recalls some of his memorable adventures, which he tells in such a way that the reader could almost be there with him, often experiencing how quickly a difficult situation at sea can turn into a disastrous one. Although showing the serious side of sailing there is also a fair amount of humour in his writing. An enjoyable and entertaining read.

Sad people who sit in front of a television set wishing they could get some adventure in their lives should take note of the contents of this small tome as it proves beyond doubt that even in the prime of life the rush of adrenaline can still be achieved. This is the second volume of factual events undertaken by a group of people who should have the wisdom of age but choose to ignore it.

The mutilated body of a diver is found in the Yucatan peninsula, far from the coast. In Europe a deadly illness is sweeping through the continent. When cave diving expert Mike Summers returns to Mexico and crosses paths with maverick government agent Raphael Rodriguez, he soon finds himself plunged into a world of intrigue and terror. Rodriguez has been sent to monitor drug movements along the Yucatan coastline, Mike is trying to unravel the mystery of his friend's death, but both find their investigations linked to the area's ancient subterranean cave systems and to events which shook the local Maya civilisation some 500 years previously. "Steve Turley's second adventure thriller is another polished page-turner, written by an expert in the undersea world of sub-aqua, and an adventurer in his own right. A classy and enjoyable read."

An exciting and thoroughly well-written adventure from Steve Turley.. When a U-boat is sunk off the coast of Corsica in 1943, it takes with it a mysterious cargo which was being secretly transported under SS guard. Mike Summers, a technical diving expert, has his life thrown into chaos when he accidentally discovers wreckage from the U-boat and crosses swords with a notorious Corsican nationalist leader, resulting in the death of his friend. The race to discover the motive for the killing takes a deadly turn when Monica, a beautiful Swiss marine archaeologist, is kidnapped by the gang. Mike knows they are both likely to die unless he can use his superior knowledge of deep wreck diving to save them both and bring the perpetrators to justice. Another quality read from CheckPoint Press..