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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Water sports & recreations
A groundbreaking history of how women found synchronicity―and power―in water.
“If you’re not strong enough to swim fast, you’re probably not strong enough to swim ‘pretty,’” said a young Esther Williams to theater impresario Billy Rose. Since the nineteenth century, tensions between beauty and strength, aesthetics and athleticism have both impeded and propelled the careers of female swimmers―none more so than synchronized swimmers, for whom Williams is often considered godmother.
In this revelatory history, Vicki Valosik traces a century of aquatic performance, from vaudeville to the Olympic arena, and brings to life the colorful cast of characters whose “pretty swimming” not only laid the groundwork for an altogether new sport but forever changed women’s relationships with water. Williams, who became a Hollywood sensation for her splashy “aquamusicals,” was just one in a long, bedazzled line of swimmers who began their careers as athletes but found greater opportunity, and often social acceptance, in the world of show business.
Early starlets like Lurline the Water Queen performed “scientific” swimming, a set of moves previously only practiced by men―including Benjamin Franklin―that focused on form and exhibited mastery in the water. Demonstrating their fancy feats in aquariums and water tanks rolled onto music hall stages, these women stunned Victorian audiences with their physical dexterity and defied society’s rigid expectations of what was proper and possible for their sex.
Far more than bathing beauties, they ushered in sensible swimwear and influenced lifesaving and physical education programs, helping to drop national drowning rates and paving the way for new generations of female athletes. When a Chicago physical educator matched their aquatic movements to music in the 1920s, young girls flocked to take part in “synchronized swimming.” But despite overwhelming love from audiences and the Olympic ambitions of its practitioners, “synchro” was long perceived as little more than entertaining pageantry, and its athletes would face a battle against the current to earn a spot at the highest echelons of sport.
Now, on the fortieth anniversary of synchronized swimming’s elevation to Olympic status, Swimming Pretty honors its incredible history of grit, glamor, and sheer athleticism.
Your ultimate guide to planning a long-distance voyage. Jimmy
Cornell is the undisputed authority on long distance voyaging. In
the 3rd edition of this book, he and his son Ivan help the would-be
voyager plan their trip step by step. Aimed at those seriously
contemplating (or dreaming about) an extended cruise, this book
details what is involved in developing the right strategy. Amongst
many important aspects, Jimmy and Ivan consider: - World weather
systems - Strategies for sailing long or short circuits in the
Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans - The pros and cons of
different routes at different times of year (taking into account
weather, currents, wind directions and strengths, likelihood of
fog, icebergs, gales, piracy etc) - Practicalities (repair
facilities, common gear breakage on extended voyages, places to
leave the boat to fly home if necessary, health considerations,
provisioning for a long trip, personal safety measures, and much
more) Written from a completely international point of view, World
Voyage Planner will help sailors from any country going to any
other country to achieve a safe and enjoyable cruise.
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.
Long established as the bible for long-distance cruisers and a
bestseller for more than 25 years, World Cruising Routes is the
indispensable planning guide to nearly 1,000 sailing routes
covering all the oceans of the world from the tropical South Seas
to the high latitudes of the Arctic and Antarctic, geared
specifically to the needs of cruising sailors. It contains
information on the winds, currents, regional and seasonal weather,
as well as suggestions about optimum times for individual routes.
This new, fully revised and updated 9th edition assesses how
changes around the world (including Brexit and Covid) have affected
cruising routes and how climatic change has altered the cruising
landscape and necessitated adaptations in timing and
route-planning. It provides over 6,000 waypoints to assist skippers
in planning individual routes, and is the perfect one-stop
reference for planning a cruise anywhere in the world. 'The most
important book for long-distance voyagers to come along in
decades.' Cruising World
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..
This second edition, 2018, shows - 8 new marinas, 11 new pontoons
& 13 new sets of visitor moorings - also new roads and ferry
routes. This high quality topographical map is specially designed
to show the `Big Picture' for the yachtsman planning to cruise in
the West of Scotland at a convenient scale of 1:350,000. It
provides a unique combination of the best information shown on a
conventional road map with selected nautical details. The map
covers the sailing area from the Clyde to Ullapool and the Outer
Hebrides as far north as Stornaway. The topographical base map is a
quite detailed and shows the information that is important to most
visitors - towns, villages, roads, railways, stations, ferry
crossings, airports, islands, bays, headlands, straits, mountains,
relief, rivers and lakes with all this detail in slightly muted
colours. Over this is superimposed the sailing information -
highlighted in bright colours to stand out - Marinas, pontoons,
visitor moorings, selected anchorages, diesel supplies, areas with
especially strong tidal streams, and a few selected pubs. The
format of the map is designed to be clear, convenient and user
friendly.
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.
Fully updated and revised. Award winning Deco for Divers provides a
comprehensive overview of the principles underlying decompression
theory. Mark Powell has written a book that for the first time
allows the average diver to fully understand the principles behind
this fascinating aspect of diving. This book bridges the gap
between introductory books and source scientific information. What
I wanted was an intermediate overview that went into more detail
but wasn't written for academics or researchers. When I became a
technical diving instructor I started teaching other people about
decompression theory. I tried to give an overview of decompression
theory at this intermediate level to give my students a better
understanding of what was happening during decompression dives.
This was always very popular amongst divers who, like me, had
always wanted to understand more about the concepts and models
underlying decompression theory. I was always being asked if I
could recommend a good book which covered this area but as before,
there was no such text available. Over time I started giving out
notes for the decompression theory portion of my courses and these
notes started building. Initially they were just a few pages but
the notes became more and more comprehensive and started to cover
more and more areas. Eventually they grew into this book. Eurotek
2010 - Winner Publication of Significance Award. TekDive 2014 -
Winner Media Award.
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