Based on a 35-year voyage of discovery into the art of swimming, this work looks at the most popular strokes - front crawl, back stroke, breast stroke and butterfly - focusing on maximum efficiency and minimum strain. Swimming improves your flexibility, tones your body and can help to boost your self-esteem and produce a sense of well being. It is the nation's most popular sporting activity with 11.9 million people swimming regularly. However, most people don't know how to swim properly. Steven Shaw's method takes the Alexander Technique into the swimming pool - focusing on releasing tension from the head, neck and back. Steven has evolved a unique way of breaking down strokes into a series of therapeutic movements, which can be practised individually or with a partner, in a pool or on dry land. These provide the building blocks, which combine to make it possible for anyone to recraft their own strokes in a way that promote good body use and avoid injuries. Instead of performing physical actions in an automatic way, you begin to learn body awareness. This way of swimming not only feels freer and more open, it is graceful and has a sense of flow, often absent from the way many people swim.

The perfect companion for anyone who wants to cruise the Mediterranean, whether on their own yacht or chartering. The Mediterranean is the dream destination for many chartering a yacht as well as long-distance cruisers. Its myriad delights - the beautiful coastlines, the remote islands, the sleepy villages and exciting cities - draw boaters from all over the world. Rod Heikell is the undisputed expert on Mediterranean sailing and the Adlard Coles Book of Mediterranean Cruising is the complete guide for anyone cruising in the area. Thoroughly updated for this fifth edition, the book conveys the magic of Mediterranean cruising, as well as giving practical, first-hand advice on sailing these enticing waters. Although the Mediterranean provides wonderfully diverse cruising opportunities, it can also deliver a few surprises to the unwary. This invaluable handbook provides sound advice on everything you need to know: anchoring and berthing; what weather to expect; facilities and the costs of keeping a boat there; as well as advice on navigation, popular routes, formalities and what to expect ashore. Each country around the Mediterranean is covered, and there is even a handy section on how to cruise the area on a tight budget.

This illustrated guide will help you plan your journey along the River Spey, one of the UK's classic canoe and kayak touring rivers. The river may be navigated from Loch Spey to Spey Bay, and here this is divided into seven sections. These can be paddled as single day trips or combined into multi-day adventures. Each section is described in detail and includes agreed access points, local attractions, plus accommodation and camping options. To help you plan your trip there are also eight suggested multi-day itineraries, which range from three to five days.Whether you opt for a five-day expedition or a scenic day trip, here you will find all the information you need to prepare for your journey. There is advice on equipment, food and safety, as well as information on wildlife, wild camping and navigation skills. The River Spey is a stunning river that should be on every paddler's tick list and this guide will help you to make the most of your journey.

The essential Swimmer is every swimmer's guide to a successful swimming program. Fitness and competitive swimmers alike will benefit from its concise, practical advice on everything from basic stroke technique to advanced training programs. The Essential Swimmer will not only teach you how to identify your own stroke, kick, body position, and breathing flaws, but it will also prescribe remedies in the form of new and innovative drills. This helpful book contains chapters on: swimming's many benefits; basic & advanced freestyle technique; perfecting your freestyle technique; drills, drills, and drills; butterfly, backstroke; and breaststroke; swimming aids; setting up your training program; practical swimming tips; flexibility training; strength training; nutrition for swimming and life; and cross training. With over fifty precise, east-to-follow line drawings, The Essential Swimmer guarantees results and is a must for each and every active swimmer. (5 1/2 X 8 1/4, 176 pages, diagrams, charts)

A charming and characterful guidebook to the best of Britain's diverse and fascinating canal network for all waterway enthusiasts. Beautifully illustrated, this compendium uncovers the many extraordinary, notable and surprising places to be found on Britain's waterways. Our canals and rivers link into a diverse 3,000-mile-long network, and 101 Wonders of the Waterways shows you that wherever you find yourself in the country, there will be something nearby to give you a taste of this beautiful and nostalgia-infused world. Canal cruising experts Steve Haywood and Moira Haynes bring our waterways to life with their witty and lyrical prose, including many lesser-known and often ignored places - the best-kept secrets of Britain's canals and rivers. Some examples of wonders include: * Historic Hungerford in Berkshire, where William of Orange was staying when he was offered the crown after the Glorious Revolution * The world famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, soaring spectacularly on slender tapered columns 126 feet over the River Dee below * Hest Bank, with its stunning views and the only place where a canal runs so close to the seashore that you can smell the seaweed from the back of your boat As well as lively personal anecdotes, and insightful commentary on Britain's heritage and history, this guide includes handy recommendations to help you make the most of your visit to each wonder. This is the book you will want to have in the back of your car, or stuffed into your backpack, so you can find an idyllic place for a picnic, or the perfect day trip for a long weekend.

The International Symposium on Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming, held every four years under the aegis of the International Society of Biomechanics and the World Commission of Sports Biomechanics, provides a forum in which research related to swimming is reported and problems that confront swimming practitioners are debated. This volume contains the papers presented at the sixth symposium. The keynote addresses covered lactate metabolism, performance determining factors and the analysis of sprint swimming. The contributed papers range widely across sports science, coaching and training and sports medicine.

The Honourable Mrs Victor Bruce: record-breaking racing motorist; speedboat racer; pioneering aviator and businesswoman - remarkable achievements for a woman of the 1920s and '30s. Mildred Bruce enjoyed a privileged background that allowed her to search for thrills beyond the bounds of most female contemporaries. She raced against the greats at Brooklands, drove 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle and won the first ladies' prize at the Monte Carlo Rally. Whilst Amy Johnson was receiving global acclaim for her flight to Australia, Mildred learned to fly, and a mere eight weeks later she embarked on a round-the-world flight, becoming the first person to fly solo from the UK to Japan. Captured by brigands and feted by the Siamese, Japanese and Americans, she survived several crashes with body and spirit intact, and became a glittering aviation celebrity on her return. A thoroughly modern woman, she pushed similar boundaries in her unconventional love life and later became Britain's first female airline entrepreneur. This is the story of a charismatic woman who defied the conventions of her time, and loved living life in the fast lane.

Welsh Canoe Classics is an illustrated guide to some of the finest tours of Wales' waterways. Scenic lakes, broad estuaries and whitewater rivers, as they can only be seen from canoe or kayak. Eddie, Adam and Wilf have chosen the best inland touring routes which are described in great detail and illustrated with numerous colour photos and maps. The selected routes are suitable for open canoes, sit-on-tops and touring kayaks, and include seven whitewater trips. Many of them can be tackled as a single voyage, others as a series of day trips with campsites en route. The journeys are all accessible but highly varied, travelling along lakes, estuaries, rivers and canals. This is a wonderful book for planning voyages and inspiring dreams or sharing your experiences with others.

This is the first book on the subject published on this side of the Atlantic, with our different fish species, techniques and approach. The book is aimed at the angler who has taken up or is curious about kayak fishing. Experienced kayakers will also benefit from Andy's kayak fishing wisdom. Topics include: Choosing your fishing kayak and equipment. Practical tips on modifying your kayak and installing a fish finder. Kayaking with confidence and staying safe at sea. Seamanship; tides, weather and charts for anglers and kayakers. Using handheld GPS and VHF radios. Fishing skills; top tips on anchoring and 'downtiding' from your kayak. What to fish for; Andy's tips for catching your favourite fish. And more, including freshwater fish and wreck fishing.

First published in 1944, and reprinted many times since then, the latest reissue of this magnificent book contains, for the first time, fully illustrated details of all minor amendments and corrections that have come to light over the years. These have been collected and collated by Geoffrey Budworth with the help of other members of the International Guild of Knot Tyers.

We all rely on charts to navigate at sea - but are we missing essential information? A mass of data is included on each chart and deciphering the many symbols and abbreviations can be complicated. The accuracy of some charted depths can be trusted entirely while others should be treated with caution. This book will tell you where to find and how to understand this vital knowledge. This updated second edition explains how charts are compiled before guiding you through the elements that make up these vital navigational tools. Improve your understanding of charts and you will navigate with increased safety and confidence. Understanding a Nautical Chart offers superb value as, in addition to a wealth of practical advice, there is a key to all the recently updated chart symbols and abbreviations from Symbols and Abbreviations Used on Admiralty Charts (5011). It includes information on electronic charts, explains how to update a chart and how to establish the accuracy of each chart. It is ideal for professional mariners and leisure sailors.

"Inshore Navigation" is a teaching system designed for the newcomer to navigation and pilotage. Tom Cunliffe understands the problems and misconceptions of people learning to navigate at sea. As a result his book goes straight to the heart of each topic and concentrates on what the beginner really needs to know when out on the water.

The object of this book is to give you enough knowledge to be able to navigate simply and safely on short inshore passages. The logical way to begin cruising is to make day sails in reasonable weather and steer clear of night passage making until you have gained a little confidence - there is enough information here to enable you to do just that.

"Inshore Navigation" is structured so as to help you get on the water as soon as possible and stay out of trouble as you learn the necessities. All the essential navigational concepts are covered, so that when you feel your sea going experience is sufficient you will be building on a solid foundation as you move into the greater depth of detail required for coastal and offshore navigation.

Your best teacher is yourself. The rudiments are contained with "Inshore Navigation," but the rest is up to you.

From Okinawa to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, find the ultimate travel itineraries for above and below water in this inspiring and comprehensive guide to the worlds 50 best scuba diving destinations. In this illuminating compendium, National Geographic travel expert Carrie Miller and dive master Christian Taylor reveal the 50 top destinations for both scuba divers and their vacation buddies. The result of a yearlong research journey, this beautifully illustrated guide offers unique itineraries with a wide range of options for divers of various levels, snorkelers, or landlubbers, providing the perfect vacation to satisfy everyone on your trip. Featuring tips on what to do, what to see, and where to be on land and at sea, each location includes top-rate shared experiences from unique hiking adventures to day-trip opportunities and sailboat tours, as well as solo excursions for when divers and land-based travellers choose to go their own ways. From the white sand beaches of Fregate Island and the rocky coastline of Croatia to the city of Laguna Beach and Australia's Great Barrier Reef, these wanderlust itineraries include: Diving with marine iguanas in the Galapagos Islands Learning a unique form of martial arts in Thailand Visiting the Maoi of Easter Island above and below water Swimming with sharks in Fiji Planting coral reef gardens in Mo'orea Diving among salmon in Alaska A black-water night dive off the coast of Kona, Hawaii And so much more! With crucial tips on where to go, what to do, and where to stay-plus how to preserve these precious destinations-this is the ultimate guide for divers, adventurers, and everyone in between.

Most sailing vessels and motorboats have a marine diesel engine. This book will help the owner keep this vital piece of equipment going. It covers; how it works, fuel, air, cooling, lubrication, electrics, installation and winter lay up.

This second edition is fully revised and now covers turbochargers and long-distance voyaging (very demanding on engines).

Don Seddon is both an engineer and a sailor. This makes him uniquely qualified to write this book.

The Longboard Travel Guide is the first surf guidebook written specifically for longboarders.

Loaded with mouth-watering lineup photos, the book describes 100 of the best longboard waves in the world and offers insider tips on how to ride them. From the Maldives to Australia’s Gold Coast, from Costa Rica to Fiji, from Samoa to Sri Lanka, all the classic destinations are here. A smorgasbord of less-well known areas are also included for adventurous surfers who thirst for uncrowded waves.

The book covers every aspect of surf travel for longboarders: where to go, where to stay, what gear to take, how to get in shape for your trip and how to stay healthy abroad.

Longboarders of all ages and abilities will benefit from the practical advice offered by a writing team of seasoned travelers and pros. There’s plenty to soak up, whether you’re planning a road trip to Europe, a cold-water trip to Iceland, or a boat trip to the Maldives.

A selection of real-life traveller’s tales illustrate the pleasure and pain experienced by loggers searching for the elusive perfect wave.

Dockmanship, according to author Bell, is "the art, skill, and practice of safely berthing and unberthing a vessel." Anyone who's ever spent time observing the action at a marina or boat ramp will concede that the way the docking skill is practiced by many recreational boaters today can hardly be considered an "art."

Here, finally, is a book that provides the needed information to turn any skipper -- even a novice -- into a master of the docking art. Captains who feel they already perform well behind the helm will enjoy reviewing the standard and advanced techniques contained in this easily understood manual.

The basics of rudders, propellers, lines, and fenders used on small to medium-sized boats are completely explored. For each type of propulsion (inboard, outboard, single-screw, double-screw, and sail), techniques are described for maneuvering port side to, starboard side to, stern in, and bow in, as well as for getting away and handling the boat in close quarters. For each of these situations, the author also clarifies the effects of wind and current.

1001 Outdoor Swimming Tips by Calum Maclean is a light-hearted and informative guide to all kinds of outdoor and wild swimming. This is no standard instruction manual - it is much more useful than that. This is a huge collection of small tips to make a real difference to your outdoor swimming, whether you're planning your first forays into swimming outdoors or enjoy icy swims in the depths of winter - this book will take you through everything you need to know. The vast range of topics covered includes everything from biosecurity and the safety of others to cold-water swimming, recovery, night swimming, swimming with children, the essential gear you'll need, training and how to get that perfect underwater photo. Whether you're a wild swimming novice or have plenty of experience in water, Calum's entertaining and knowledgeable advice will inspire you and help to enrich your time in the water.

Raised to a life of relentless hard work as one of seven children of a single mother, Julie Waterman was married and having her own first child by the time she was 17. At 23 she was running her own cleaning company, making such a success of it that she was soon employing 400 people. But at 35 she gave it all up to buy a second-hand yacht and embarked on the biggest adventure of all - an attempt to sail single-handed round the world. There were parties in every port, along with a string of romances, some hilarious adventures and several narrow escapes from a watery grave. But Julie stuck to her plan - until a tropical storm left her shipwrecked on an island in the South Pacific, where she lived for three glorious years, falling in love with a handsome young French diplomat. Unfortunately her new paramour turned out not to be all he seemed - and Julie's round-the-world adventure was far from over. Shipwrecked in Paradise is Julie Waterman's story of her colourful life, complete with the laughs, the loves, the maritime mishaps and the parties and pink gins.

This is the radical journey of an Italian surf punk studying Chinese in the late 1980s, fuelling surf adventures in the 1990s through work as a Mandarin interpreter., running Surf News magazine in the 2000s, tackling the Silver Dragon river bore in 2007, and then moving the so-called 'Peoples Republic of Empty Waves' to explore the virgin breaks and the surf development of China. Along the way, Nik discovers an untold history of wave riding in dynastic culture. How do the breathing techniques of Daoism, the flow of calligraphy and the pragmatic values of Confucianism relate to the art of wave riding? Strangely, and quite brilliantly, this happens in the oldest continuous civilisation in the world over 1200 years ago.

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the ultimate long distance challenge - a 35,000-mile circumnavigation of the globe, contested by amateur crews in identical racing yachts. The 2010 winner was 28-year-old Brendan Hall and his crew in Spirit of Australia. Although Brendan was the youngest and least experienced skipper in the race, the win was no accident - it was the culmination of years of training, skilled navigation and a leadership style way beyond his years. His skills were soon put to the test - in the middle of a North Pacific hurricane, Brendan went to the rescue of a competing yacht and skippered both boats across one of the most feared oceans in the world. This brutally honest, no-holds-barred account is revealing and instructive, with valuable lessons in leadership and management - as well as never giving up. Thrown in quite literally at the deep end, he is pushed to the limit, and learns lessons you can only learn the hard way.

Over the course of twenty years of delivering sailboats to far-flung quaysides, John Kretschmer has had innumerable adventures, both humorous and terrifying. in Flirting with Mermaids, he recounts the most memorable of them. He crosses the Western Caribbean with a crew of eccentric Swedes researching ancient Mayan mariners, lands in Aden at the outbreak of civil war, and endures a North Atlantic crossing during which he disocvers the existence of Force 13 winds. Approaching Japan at the end of a particularly trying delivery, he finds himself sailing in "a high impact debris zone," but his resolve is unshaken. "If a piece of rocketship jetsam fell out of the sky and sank [me] after encounters with Hurricane Floyd, General Noriega,a tsunami, an erupting volcano, and Typhoon Roy, then it was meant to be."

'No cure, no pay'- those are the terms under which a salvor operates, and in doing so he takes on an onerous responsibility. If he is defeated by the elements he is not paid. He receives nothing, however much money, effort, sweat and tears he has put in. Salvage is not a business for the faint-hearted. Ian Tew joined Selco Salvage of Singapore in 1974, and spent over a decade on the front line. Already an experienced master mariner, he learnt the salvage trade in the busy waters of the Far East before rising to command some of the world's largest supertugs, eventually becoming a roving salvage master. In his odyssey he roamed the world, from the coast of Cornwall to the Southern Ocean, from the Gulf of Suez to the dangerous reefs of the South China Sea. This is a vivid account of those ten tough years - successes, failures, tows and rescues - a barge adrift in a hurricane in the English Channel - a freighter aground on a reef hundreds of miles from land with a tropical storm approaching - a trawler battered by the surf on a coral reef, its bottom ripped out - a tanker hit by a missile in the Gulf during the 'Tanker War' of the 1980s. The tugs themselves play a big part in the story, as do the crews and captains the author worked with. This gripping account of drama at sea is a tribute to the seamanship, courage and resourcefulness of the salvor, and an insight into the technical, commercial and human issues behind the headlines.

This second edition is a comprehensive, entertaining guide to mixing boating with business. Leaping ahead of the first edition, this guide keeps up with a boating industry that has become much more regulated and competitive. It shows old salts and newcomers how to transform water-related fun into the pure pleasure of profitabilityfrom starting a business, to accounting and budgeting, insurance, marketing tools, and the business plan. In understandable language, using terms that have excised the legal gobbledygook, it also provides requirements for licensing, documentation and vessel inspection, along with bareboat and crewed chartering. In a world of ever changing regulations, author Fred Edwards sums up the books purpose with this pithy advice, To save time, always check this book first; to save grief, check with the controlling agencies before you make a final decision. For anyone on the water, this book is a perfect and, possibly, a profitable gift.

The definitive guide to seeing all the wonders of Scotland under paddle power. Scotland is one of the most appealing destinations for kayakers, canoeists and paddleboarders from all over the world. That’s because if there is one country best seen from the water, it is Scotland. Loch Ness contains more water than all of the rivers and lakes in England and Wales combined – and there are 27,000 other lochs to explore as well. What’s more, with 125,000km of rivers and 800 islands, there’s always somewhere new to paddle. And the spectacular Scottish scenery only adds to the appeal. This book is the complete guide to paddling the wonderfully varied waterways, lochs, rivers and coasts of Scotland, compiled by Ally Findlay, a paddleboard instructor and tour guide based in Glasgow. He covers all regions of Scotland: - South Scotland, including the coast at Kirkcudbright and Fleet Bay, and inland to Loch Ken, and the Galloway Canoe Trail - Central Scotland, including Loch Lomond and the beautiful Trossachs National Park - East Coast Scotland, including the Forth Bridges - West Coast Scotland, from the coast at Arasaig to lochs and rivers including the amazing Rannoch Moor - Scottish Highlands, which become a magical playground in the northwest following the Inverpoly routes From short paddles to day trips into the stunning wilderness, this book covers excursions for all occasions and all levels of ability, explaining where to begin and what to look out for. Most are well suited to canoe and kayak, but going further, some are even better explored standing up on a paddleboard, including cross-Scotland routes such as the Shin System. With beautiful and evocative photography, and clear maps, this is the essential guide to seeing Scotland under paddle power, exploring where to go, how to get there and what to see en route.

This new series features easy-to-understand yet thorough treatments of technical issues facing every boat owner, sail or power. Each volume is fully illustrated with photos and technical drawings. Author John C Payne is one of the foremost international authorities on marine electronics and the author of two major handbooks. Book 1, Understanding Boat Batteries and Battery Charging, includes the following subjects: lead acid batteries; AGM batteries; gel batteries; general battery information; battery ratings and selection; safety, installation, and maintenance; charging, alternators, and regulators, and more.