'Quietly triumphant.' Donal Ryan 'Ambitious and gentle.' Belinda McKeon 'A terrific book.' Michael Harding In May 2020, John Connell finds himself, like so many others, confined to his local area, the opportunity to freely travel and socialise cut short. His attention turns to the Camlin river - an ever-present source of life for his town's inhabitants and, for John, a site of boyhood adventure, first love, family history and local legend. He decides to canoe its course with his friend, Sunday Times journalist Peter Geoghegan, a two-day trip requiring physical exertion and mental resilience. As the world grows still around them, the river continues to teem with life - a symphony of buzzing mayfly and jumping trout. During their meander downstream, John reflects on his life: his travels, his past relationships and his battle with depression, as well as on Irish folklore, geopolitics and philosophy. The Stream of Everything is both a reverie and a celebration of close observation; a winding, bucolic account of the summer we discovered home.

A GPS set gives your position to within 20 metres, anywhere on earth. Punch in your destination and the machine gives the data you need to sail or motor to your target. The dream of navigators through the ages - always to know exactly where they are and where they are going - has been realised. This book explains, to the novice or traditional navigator, what the system can and cannot do. You will learn about choosing a set, position fixing, outputs, waypoint navigation, passage making and pilotage. In a very short time you will be entering Waypoints, planning Routes and watching the Crosstrack Error as though they were old friends. You will also understand how to check your results using traditional navigation, common sense and the Mark 1 Eyeball.

The Baltic was northern Europe's best kept secret - but word has got out to sailors from across the continent and beyond. The lively seaside towns, beautiful wild coastlines that stretch for miles, serene and secluded bays, remote islands, and friendly people are driving a boom in cruising and chartering. This is the perfect cruising guide for anyone who wants to explore the Baltic Sea, whether pottering around Denmark and Germany, crossing to Sweden or cruising further afield, into Eastern Europe. It includes suggested routes for trips of all lengths, from short trips in the Sly Firth or Flensburg Fjord suitable for those with less time or experience, to longer cruises to beautiful locations like Svendborg or Marstrand, visits to busy cities like Aarhus, Copenhagen and Stockholm, and more adventurous tours to islands like Anholt, Bornholm or Gotland. Lavishly illustrated with gorgeous photography, and as inspirational as it is practical, this guide covers all the best destinations to explore, and features navigation advice, including landmarks, lights, bearings, depths and approaches, as well as detailing local facilities and attractions.

Choosing the right travelling companion for that trip of a lifetime is a tough task, yet Stormrider Surf Stories makes life easy by offering something for everyone who is on a journey of enlightenment through Indonesia. This compendium of short stories brings together some of the finest tales of discovery, adventure and hardship from every corner of this surf-blessed archipelago. Join the pioneers and share their experiences as they hack their way through the jungles of Nias, the Mentawai Islands, G-Land, Sumbawa and Sumba, searching for the perfect wave around the next headland. Feel the terror as survivors recount their flirtation with disasters as big as the Boxing Day tsunami and Bali bombings or as small and personal as getting lost or falling overboard. Learn what it was really like in the early '70s on the sleepy island of Bali or jump in a sampan for a magical mystery tour of the far-flung Mentawai islands, decades before the modern, luxury, charter boats appeared. Shipwrecks, tsunamis, volcanoes, bombs, beatings, malaria and death are all cheated by an intrepid cast of trailblazers and chancers, but it's not all danger and mayhem as there are also some heart-warming narratives of love, joy and face-creasing comedy. This compendium of Stormrider Surf Stories will delight both the road-weary Indo traveller and the inquisitive intern, looking for a good ol' yarn to read during the next flat spell.

Stress-Free Engine Maintenance is an accessible and practical guide to understanding what is going on with your boat's engine, how to look after it, spotting the signs when all is not well, and how to fix it. Learn how to change a filter and impeller, how to ensure the engine doesn't overheat, and much more. This visual and jargon-free book covers all the essentials for looking after your engine, in one place, including: - Basic principles of how an engine works - Fuel, cooling and air systems - Engine electrical systems - Gearboxes and drives - Checklists (e.g. before starting and once running) - Most common causes of breakdown - Troubleshooting Like the other titles in Duncan Wells' bestselling 'Stress-Free' series, the information is presented in an accessible, manageable way, with the use of diagrams, quick reference tables, box features, QR videos, clear explanations, top tips and checklists, making maintenance and basic repair of your engine straightforward, and with minimum stress. There are also plenty of amusing anecdotes and useful lessons learned. If you find the prospect of fixing anything to do with the engine daunting, then this is the book for you. Stress-Free Engine Maintenance is a key addition to any boat's bookshelf, ready to remind the skipper how to deal with problems and keep everything running smoothly.

However many times it has been done, the act of casting off the warps and letting go one's last hold of the shore at the start of a voyage has about it something solemn and irrevocable, like marriage, for better or for worse. Mostly Mischief's ordinary title belies four more extraordinary voyages made by H.W. 'Bill' Tilman covering almost 25,000 miles in both Arctic and Antarctic waters. The first sees the pilot cutter Mischief retracing the steps of Elizabethan explorer John Davis to the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage. Tilman and a companion land on the north coast and make the hazardous crossing of Bylot Island while the remainder of the crew make the eventful passage to the southern shore to recover the climbing party. Back in England, Tilman refuses to accept the condemnation of Mischief's surveyor, undertaking costly repairs before heading back to sea for a first encounter with the East Greenland ice. Between June 1964 and September 1965, Tilman is at sea almost without a break. Two eventful voyages to East Greenland in Mischief provide the entertaining bookends to his account of the five-month voyage in the Southern Ocean as skipper of the schooner Patanela. Tilman had been hand-picked by the expedition leader as the navigator best able to land a team of Australian and New Zealand climbers and scientists on Heard Island, a tiny volcanic speck in the Furious Fifties devoid of safe anchorages and capped by an unclimbed glaciated peak. In a separate account of this successful voyage, Colin Putt describes the expedition as unique - the first ascent of a mountain to start below sea level.

A maritime adventure memoir that follows a crew of misfits hired to sail an 18th-century warship 5,000 miles to HollywoodIn the late 1990s, Patrick O’Brian’s multimillion-copy-selling historical novel series—the Aubrey–Maturin series, which was set during the Napoleonic Wars—seemed destined for film. With Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey and Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin, the production only needed a ship that could stand in for Lucky Jack’s HMS Surprise, with historical accuracy paramount. The filmmakers found the Rose, a replica of an 18th-century ship that would work perfectly. Only there was one problem: the Rose was in Newport, Rhode Island, not in Southern California, where they would be filming. Enter a ragtag crew of thirty oddballs who stepped up for the task, including Will Sofrin, at the time a 21-year-old wooden-boat builder and yacht racer, who joined as the ship’s carpenter.All Hands on Deck is Sofrin’s memoir of the epic adventure delivering the Rose to Hollywood. It’s a story of reinvention, of hard work on the high seas, of love, and of survival. The Rose was an example of the most cutting-edge technology of her era, but in the 21st century, barely anyone had experience sailing it. The crew effectively went back in time, brought to life the old ways of a forgotten world, and barely lived to tell the tale. Just a few days in, a terrifying hurricane-strength storm nearly sank the Rose, and later, a rogue wave caused a nearly fatal dismasting. And the ups and downs weren’t limited to the waves—with the crew split into factions, making peace between warring camps became necessary, too, as did avoiding pirates and braving the temptations of shore leave. All Hands on Deck is a gripping story of an unforgettable journey and a must-read for fans who adore O’Brian’s novels and the dramatic film adaptation of Master and Commander.

This work is significant. It is the first to include a method of assessing structural strength in the context of the modern marine environment.
--Commander M. C. Cruder, U.S. Coast Guard

Acclaimed author and naval architect Dave Gerr created this unique system of easy-to-use scantling rules and rules-of-thumb for calculating the necessary dimensions, or scantlings, of hulls, decks, and other boat parts, whether built of fiberglass, wood, wood-epoxy composite, steel, or aluminum. In addition to the rules themselves, The Elements of Boat Strength offers their context: an in-depth, plain-English discussion of boatbuilding materials, methods, and practices that will guide you through all aspects of boat construction.

Now you can avoid wading through dense technical engineering manuals or tackling advanced mathematics. The Elements of Boat Strength has all the formulas, tables, illustrations, and charts you need to judge how heavy each piece of your boat should be in order to last and be safe. With this book, an inexpensive scientific calculator, and a pad of paper, youll be able to design and specify all the components necessary to build a sound, long-lasting, rugged vessel.

What reviewers have said about Dave Gerrs books:

Propeller Handbook

By far the best book available on the subject.--Sailing

The best laymans guide weve ever read.--Practical Sailor

Dave Gerr and International Marine made a complicated topic understandable and put it into a handbook that is easy to use.--WoodenBoat

Without doubt the definitive reference for selecting, installing, and understanding boat propellers.--Royal Navy Sailing Association Journal

The Nature of Boats

If you are not nautically obsessed before reading this book, you will most certainly be afterward.--Sailing

Fascinating potpourri of information about todays boats, modern and traditional.--WoodenBoat

On Friday 14 June 1968 Suhaili, a tiny ketch, slipped almost unnoticed out of Falmouth harbour steered by the solitary figure at her helm, Robin Knox-Johnston. Ten and a half months later Suhaili, paintwork peeling and rust streaked, her once white sails weathered and brown, her self-steering gone, her tiller arm jury rigged to the rudder head, came romping joyously back to Falmouth to a fantastic reception for Robin, who had become the first man to sail round the world non-stop single-handed. By every standard it was an incredible adventure, perhaps the last great uncomputerised journey left to man. Every hazard, every temptation to abandon the astounding voyage came Robin's way, from polluted water tanks, smashed cabin top and collapsed boom to lost self-steering gear and sheered off tiller, and all before the tiny ketch had fought her way to Cape Horn, the point of no return, the fearsome test of any seaman's nerve and determination. A World of My Own is Robin's gripping, uninhibited, moving account of one of the greatest sea adventures of our time. An instant bestseller, it is now reissued for a new generation of readers to be enthralled and inspired.

The Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding is the definitive work on the subject and results from the late Bruce Grant's many years of interest and experience as a braider and writer on the subject. It combines most of the material published in Leather Braiding and How to Make Cowboy Horse Gear with a mass of completely new material. The book's more than 350 illustrations are arranged so that the step-by-step instructions face the picture being described, making it very easy to follow. While the book is primarily for those interested in leathercraft, in nearly all cases the methods of braiding are applicable to many other materials, such as silk, cotton, plastic, catgut, or horsehair. Braidwork takes many forms, and its applications are practical as well as decorative. The combination of beauty and utility lends itself to an array of items-personal gear or clothing, working or show gear for a horse, decoration of plain, carved, or tooled leather work. Truly a book to be used as well as read, Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding provides all the information needed for this satisfying pastime.

At last, a guidebook covering some of Scottish paddling's best kept secrets. Scotland is a world-class sea-kayaking destination, the Scottish Islands being rightly famous for the standard of paddling they offer. The North and East Coasts don't have as many sheltering islands as the West and there is always some sort of swell, but they will richly reward your efforts to explore their hidden nooks and crannies - stunning cliff and coastal scenery, numerous bird colonies, and fascinating fishing villages each with their own history and character. Forty-five journeys from Cape Wrath to Berwick upon Tweed are described in a way that is both inspirational and informative. Details of launching and landing sites, tides and potential hazards are provided and the coast is described in exquisite detail. This means that it can also be used as a kayaker's 'pilot' for any journey they might wish to undertake in this area. It follows the successful format of other Pesda Press sea kayaking guides, presenting the information in a user-friendly fashion and making good use of maps and colour photographs.

The ninth edition of Inland Waterways of France is the ideal guide for planning cruises in and through the most fascinating and diverse waterway network in Europe. This edition takes a new paperback format, split into three volumes. Author David Edwards-May presents a detailed overview of the waterways extending from the English Channel through Northern France, Picardy and Paris to Central France and Burgundy. This system totals 2700 kilometres of waterways that are as vibrant as ever, and include the new Seine-Nord Europe Canal, now under construction, to be completed by 2028. Recreational use is growing alongside the commercial traffic on the busier waterways, while Champagne, Burgundy and Central France have become cruising destinations in their own right. This first volume of the new edition sets out the current state of the network in 200 pages in full colour, with detailed maps of junctions and other key sites on the network, overview maps for each waterway, and route descriptions. It is a unique blend of practical information, maps, background historical notes and colour photographs.

Six-time world surfing champion, actor, and US heart-throb Kelly Slater tells of the struggles and triumphs he's experienced throughout his life and how they have helped him to become one of the world's most loved sports figures. From beach blanket bingo to Baywatch, surfing has fascinated people for years, and Kelly Slater is the sport's newest star. He's one of the world's most popular surfers; his radical moves have revolutionised the sport. Born in Cocoa Beach, Florida, in 1972, he found surfing to be a great way to escape problems at home. When he was 11, his parents divorced. Slater and his brother, Sean, were raised by their suddenly single mother, who struggled to support two young sons. After Slater's surfing career took off, he made the transition into acting and modelling. He spent a season starring on the popular television show Baywatch, where he won the hearts of women young and old, including Pamela Anderson, whom he dated for about a year. He has also been featured in Versace ads. In Pipe Dreams, he shares the stories that have influenced his life and have inspired him to overcome both personal and professional hurdles and achieve his dreams.

This is a complete beginner's guide to the sit-on-top kayak. Sit-on-top kayaking is the fastest growing water-based activity. It's fun and easy to learn. Anyone can do it! Paddlers, newcomers and those curious about the sport will find all the answers to their questions in this book. Using colour photos and clear descriptions, this book is the perfect introduction to sit-on-top kayaking. Choosing the right kayak, how to store and transport it, how to get the most fun out of your boat and how to stay safe whilst doing so are explored in detail. Snorkelling, fishing and scuba diving are some of the other activities that benefit from using sit-on-tops and these are also covered.

For more than twenty-five years, FalconGuide(R) has set the standard for outdoor recreation guidebooks. Written by top outdoors experts and enthusiasts, each guide invites you to experience the endless adventure and rugged beauty of the great outdoors.
Paddling Prince Edward Island features all the best paddling spots at this bucolic island, renowned for its charming villages, friendly people, varied wildlife, and abundant waters. This guide provides information on traveling to and around PEI, as well as directions to paddling put-ins and suggested routes. Sidebars on the Island's history, culture, and wildlife combine for a thorough introduction to this unspoiled vacation destination--as seen from the seat of a canoe or kayak.
Look inside to find:
Seventy-five paddling areas suited to every ability
Accurate driving directions to access points
Detailed maps showing put-ins, optional paddling routes, and latitude and longitude
Information on conditions and hazards, basic equipment, and outfitters

A pocket database containing everything a busy skipper needs to know but might find hard to remember. It is easy to take for granted how much a skipper needs to know : Navigation, how to pilot the boat into a new harbour, using the radio, checking the engine, keeping an eye out for things that need repair, monitoring the weather, feeding the crew and much, much more! This pocketbook is designed as an aide-memoire with checklists to make life easier for busy skippers and a must-have reference for first-time skippers. It should also prove an invaluable reference book for the RYA Yachtmaster syllabus. The book has been helping skippers for nearly 20 years and has now been edited and thoroughly updated by Yachtmaster Instructor and Examiner, Sara Hopkinson. (RYA and Yachtmaster are registered trademarks of the Royal yachting Association.)

In Superyacht Captain, a professional at the zenith of the world's most lavish and exclusive industry gives a rare insight into a career that is entertaining, instructive and at times daunting in its scale. The tale of an ordinary boy whose career takes him on a most extraordinary journey, this book begins with Brendan messing about in boats in a sleepy coastal Australian town, and ends with him becoming one of the most successful and respected superyacht captains in the World - the consummate 'Billionaire's Captain'. Spanning two decades and circling the globe, his story intimately draws readers into the real world of superyachts, their crew and their owners. It is Brendan's love letter to an industry he respects and holds so dear to his heart. It's the story of stepping out and embracing uncertainty - failing, learning and repeating - weaving in in the lessons he's learned as he's progressed from deck hand to captain, Brendan's insights are valuable for anyone leading teams with demanding objectives. Surprisingly humble and self aware, in a world of glitter and extravagance you can see why he's trusted. All of this is told against a backdrop of seemingly impossible glamour at the most extravagant edge of the global wealth spectrum, with plenty of entertaining stories of the superyacht lifestyle. A brilliant read for all, for the superyacht fans, as well as anyone interested in leadership and management techniques from someone at the top of their game, working for those who define the rules of the game.

Every yachtsman or motorboater has at some point entertained the idea of catching their own supper, but until "Sea Fishing" there hasn't been a book to guide them through it. This unique handbook fills the gap. Fishing whilst cruising along the coast or at anchor isn't as easy as it might at first seem, but this practical, photographic guide shows the novice how to set up their tackle, bait the line correctly and how to work with the tide to best effect. Different fishing techniques, tackle, weights and (importantly) bait are required when sailing at speed, drifting along the coast or fishing whilst at anchor, and this book presents them all with helpful step-by-step photos and diagrams. It also details how to kill, de-scale, fillet, skin and cook your catch. There is also a fish identification section that shows every type of fish that can be caught between Scotland and Gibraltar. Updated for the second edition, there is a new section on wreck fishing, and a wider range of fish is covered. With this book, some perseverance and a little luck, anyone trying their hand will soon be able to plan for the pleasure of fresh fish cooked aboard.

The Reeds VHF Handbook is an accessible, user friendly but comprehensive guide to marine VHF radio that helps users quickly get up to speed with all the functions on their equipment. Straightforward explanations and tips describe the leisure VHF DSC radio system in detail and its place within GMDSS. This brand new book incorporates all the information required to pass the Short Range Certificate, which is compulsory for anyone using a VHF DSC radio, and forms part of the process of obtaining the Day Skipper qualification. The book covers radio procedure, channel allocation, VHF radio theory and more, along with a full explanation of GMDSS, including details on EPIRBs, SARTs and Navtex. The Reeds VHF Handbook is an essential onboard reference, and set to become the standard work on the subject.

'Only a man in the devil of a hurry would wish to fly to his mountains, forgoing the lingering pleasure and mounting excitement of a slow, arduous approach under his own exertions.' H.W. 'Bill' Tilman's mountain travel philosophy, rooted in Africa and the Himalaya and further developed in his early sailing adventures in the southern hemisphere, was honed to perfection with his discovery of Greenland as the perfect sailing destination. His Arctic voyages in the pilot cutter Mischief proved no less challenging than his earlier southern voyages. The shorter elapsed time made it rather easier to find a crew but the absence of warm tropical passages meant that similar levels of hardship were simply compressed into a shorter timescale. First published fifty years before political correctness became an accepted rule, Mischief in Greenland is a treasure trove of Tilman's observational wit. In this account of his first two West Greenland voyages, he pulls no punches with regard to the occasional failings, leaving the reader to seek out and discover the numerous achievements of these voyages. The highlight of the second voyage was the identification, surveying and successful first ascent of Mount Raleigh, first observed on the eastern coast of Baffin Island by the Elizabethan explorer John Davis in 1585. For the many sailors and climbers who have since followed his lead and ventured north into those waters, Tilman provides much practical advice, whether from his own observations or those of Davis and the inimitable Captain Lecky. Tilman's typical gift of understatement belies his position as one of the greatest explorers and adventurers of the twentieth century.

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.

Turn a run-down fiberglass boat into a first-class yacht

Since it first appeared in 1991, Don Casey's "This Old Boat" has helped tens of thousands of sailors refurbish older fiberglass boats and has become a revered classic among boat rehabbers.This second edition is revised from first page to last with new information on electrical systems, diesel engines, refrigeration, resins, plumbing and more. Plus, more than 600 newly created illustrations enhance the book's beauty as well as its utility.