By D. Chivers
2007

Among many of Austin Farrars' design ideas were the Pushpit., and the Clamshell folding dinghy. Respected by those who met him and worked with him. His work on dinghy design and building, and subsequently as one of the leading sailmakers of his day, stays with us today. His work on the design of spinnakers and wing rigs is still current and many of today’s sailmakers learnt the trade under Austin.

Coming from a family where invention was encouraged, Austin was fortunate to be yacht and dinghy racing in the hey day of the 1930’s. He worked on the design of cutting edge offshore racers and developed torpedo nets to guard ships during the war. After the war he was the most successful of the designers of the International 14 class and Seahorse Sails .

Pb. 236pp 189x246mm 180b/w illus.

Knife-edge decisions, adrenaline rushes, extreme weather, bitter rivalries, heart-stopping races - they are all in a day's work for sailing's superman Ben Ainslie. Ben has won successive golds in the last three Olympics, making him a British hero and our greatest Olympic sailor ever. In 2012 he plans to bid for a fourth.

In "Close to the Wind" Ben reveals the truth behind his awesome achievement. A charming spokesperson off the water, he reveals just how ruthless he is on it. He admits to fierce rivalries, above all with Brazilian Robert Scheidt, who robbed a nineteen-year-old Ben of gold in his first Olympics.

Hardback, 240pp, 2009.

By Victor Slocum

The adventures of America's best known sailor.

Captain Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail alone around the world, but his famous voyage aboard 'Spray' was only the culmination of a life filled with adventure, pioneering and enterprise. This book, by his son, supplements other books about the voyage by giving a greater insight into earlier adventures and the man. It also includes many unpublished facts about the voyage, rare photos, drawings, maps and boat plans.

382p Pb

By L.F.Herreshoff

A fascinating biography written by the famous designers son. So great was his influence, that the period 1890 - 1920 was known as the 'Herreshoff Era'.

228x148mm 400p 109 b/w photos

By Franco Pate
2009

Lavish coffee table photographic celebration of Natt Herreshoff and his yachts, featuring the internationally acclaimed photography of Franco Pace. Natt Herreshoff was one of the leading 20th Century yacht designers and the most revered designer of the 1920's and 1930's.

Hb. 350x255mm 160pp colour photgraphy throughout.

RRP £50.00 OUR PRICE £39.99

By N. Compton
2009
Iain - considered a guru by the boating community, and has a cult following around the world (but especially in the UK and US) for his exceptionally appealing but easy to build small boat designs.
The photography brings together the beauty of Iain’s boats and the stunning Scottish landscape where of his base — gorgeous sailing shots, moody building photos and atmospheric shots of Findhorn and Scotland in general.

Hb. 160pp 275x220mm Colour photography throughout plus design plans.

RRP £25.00 OUR PRICE £19.99

B. Mayher & M. Bray
Photos by B. Mendlowitz
2002
A portrait of Joel White, naval architect and builder and sailor. This book celebrates White's life and the boats he built in words, photographs and plans. A collaboration of Whites longtime friends and shipmates, it brings exceptional insight into his work.

Hb 228p

David Moody has carefully and lovingly researched and written the definitive history of the Moody family and its long association with boats and boat building at Swanwick on the River Hamble from the time John Moody moved to Swanwick from Southampton in 1827, to the sale of the business of AH Moody and Son by the family in December 2005.

The first part of the book narrates the history of the company and the Moody family. However part 2 will be of great interest to serious historians of yacht design and building, and to owners of Moody boats around the world. There is a chapter on each of the main types of yacht produced by the company with dimensions and photographs of a representative selection of sailing craft, from T Harrison Butler's Vindilis in 1935 to the final, single, Moody 66 built in conjunction with Halmatic in 2005.

Finally there is a catalogue of all craft built by Moody or bearing the Moody name.

200 b/w photographs, and other illustrations. Hardback, 174pp.

The World's Greatest Yachting Cartoonist
By Dick Durham
2010

Mike Peyton is the world's most famous nautical cartoonist - the Matt or Giles of the sailing world. This is his authorised biography, complete with many of his iconic cartoons, written by Dick Durham.

Dick romps through Mike's life, from his early schoolboy sketches to being seconded by the intelligence corps during World War Two to draw maps of the North African deserts, from there running a PoW newspaper, and, back in the UK, going on to work as a freelance cartoonist on as diverse titles as the Church of England Times and Corsetry & Underwear.

Hb. 234x156mm 176pp

RRP £16.99 OUR PRICE £13.99

Ellen MacArthur

Just after 10.00 on the night of February 7th 2004, Ellen MacArthur crossed an imaginary line in the sea off Brittany to become the fastest person ever to sail solo round the world. Most experts thought that the record would be beyond MacArthur. But in a superhuman effort that forced her to dig deeper than ever before, she proved the doubters wrong. Her effort captured the world's imagination and the scenes that greeted her return to Falmouth were euphoric.

Drawing on logs, emails, sound and video diaries, this beautifully designed, fully illustrated book captures the drama, excitement, danger, joy and tears of a truly extraordinary achievement - in Ellen's own words.

288pp, paperback

By T. Edwards

Tracey Edwards's story. In 1989 -90 she brought Maiden home to Southampton at the end of the Whitbread Round the World Race under the full focus of the National media. She is truly a heroine of our time and with her disadvantaged start in life, all her achievements in sporting and personal terms are even more remarkable.

Colour photos. Hb 430p

By Wendy Kendall
Dec. 2008

Barbara Kendall competed in her 5th Olympic Games in 2008 - at the age of 40. Windsurfing is a gruelling physical challenge at this level and Brabara's experience in racing, tactics, equipment and board handling helped her success. The most important factor was her desire to win.

Barbara Kendall is New Zealands most successful Olympian - she won Gold in the Barcelona Olympics, Silver at Atlanta and Bronze in Sydney - this is her inspirational story, written by her elder sister.

234x153mm