by William Butler

It was paradise. Skimming across the vast Pacific, Bill and Simonne Butler had everything they needed aboard their trim sloop Siboney and a world of possibilities ahead. One night they were enchanted by a pod of pilot whales swimming alongside the boat - but then events took a terrifying turn. Without warning, and seemingly with coordinated intent, the whales attacked, ramming their hull until the doomed craft slipped beneath the waves.

Paperback

By M. & M. Bailey

A fascinating and inspiring tale that has become one of the classics of the sea.

PB 192pp.

By S.Callahan

A first-hand account by one of the few men to have survived more than a month alone in an inflatable liferaft. Fighting off sharks, distilling water by the spoonful, and watching the ships pass by - all part of this story of anguish, horror, heroism and hope.

PB. 344pp

by J Rousmaniere

This is John Rousmaniere's most ambitious work ever, the unique expression of a master storyteller and authority on seamanship who has survived storms at sea. Each of the book's stories of seafaring disaster - many little known, all exciting and of deep human interest - present a broad human drama. Rousmaniere tells of the hopes and choices that put these sailors in harm's way. He takes readers into the gales themselves with authoritative knowledge of horrific weather and the split-second decisions that seamen must make. Finally, he explores the consequences of these disasters for survivors, rescuers, families, communities, and in some cases, nations. The pursuit of these elusive strands leads the reader deep into our ambivalent relationship with the sea as both 'destroyer and preserver'.

Paperback

by John Kretschmer
2007
'At the Mercy of the Sea' retraces the journeys of three lone sailors swept up by a monster hurricane that confounds all predictions.

Paperback, 240pp.

By J. Hood

Extraordinary Stories of Wreck Terror and Triumph on the Sea

A collection of remarkable maritime stories stretching from 1752 to 2005 and across several countries. Compelling true life stories of tragedy, adversity, courage and disaster at sea.
408p Hb.

by John Caldwell

In May 1946, stranded in Panama after the Second World War, Caldwell set out alone on a 9,000-mile journey aboard the 29-foot 'Pagan' to rejoin his wife in Sydney.

324pp, illustrations, paperback

By D. Pike
2008
A wide range of accounts of yachts, motorboats and commercial vessels running into difficulty as a result of poor navigation, fog, miscalculation, human error, weather conditions etc and analyses in a readable and entertaining fashion what caused the disaster, what went wrong, how it was dealt with and the lessons learned from it.

Examples range from the Fastnet disaster, powerboat races, boats run down in the Channel, to trawlers pulled under by submarines, ferry accidents and tanker and cargo ship disasters. The incidents include grounding, collision, fire, sinking, ice and storms, and each chapter has an example from the Marine Accident Investigation Bureau who monitor incidents at sea.

Pb. 246x189mm 192pp Colour photos throughout

RRP £19.99 OUR PRICE £15.99

By R. Mundle
2nd Ed.
2008
The 1998 Sydney to Hobart race became one of the Worlds major sporting disaters. 115 yachts started, 44 reached Hobart and six sailors tragically lost their lives. Rob Mundle, one of Australia's leading journalists tells this story of courage with compassion, vigour and understanding. It is a salute to the rescuers and a tribute to those who died.
'a riveting and harrowing story of the storm which devastated a sporting nation'

Pb. 384pp 32 pages colour photographs.

RRP £8.99 OUR PRICE £7.99

By Arved Fuchs

In 1914, Shackleton set out to explore Antartica, but his ship Endurance got stuck in ice and eventually sank. The story of the crossing on foot of South Georgia is told here.

234x156mm 224pp, illustrations, hardback

by Nick Ward with Sinead O'Brien

William Hill Sports Book of the Year - 2007 Shortlist

The Fastnet Race is the world famous yacht race from the Isle of Wight to the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland and back. The race of 1979 began in perfect weather conditions but within 48 hours, the deadliest storm in the history of modern sailing struck off the south coast of Ireland. By the time it had passed, the havoc caused was immeasurable. Even more devastating, it had mercilessly taken the lives of fifteen sailors.

'Left for Dead' is the tragic and inspirational story of Nick Ward’s survival against all the odds. It is the story of an ordinary man who survived an extraordinary event. It was an experience which affected him so deeply that for over 25 years his story has remained untold - until now.

Pb, 308pp, colour photo section, 2008.

RRP £8.99, OUR PRICE £6.99

by Nick Ward with Sinead O'Brien

The second edition of the Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year is updated with a new chapter describing Nick’s eventual completion of the Fastnet Race thirty years after his first, ill-fated attempt.

The world-famous Fastnet Race takes yachts from the Isle of Wight to the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland and back. The 1979 race began in perfect conditions, but was soon engulfed by the deadliest storm in the history of modern sailing. By the time it passed, the havoc caused was immeasurable, and fifteen sailors had lost their lives.

Paperback, 320pp, 198x129mm, colour photo sections.

by Louise Longo

A True Story

While cruising in the Bay of Biscay, 1994, Louise and Bernard Longo and their six year old daughter, Gaella, ran into a storm of such violence that Bernard decided they would be safer in their liferaft. Only Louise survived that tragic error of judgement, to be rescued after weeks of hunger, thirst, guilt, agony and despair.

160pp, illustrations, hardback

by Frank & Margaret Dye

A classic sea story recounting Frank Dye's intrepid voyages in his 16ft Wayfarer dinghy to Iceland and Norway, which must rank among the most hazardous sea adventures of our time. He and his crew survived gales up to Force 9, capsizing and a broken mast.

2nd edition, 176pp, paperback, b/w and colour photos.

RRP £14.99 OUR PRICE £11.99

A True Story of Disaster and Survival in a Force 12 Storm

by Farrington

In June of 1994 a dangerous 'bomb' storm caught dozens of cruising sailors by surprise as they voyaged north from New Zealand. This is the true story of how nine yachts struggled to survive the hurricane-like conditions. Boats were battered by fierce winds and capsized by seas towering well over 50 feet high. Equipment was ripped loose, and water penetrated every weak point. Masts collapsed, rudders broke, and sailors lost steering control when they needed it most. The crews coped as best they could with injury, fear, exhaustion, and illness. Their electronic calls for help were picked up by satellites and radio operators, who initiated a massive air and sea search. This is the story of heroic rescues, human endurance, and tragic loss.

288pp, paperback

By C. Evans

An International History of Lifesaving, Coastal Rescue Craft and Organisations.

A highly illustrated reference and general interest book covering the earliest times to the present day. Four sections: 1 - History, 2 - Development of the rescue craft, 3 - contempory view profiling prominent nations and organisations, 4 - an overview of other aspects of coastal and ocean rescue, SAR structure communications etc.

276 x 220mm Hb 302p

By F. Mulville

Iskra's Ordeal in the Hebrides

The author set off on a summer voyage to Spain and France, but disaster overtakes them when 'Iskra' is torn from her mooring in a fierce gale.

184p illus. Pb

The Fantome was a 282 foot, steel hulled, four masted schooner - lost in the Caribbean as Hurricane Mitch tore through the region in 1998. The winds reached 180mph, the waves 50 foot high. The gripping story of a tragedy unfolding, the loss of a fine ship and her crew.

Hb 256p

by Webb Chiles

Tales from the author's own experience of surviving capsizes, swampings and shipwrecks in many oceans - enough troubles from Cape Horn to Florida, to Tahiti to the Red Sea to South Africa to Bali to New Jersey "to cause one to take a serious interest in gardening". Beautifully written by an extraordinary sailor.

208pp, illustrations, hardback

by Paul Gelder

30 dramatic accounts of yachts lost at sea

This is a new collection of terrifying and compelling accounts of yachts lost at sea. The seven deadly causes of loss continue to take their toll, and Paul Gelder has compiled first-hand accounts of shipwreck and sinking caused by Collision, Gear Failure, Stress of Weather, Faulty Navigation, Fire, Crew Failure and Exhaustion.

The moving, emotionally charged descriptions of shipwrecked sailors abandoning their yachts at sea will have you on the edge of your seat. But these accounts are more than just gripping tales of disaster - they carry valuable lessons which the survivors have been able to pass on to all who go to sea for pleasure.

Paperback, 256pp, 2010.

by Dougal Robertson

After their schooner was sunk by killer whales, the six members of the Robertson family spent 38 days adrift in the Pacific, first in a liferaft, then aboard a tiny dinghy. With no maps, compass or navigation instruments, and rations for only three days, they used every survival technique they could, as they battled 20-foot waves, sharks, thirst, starvation, and exhaustion.

224pp, illustrations, paperback

By M. Greenwald

True stories of the struggle for life in a tiny survival craft. Caught in the eye of a hurricane, sudden disaster at night, attacked by killer whales, shipwrecked in winter in Alaska...

624pp, paperback, photos, drawings, charts

Dramatic first-hand accounts of yacht losses at sea
by Paul Gelder

This is an enthralling collection of 50 dramatic stories of yachts lost at sea. First published in 1985, Jack Coote's book of first-hand accounts has been comprehensively updated and revised, with the addition of more than 20 new stories, including the loss of Pete Goss's 4m pound catamaran, Team Philips, in an Atlantic storm at the end of 2000.

Paperback, 288pp, 2008.

By Tom Lochlaas

A collection of riveting real life stories of adventure, loss and survival at sea: garnered from among the best writing about sailing and the sea over the past 40 years. As captured by Webb Chiles (The Open Boat), Rob Mundle (Fatal Storm), Jim Carrier (The Ship and the Storm), Gordon Chaplin (Dark Wind),Tami Ashcroft (Red Sky in Mourning) and 15 others.