In Bed with the Atlantic

Don’t be misled by the title nor by the gamine bikini-clad figure on the cover nor by the emphasis on the author’s inexperience. This is not a bimbo’s book. Kit Pascoe and her partner Alex spent two years exploring the islands of the Atlantic and the Caribbean in their 1970s Nicholson 32. In Bed with the Atlantic analyses the experience of being at one with the ocean and the concept of a yacht as an inside/outside space. Pascoe’s a fine travel writer, fascinated by all that she sees as well as by the changes she experiences in her understanding of the world. She’s also a risk taker who battles persistent anxiety with impressive success. Patronise this woman at your peril!

Yachting MonthlyJulia Jones1 December 2018Sailing, Fernhurst, Kitiara Pascoe

Learn the Nautical Rules of the Road

Yachting MonthlyJulia Jones1 October 2018Sailing, Fernhurst, Paul Boissier

Racundra’s Third Cruise

Yachting MonthlyJulia Jones1 September 2018Sailing, Fernhurst, Arthur Ransome, Brian Hammett

The Restoration Handbook for Yachts

Yachting MonthlyJulia Jones1 September 2018Sailing, Fernhurst, Enric Roselló

Knox-Johnston on Seamanship and Seafaring

Yachting MonthlyJulia Jones1 August 2018Sailing, Fernhurst, Robin Knox-Johnston

Multihull Seamanship

This is the second, updated edition of a book first published in Australia, and it’s excellent. Gavin Le Sueur and his co-skipper Catherine have a lifetime’s experience of cruising, racing and bringing up their children in multihulls. Le Sueur’s approach is both passionate and scientific. His wealth of hard-won experience is organised alphabetically: C, for instance, includes Capsize Prevention, Capsize Survival, Cargo, Children, Cyclones. ‘Babies in bassinets can be gimballed in a net bag secured strongly to the hull,’ is a sentence to be relished. There’s S for Sinking, W for Whales and a huge amount of day-to-day lore in between. Le Sueur conveys eloquently why multihulls are special. His ‘Seamanship Rules’ should be learned by heart.

Julia’s Book Reviews