The Heikells’ work is never done. This volume alone covers 7,000 miles of indented coastline with a wealth of natural anchorages and harbours. Yacht numbers are increasing, new marinas are being built, ports privatised and facilities improved. Nevertheless there are still ‘places in this sailors’ paradise that are mostly overlooked by sea-borne visitors’ – and Heikell has decades of experience to guide us there. This year’s revision focusses on the Ionian, the Saronic and the less frequented but intriguing coast of Northern Greece (Thessaloniki to Samothrace) where we are promised ‘some of the grandest scenery and finest sandy beaches’. Greek Waters is a splendid volume but, even by pilot book standards it’s weighty. There will be a pdf version.

Yachting MonthlyJulia Jones1 March 2019Sailing, Imray, Rod Heikell, Lucinda Heikell

The Cruising Almanac 2019

The CA Almanac does what it says on the label. It covers the coast of North West Europe from Bergen to Gibralter; the British Isles and includes a few tempting pages that might encourage exploration of the growing network of European inland waterways. Extraneous information is kept to a minimum; there is no advertising (except for Imray’s linked publications) and tide tables are in a user-friendly separate volume. The graphics are excellent – though dim-eyed readers might want to comment on the tidal stream chartlets. At the heart of this almanac is the human voice: the key contributors for each area who explain why one might want to visit a particular location and what might be a good route onwards. Experienced, essential guidance.

Yachting MonthlyJulia Jones1 December 2018Sailing, Imray

Kintyre to Ardnamurchan (2nd edition)

Yachting MonthlyJulia Jones2 July 2018Sailing, Imray, CCC Sailing Directions

The Baltic Sea and Approaches (4th edition)

Yachting MonthlyJulia Jones1 March 2018Imray, Sailing, RCC Pilotage Foundation

Cape Horn and Antarctic Waters

“You’d have to be mad to want to go there” is a possible reaction to the complex and dangerous business of high latitude cruising in the Southern hemisphere. Paul Heiney and the RCCPF’s book however is a masterpiece of clear thinking, advance planning (start getting the paperwork for Antarctica nine months ahead), exceptional seamanship and wide ranging interest in the natural world. It’s a composite work, bringing previous publications together and drawing on the observations of many intrepid adventurers as well as Heiney’s personal experience (as described in One Wild Song). The section on Antarctica is limited – one guesses there’ll be more to come from the RCCPF here. Meanwhile this is a must-have book, indispensable for expedition planning but also eye-openingly interesting to those remaining firmly in home waters.

Julia’s Book Reviews