But it is the sea and yachts that remain at the centre of her work and their images form the bulk of
Posted in General on 23. Oct, 2010
But it is the sea and yachts that remain at the centre of her work and their images form the bulk of a book that can be set up in a room and, almost like the turning of the Book of Psalms each day in the Bible, a new thought, a new mood can be imposed on a room every day, twice a day, or whenever the owner chooses.There are over 240 photographs from her collection, some with accompanying text. They range from the ethereal to the angry, so there should be something to suit all the moods of the day. A taste of what is available can be seen on There are only 1,000 copies being produced and, as you would expect, they are not available at your local bookshops. They can be ordered through that web site or by telephoning Rosie Russell on 020 7738 2020 Better have your gold card ready. The lectern, packaging and post are extra.Offering a totally different outlook is Des Sleightholme.
A Funny Old Life (Adlard Coles Nautical, £10.99) takes a humorous, down-to-earth look at what the world has to offer. Sometimes it is jaundiced, mainly it is dry, always it brings a wry smile. It is a book you can pick up and put down, revisit or hand over for someone else to have a brief taste.It is all, except the early years, based on a life of sailing which was supported by being, for many years, the editor of the British magazine Yachting Monthly. It is the story of someone who came to terms with being thrown into the less fragrant reaches of life and contains some of the elements of Cider With Rosie as well as Angela’s Ashes.It helps if you know something about sailing, but it is not entirely necessary. Sleight-holme’s simple, self-effacing style is easy to understand and the book is laid out in easily digestible chunks, though the illustrations are a bit disappointing.Two compendium books take a wide-ranging, and sometimes uneven in quality, look at the things that motivate sailors and the things that can go wrong at sea. The juxtaposition in The Mind of the Sailor, Peter Noble and Ros Hogbin, (Adlard Coles Nautical, £10.95), of some thoughts about the solo sailor Ellen MacArthur and the Mutiny on the Bounty seems a little odd, but the book just oozes devoted and exhaustive research. Not always the easiest of reads, it nevertheless sparks a lot of thought.
In a similar vein, also from Adlard Coles Nautical, at £14.99, is Jack Coote’s Total Loss, revised by Paul Gelder. It documents 45 first-hand accounts of the worst thing that can happen to a sailor, having his yacht go down under him at sea.This second edition has stories from the famous, like Isabelle Autissier and Peter Crowther to the less well known and incorporates some updates, including opening up with the loss of Pete Goss’ Team Philips.And then some stocking fillers In the small category comes The Skipper’s Pocketbook. It is an idiot’s guide, well illustrated, to all the basic manoeuvres, safety procedures, coastal navigation do’s and don’ts and a basic guide to the weather. It is by Basil Mosenthal, is published by Fernhurst Books and costs £9.95.
From the same house and by that man Sleightholme again is The Essence of Cruising. This is a simple collection of aphorisms and observations to help the experienced and the terrified novice cope with all the situations that can arise. Call it avuncular if you want, but at £8.95 it may solve a little problem.Bigger and more expensive is Super Yachts a marriage of words by John Julian and photographs by a pair of Kiwi photographers, Paul Todd and Michael Ng, of some of the world’s most desirable bits of kit afloat.At £40 it is published by Hodder Moa Beckett in Auckland, New Zealand, and is all you would expect of a well-produced coffee table extravagance.More erudite is Luigi Lang and Dyer Jones’ history of The 12 Metre Class, from Adlard Coles Nautical and priced at £35. It is a comprehensive log of a class which began with the start of the 20th century and reached greatest prominence as the type of yacht used for the America’s Cup from the mid-60s to 1987.. Ten years ago Robin Reid looked like he would dominate British boxing but somewhere between Runcorn and Milan the Olympic Bronze medallist lost his way. But too many things went wrong after that, including a contentious points defeat to Joe Calzaghe two years ago.Now Reid has spent the last year as an additional performance on the Audley Harrison roadshow, but he deserves better.