SAILING LIBRARY Books reviewed by Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx26 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com JANUARY 2016A QUESTION OF SEAMANSHIPBill Anderson is YM’s seamanship guru. He was RYA chief instructor from 1972 to 2000 and created the Yachtmaster schemeSAILING LIBRARY Books reviewed by Colin JarmanA QUESTION OF SEAMANSHIPA QUESTION OF SEAMANSHIPBill Anderson is YM’s seamanship guru. He was RYA chief instructor from 1972 to 2000 and created the Yachtmaster schemeFred was a keen but not very experienced sailor. He lived as far
ownership was impracticable, weekends afl oat would have been from the sea as you can be in England so boat
60% driving and 40% sailing. He compromised and joined a Midlands cruising club, which ran a well-found 45-footer and went
for one long sail every summer.Falmouth for a three-week cruise to Spain. The skipper was very Last year he joined the yacht at
experienced and led by example. There were fi ve others in the crew, keen sailors like Fred but none of them particularly experienced.
passage of a cruise, club rules dictated that the skipper should organise his crew into two Before the fi rst offshore
watches with watch leaders, give a thorough safety briefi ng and conduct a practical manoverboard recovery exercise. The skipper injected enough humour and anecdote into the briefi ng to keep the crew interested
and he led them through the man overboard exercise with enthusiasm, showing off his boat-handling skills. The routine
he advocated was to throw the danbuoy and lifebuoy into the sea as close to the man as possible, shout ‘man overboard!’ to get the
skipper on deck, tack the boat into a hove-to position, to make sure that she didn’t sail too far away from the casualty, start the
engine, lower the sails, check that there were no ropes over the side which might foul the prop, put the engine into gear and pick up
the casualty on the leeward side‘Was the
crew
properly
briefed?’
For Bill’s answer, see p29By Griff J Fellows, published by Grosvenor House Publishing at £16.99
Proceeds go to the National Coastwatch Institution, a plus for cruisers, but for those of us who visit by land the headlands we have rounded by sea, or intend to sail
around, this book is an interesting guide to each one, including access and geology. exploratory visit rather appealing. Each It is very readable and makes an
headland is located both as a distance from a main town and as an OS map grid reference (the relevant maps also being noted). The author and his wife must have
travelled thousands of miles over the years it took them to write this. It was worth it.By Simon J Hall, published by Whittles Publishing at £16.99
In the ’60s there was still a romance about the idea of travelling the world aboard merchant ships of the old
three-castle, open stow variety. The reality was somewhat less romantic but the life suited some and Simon Hall, who worked up from deck cadet to master mariner,
seems to have been one such man. draws you in and gives you a fl avour of the rough, tough, hard living, hard drinking life This book tells his tales in a way that soon
experienced in out of the way ports along the trade routes of the world. The hours were long, the work unending and the company rarely the best, but friendships
were made and good times were had. It’s a good read; sometimes an eye-opener.By Mike Balmforth and Edward Mason, published by Imray at £27.50This is the companion to the volumes of
the Clyde Cruising Club’s These are essential when cruising the West Coast of Scotland, but give little beyond pilotage. This companion cuts out the Sailing Directions.
pilotage details, and offers much more on ports, facilities, history and local interest. well-reproduced photos, and generally It’s nicely presented with many excellent,
shows the area at its tempting best. To sail here, you need charts, the CCC Directionscruise would be the poorer without it. and Cruising Scotland; your SailingCruising Scotland – The Clyde to
Cape Wrath Second editionThe Coastal Headlands of
Mainland BritainChasing Conrad
House Publishing at £16.99 aboard merchant ships of the oldwith the boat pointing not quite head to wind. His demonstration of the method was immaculate. The fi rst couple of days of the
cruise were uneventful – easy sailing in moderate beam winds. Then on day three the wind died for a couple of hours before
fi lling in again from the port quarter, allowing them to set the spinnaker and resume their steady progress. Just before dusk the
wind increased to the extent that Fred, who was on the helm, was starting to struggle to hold course. The watch leader called the
skipper and suggested dropping the spinnaker, a plan with which the skipper immediately agreed. The watch below were called and
the skipper, both watch leadersand one of the crew headed for the foredeck. The plan was to ease the guy far enough for the skipper, standing on the pulpit,
to reach the end of the spinnaker boom and trip the snap shackle. Then the other crewmen on the foredeck would lower the sail
and drop the end of the boom onto the deck while those in the cockpit would recover the sail. All went according to plan up
the point of tripping the snap shackle. The foredeck crew had been over-enthusiastic in lowering the boom topping lift too early
so that as soon as the spinnaker was released from the guy the pole dropped, hitting the skipper a mighty thump on the shoulder,
whereupon he lost his balance and plunged over the side.the MOB recovery routine should Fred panicked. He knew what
be but, with the boat dashing downwind and the spinnaker fl ying from halyard and sheet, all that he had been taught seemed
useless. The whole crew seemed to be looking at him but nobody was doing anything to help.My simple question for you
is, what might the skipper have added to his start-of-cruise briefi ng that might have made Fred’s panicked state a little easier
to resolve? W’s seamanship guru. He was RYA chief instructor from 1972 to 2000 and created the Yachtmaster schemePHOTO: ALAMY
A QUESTION OF SEAMANSHIPA QUESTION OF SEAMANSHIPWho takes charge if it’s the skipper who falls overboard?