Channel Havens: Secret Inlets and secluded anchorages of the Channel

Publisher: Yachting Monthly, 2005 £ 14.99

Having sailed up and own the Channel over the years, particularly the English coast, I thought I knew most of the hidey holes so valuable for a quiet lunch stop or overnight anchorages in settled weather.  Indeed, all the ones I know are included in this interesting and useful new work by this regular writer in our yachting press and a good few besides.

The softback book is presented with colourful chartlets and some lovely photographs that both draw you in to exploration and give you the sharp guidance you need for an anxiety-free stopover.  Eight sections deal with neat segments of the coastline: one each for Western Normandy, North Brittany, The Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly with the English South coast split in four from the Solent to the West Country Rivers and Mounts Bay.  Additional short chapters give guidance on such matters as coastal winds and currents and what he calls “Friendly Rocks and three dimensional Pilotage” redolent of his recent series in Yachting Monthly.  He is a champion of the notion of blue water cruising round our own shores and, refreshingly, considers minor sorties by dinghy particularly where there is opportunity to find a suitable pub.   These 160 or so pages are a useful addition to the library of anyone cruising the area. - MD

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