Weather at Sea by David Houghton

Publisher: 80pp £ 11.95

Weather is the sailor’s chronic anxiety and we all must learn to cope with whatever resources and expertise we have to hand. David Houghton, a professional meteorologist, has produced a slim volume which is designed to help. It contains a wealth of tactical advice of trip,planning, on reading the messages in the clouds, on such essential details as the optimal courses to steer in the face of frontal motion or on making a landfall, and on the preparation of local weather maps. However, although it is beautifully, lavishly illustrated, the diagrams do not always have captions and we have to read explanatory text frequently on another page. Published in 1998 and in consultation with the RYA, it also unfortunately ignores the BBC’s recent miserable decision to cease giving the reports from coastal stations in its shipping forecasts, reports which he still includes in the section on preparing one’s personal forecasts. Nevertheless, it is a handy reference, and is recommended by RYA/DTp for their skipper and other courses. -DWB