In this new edition of Margaret Dye’s book the emphasis remains on high performance cruising dinghies, the Wayfarer, the 14 foot Wanderer, and now also the 11 foot Gull Spirit¹. It is therefore mostly about sail and oar cruising, but sound advice on outboard motors is also given. An abundance of case-history notes are included, some from Margaret’s own single-handed cruises but many from the epic cruises shared with husband Frank and from cruises when he sailed alone. Some of the case histories are of extreme situations, but these horror stories could help us ordinary mortals cope if things go badly wrong on our sedate little outings. (Although katabatic gusts are rarely met with in the DCA’s South Coast and East Coast cruising areas, it doesn’t mean that one will never hit you!) There are also useful notes on dealing with hypothermia, possibly a greater risk than drowning.

However this book does have its faults. There should have been more re-writing of the second edition to properly bond in the new material, and there is obsolete material, which should have been deleted. Black starboard hand markers were replaced by green, and topmarks changed, about twenty years ago! Surely GPS has virtually replaced RDF for dinghy navigation, and has not the ubiquitous mobile phone has largely solved the boat communication problem? (I have experienced only very few dead areas in my inshore cruising) I would also question whether ‘pre-stretched’ rope is really needed on lifelines. I would have thought that the springiness of nylon would be advantageous. (I have certainly been glad of it in cushioning rock-climbing falls!) There are also metric-conversion errors. For instance according to the text, Margaret rolls her deflatable mattress down to ‘95 inches’ diameter! Also the oars on her Gull are said to be ‘2 metres (7 feet 6 inches) in length’! Some people would carry 2 metre (6 feet 6 inches) oars in a Gull dinghy but I presume Margaret’s oars are 7 feet 6 inches, as on my old Gull).

However despite the above shortcomings the purchase of the second edition of Margaret’s ‘Dinghy Cruising’ would be an excellent investment for those moving up from day sailing to overnight cruising, and it would be essential reading for anyone contemplating really ambitious cruising. It does of course challenge the cherished views of many DCA members², but in terms of sea-mileage, variety of cruising and extreme experiences, the Dyes massively outrank most of us.

The second edition is available from the DCA library. Len Wingfield

¹ The Gull Spirit is largely an update and internal redesign in GRP of Proctor’s Mk I Gull which first appeared about 50 years ago. All the 11-foot Gulls have excellent performance for their size.

² Particularly the view that cruising dinghies should have under-sized gaff rigs and carry outboard motors. (At South Coast and East Coast rallies, it is often the Wayfarers or similar dinghies under sail and oar that have sailed furthest and in the most difficult conditions.)

An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ships and Boats by Graham Blackburn Pub. IB Taurus 2003

The publisher’s blurb for this new book states that it contains ‘over 600 beautifully meticulous line drawings’. In fact the drawings are pretty awful, and some of the text is unclear. However fans of Hornblower, Ramage et al will find useful reference for the rig and ship and boat terminology of the Napoleonic period. Also in these days of the ubiquitous Bermudan sloop, looking at the range of outlandish rigs and hull forms once successfully used in various parts of the world will stimulate lateral thinking. Of course, some of these rigs have evolved on great rivers where the prevailing wind blows the craft upstream and they return with the current, sails and sometimes masts lowered.

Len Wingfield

The following two books have been presented to the DCA library. Although probably not of general DCA interest, any members seriously interested in maritime history would find them fascinating. Our librarian, Mike Williams, will eventually decide what to do with these books.

Note: The Librarian has no intention of doing anything with these books - other than keeping them in the Library!

A Sea Grammar...for young sea-men, by Captaine John Smith. 1627. Reprint edited by Kermit Goell with added illustrations, Michael Joseph 1970

Captain John Smith is popularly known in connection with the ‘Princess’ Pocahontas legend, but the facts of his life are even more extraordinary. He went fighting in the Netherlands and was shipwrecked on his way back. On a pilgrim ship to Rome, he was thrown overboard as a ‘Jonah’, but managed to swim ashore. After a bit of piracy he fought the Turks, but was wounded and captured and became a slave to a Turkish married lady, who fancied him but sent him to her brother for his safety. The brother was rotten to John who murdered him and escaped to Russia. Eventually arriving back in England he very ably led the colonising expedition to what became Jamestown. (This was before the Pilgrim Fathers). Badly injured in an explosion, he had to return to England. The Pilgrim Fathers purchased his map of the Chesapeake Bay area, which was the best available for a hundred years, and his notes on the local native Americans are still a definitive source.

Captain Smith’s Sea Grammar is the first ever manual of seamanship, at least in the English language. The text is in Smith’s own words and spelling (this was long before the first dictionary), but explanations have been added where necessary. Contemporary illustrations and photographs from the Vasa and of other ancient items are also included.

Those Vulgar Tubes by Joe J. Simmonds III Texas A&M University Press 1997

This well-illustrated booklet is mainly about European ship’s external toilet arrangements of 15th. to the 17th. Centuries, although illustrations of ship-board pooping as early as the 17th. Century BC are included. There are also horror stories of the state of the bilges in the old days, when in storm conditions sewage, vomit and other rubbish gradually found their way down, smearing everything en route. During sea-battles body parts went down too! In many cases ship’s officers and upper class passengers had the use of wooden garderobes in fair weather. These permanent fixtures overhung the ship’s side. A case is recorded of a sailor, when engaged in painting the ship’s side, found a lady using the garderobe above him. He thereupon painted that part of her anatomy exposed to his view. The lady failed to appreciate the sailor’s robust sense of humour, and reported him to the captain, who had him flogged. The captain wrote in his log that the man had been flogged ‘for painting an un-caulked seam’. Photographs of the Vasa’s several toilet arrangements add authenticity to the text. Len Wingfield