Book Review: A Changing Tide

A Changing Tide The History of Berrys Bay By Randi Svensen Reviewed by Bruce Stannard This is a valuable and important addition to the substantial body of published material on Sydney Harbour and not least because its 120 pages contain an extraordinary collection…

Book Review: Going Down Another Lane

Going Down Another Lane by John Young Ashwood Books, Franklin, Tasmania. 2020 ISBN 978-0-9874111-2-9; Kindle ISBN 978-0-98714111-3-6  vii + 443 pp. Reviewed by Wilfrid Prest The author explains the title of his remarkable memoir in its opening pages. It comes from a story…

Book Review: Deep Sleep

Deep Sleep By Paula Astridge Woodslane Press $24.95 Reviewed by Peter Webb The tragedy of the Titanic is well known to all of us through books and movies but there is a lesser-known aspect of the Titanic story. In Deep Sleep the author, Paula…

Book Review: Beyond Boundaries

Beyond Boundaries by Des Kearns Popeye Publishing Reviewed by Oliver Shtein Des Kearns is a master mariner and marine surveyor. His memoir Beyond Boundaries recounts a life spent mostly at sea and his experiences across the nautical spectrum. Kearns spent the 1960’s riding the…

Book Review: The Heyday of Sail

The Heyday of Sail Gladys Ballment Transit Australia Publishing 184pp RRP$55 Reviewed by David Salter It can be easy to forget just how much the maritime world has changed, and how quickly. Until shortly before WWII square-rigged ships were still carrying cargo between…

Book Review: Des Townson, a sailing legacy

Des Townson: A Sailing Legacy by Brian Peet Mary Egan Publishing 343pp NZ$80 Reviewed by David Salter Des Townson is part of an impressive succession of Kiwi yacht designers and builders that stretches from Logan through Warwick and Davidson to the ubiquitous Bruce…

Book Review: Blue Water Classics

Portraits of the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race by Andrew Wilson and Di Pearson Reviewed by Kevin Green A photo paints a thousand words, but only if done well as photographer Andrew Wilson has clearly managed in this extensive photo essay of the Sydney to…

Book Review: When the Ship Hits the Fan

When the Ship Hits the Fan Rip Roaring Tales from a Life at Sea By Captain Rob Anderson Paperback: 288 pages RRP: $29.99 ISBN: 9781925972993 Visceral, charming and definitely not for the faint of heart, When the Ship Hits the Fan is a…