The Cruising Association Handbook, Revised Edition 1971. (The Cruising Association, 490 pp, £6).

• This new edition covers the waters of Britain and Ireland and continental Europe from Kiel to Gibraltar. The coverage variesin quality and this is not surprising in view of the immense area attempted. The book is at its best where it covers English and Welsh waters and continental waters of the North Sea from Terschelling southwards, the Channel coast of France thence south to La Rochelle.

Ireland is adequately covered but Scottish waters and those of Denmark, Germany, Atlantic Spain and Portugal are rather sketchily treated. One might therefore fairly criticise the publishers for being over-ambitious. There are today many highly specialised pilotage works for which the C. A. Handbook is not a substitute, e.g. the Sailing Directions of the Irish Cruising Club and of the Clyde Cruising Club, the publications of Adlard Coles Ltd. such as the Normandy, North Brittany, North and South Biscay Pilots and so on. Even these are only supplementary to the Admiralty Sailing Directions and up-to-date charts.

The C. A. Handbook, however, is a most valuable aid to cruise planning and I have always carried it aboard. The new edition is a great improvement on the production standards of its predecessors and both publishers and printers are to be congratulated. It can be recommended to Y.L.A. members in particular for whom a special discount of £1 per copy has (continued on page 268)Yachting Books.

(from page 262) been arranged. Place your order through the Y.L.A. office. £5.40 per copy for members of the Y.L.A. and £6.40 for non-members (postage and packing included).—K.S.

The Wills South Coast Yachting Guide (Beaverbrook Press Ltd., 96pp, £2).

• The pilotage section of this Guide covers the Channel coast from Dover to Penzance and is well illustrated with 42 chartlets. There is also a useful section of road maps and the rescue services are covered on page 8 by a useful list of R.N.L.I. stations on the south coast. It is a pity that the publishers did not also include a list of Coastguard stations in addition as the coastal sailor requires this information. Publishers of pilotage works for use by small boat users are strongly recommended to have some regard for storage space available on board— most yachts' bookshelves can seldom accommodate more than a demy octavo volume. Apart from these minor criticisms, a useful publication which can be recommended to Y.L.A. members.

—K.S.

South Biscay Pilot by Robin Brandon (Adlard Coles Ltd., 388pp, £8.75).

• This excellent pilotage book covers the Biscay coast from the Gironde estuary to La Coruna and makes a companion volume to the North Biscay Pilot from the same publishers. The book might well serve as a model for all pilotage works for yachtsmen. It is well set out and profusely illustrated with chartlets and half-tones and comprises a very informative opening chapter giving general data and bibliography and five succeeding chapters each dealing with a consecutive stretch of coast. Each of these chapters in turn deals with a general description followed by detailed information of the harbour and anchorages. For any member of the Y.L.A.

contemplating a cruise along this fascinating coast, the South Biscay Pilot is an essential navigational aid in support of up-to-date charts and Admiralty Sailing Directions.—A.R.T.G..