• In his latest book, Rescue by Sail and Oar (Tops'l Books, £2.50), Ray Kipling, the RNLFs public relations officer, has written an absorbing account of the long period during which lifeboats were driven by muscle and windpower alone.

There is no doubt that this modest volume will remain an essential reference book for years to come. Apart from its historical value the book gives thrilling accounts of many services under oars and sail and tells of the price some exacted in men's lives.

Details of design and development are necessarily brief but adequate technically for all purposes but research in depth. Enough history is included to provide an interesting framework for the whole story of pulling and sailing lifeboats. Indeed there are almost certainly details in this book which will come fresh to many lifeboat experts— the only likely exception being the encyclopaedic Grahame Farr! The illustrations are splendid and sometimes breath-taking, adding visual evidence to the unvarnished realism of the text.

Sailing and sailing craft have almost certainly produced as many differences of opinion as any subject and it would be strange if a book covering such a wide spectrum did not trigger off an argument or two. If this were so it might be well to remember the old sailing ships adage: 'Different ships, different long splices'.

Over the years, lifeboats have altered considerably: in spirit and their knowledge of the sea the crews have altered little, if at all, from the tough-looking heroes so expressively portrayed in this book. The finest lifeboat in the world would be useless flotsam without a good crew.

Rescue by Sail and Oar will give immediate pleasure and much food for thought to enthusiasts and casual readers alike. All royalties from its sale will go to the RNLI and copies are available from the RNLI London office, 202 Lambeth Road, London SE1 7JW, price £2.50 plus 35p packing and posting.—E.W.M.

• Jeff Morris has recently written and produced two more in his series on lifeboat stations.

The Story of the Weston-super-Mare Lifeboats has been well timed to coincide with the centenary of the station and it contains a good selection of photographs illustrating the different types of lifeboats which have been stationed at Weston. There is also an interesting photograph showing the original boathouse, built in 1888 and now raising considerable funds for the RNLI in its role as gift shop, and the present lifeboathouse, built in 1903. The station has been particularly busy since it began operating a D class inflatable lifeboat in 1966 and an 18ft 6in McLachlan lifeboat in 1970, typifying the changing pattern of lifeboat services the RNLI has experienced since introducing lifeboats under 10m into its fleet in the midsixties.

This booklet is available from Mrs J. Allam, 22 Ashcomb Road, Weston-super-Mare, Avon, price £1 including postage and packing.

The Story of the Whitby Lifeboats also contains 30 photographs, spanning almost a century, with details of a great many services carried out by lifeboats at Whitby since as far back as 1802, including many rescues by Whitby's rowing lifeboats. The station, which now operates a 44ft Waveney class lifeboat and a 16ft D class inflatable lifeboat, operated the last rowing lifeboat in the RNLI's fleet and she is now on display in the town's Lifeboat Museum. This booklet is available from Mr E. Thomson, Whitby Lifeboat Museum, Pier Road, Whitby, North Yorkshire, price 75p plus 25p postage and packing. Like all others in the series, proceeds from the sale of these booklets go to the RNLI.—H.D.

• It seems a shame that England by the Sea by Elizabeth Gundrey (Severn House, £8.95) does not also cover Wales, Scotland and Ireland, for here is a fascinating book packed with information and ideas for coastal visits. The book is published in association with the English Tourist Board in connection with Maritime England Year, hence its coverage of England only, and it makes good reading even for the armchair traveller.

Historic sites, ships, customs, modern resorts, beaches, ports and docks are a few of the subjects covered and each short chapter is followed by a list of places to visit and practical information.

The book shows that every area has its individual attractions, and though to see them all would take many months, reading of them certainly whets the appetite for exploration.—R.K.

• A delight in itself, The Past Afloat by Anthony Burton (Andre Deutsch, British Broadcasting Corporation, £12.95) was produced to accompany an eight-part BBC television series of the same title. Both are intended as an introduction to Britain's maritime history and, for the author, their main purpose will have been achieved if they encourage more people to go to see the museums and the boats and ships described for themselves.

The book is generously illustrated with excellent photographs, many of them taken by Clive Coote, evocative of centuries of seafaring right from the time of the Saxons and Vikings. There are pictures of wooden-walled and ironclad battleships, of luggers, drifters, clippers, paddle steamers, sailing barges, steam launches—and among this noble company, the oldest surviving lifeboat, Zetland, built by Greathead in 1800 and now housed in her own museum at Redcar.

One picture I found myself turning to again and again was of a sailmaker plying his traditional craft in the sail loft of the Dolphin Yard Sailing Barge Museum at Sittingbourne, Kent. Dolpin Yard is a working museum where the techniques of yesterday can still be seen in use today.—J.D.

• The Care and Repair of Small Marine Diesels by Chris Thomson (Adlard Coles, Granada Publishing, £7.50) is a very good book full of practical common sense which should be compulsory for all who venture to sea propelled by a series of controlled explosions in confined spaces. With the appropriate engine maker's service or workshop manual and the help of this book an enthusiast should be able to do most of his own maintenance and repairs.

If the recommendations for spares are followed, then on most occasions the owner could get home under his own power. The fault finding chart in appendix D should prove particularly helpful to yachtsmen.—S.E.

• Two recent publications of interest to seafarers: - Seaway Code, published by HM Stationery Office, and full of information of value to the most seasoned mariner, is now available through bookshops and newsagents, price 75p.

Guide to Helicopter/Ship Operations, published by the International Chamber of Shipping, has been revised and is now available, price £5, from Witherby and Co Ltd, 32 Aylesbury Street, London EC1R OET. The guide has been prepared primarily for the use of ships' masters, officers and crew but it also provides guidance for helicopter pilots with a view to introducing, on a world wide basis, standardised procedures for helicopter/shop operations.—J.D.

• The prospective boat owner who is in the fortunate position of being able to brief his designer and boat builder on the subject of rigging, sail plan, steering gear, fittings, equipment and even the cabin layout and ensuring that everything is of the finest quality available will find Under Sail, edited by Tony Meisel (Macmillan, £11.95), invaluable.

The relative merits of all the latest developments are discussed and details are given of suppliers on both sides of the Atlantic. With the exception of the final chapter on maintenance and repairs, the book is primarily for the professional designer, or for the enthusiast with unlimited budget. For the lesser mortals who are obliged to buy a boat out of the catalogue, all the decisions and selections will have already been made for him, and he will only read this book with regret that it has arrived on the scene too late for him.— K.M..