Lifeboat station histories Wick Lifeboat by Ian Cassells published by Cluny Publishers at £3.50 Subtitled '150 Years of Tireless Service' this A5-size softback is a full and informative history of the saving of life at sea in Wick, starting back in 1828, 20 years before the lifeboat station was officially established - and long before the RNLI was formed and took over the running of the station in 1895.

In fact Wick's first purpose-built lifeboat arrived in 1846, but only served to demonstrate that eight men turning paddle wheels via a cranked handle might work well on a fine summer's day, but could not offer the kind of power needed for a lifeboat on this wild stretch of coast in Scotland! However after this rather inauspicious start Wick became the home of many a conventional lifeboat, and the book takes us up to 1997, and the departure of Norman Salvesen. a Tyne class, and her replacement by the Trent class Roy Barker II, which graces the front cover.

An interesting volume which also looks at lighthouses in the area and includes a chapter on the formation of the RNLI and its history.

'Wick Lifeboats' can be obtained from Dr lain Johnston, Wick Medical Centre, Martha Terrace, Wick, Caithness KW1 5EL for £3.50 including postage.

All of the proceeds of the book go to the Wick branch of the RNLI.

For the yachtsman Sails The way They Work and How to Make Them by Derek Harvey published byA&C Black at £12.99 ISBN 0-7136-4396-X An interesting and very thorough investigation of the development of the sail - and various rigs - together with an easily assimilated look at why they perform as they do.

With the practical advice on design and construction included in the SAILS (*» mmyittywtri following chapters, and the lack of obtuse jargon, this compact book should enable the practically-minded to produce a good suit of sails at a fraction of the price a sailmaker might charge.

As sails are the power plant of a sailing boat, looking at matters from a lifeboat point of view a good understanding of sail handling and maintenance - and the encouragement to make new ones -can only be considered a useful aid to safety at sea.

General interest, The Devil and The Deep A guide to Nautical Myths and Superstitions by Chris Hillier published by Adlard Coles Nautical at £5.99 A short and humorous look at some of the many myths and superstitions which abound in the maritime world.

Not a complete dictionary, but covering a range from the predictable (whistling) to the bizarre (bananas - which apparently spell disaster for a fishing trip)! Rosslare Harbour Sea and Ships by John Maddock published by Harbour Publications at £6 John Maddock is a native of Rosslare Harbour and also a professional newspaper journalist - two qualifications for writing this book which are clear throughout this factual, but very well written, account of the maritime activity on Ireland's southeast coast.

Centred on Rosslare Harbour the volume covers some 200 years of commercial shipping in the area, including the building of the lighthouse on the nearby Tuskar Rock - which cost the lives of 14 men when hurricane-force winds swept their temporary accommodation away.

The Rosslare lifeboats have a chapter to themselves, charting the establishment and subsequent closure of several stations in Rosslare Bay, between the shallow Wexford Harbour to the north and the new harbour at Rosslare to the south.

Rosslare Harbour, Sea and Ships is available from John Maddock at 226 Ashley Rise. Portmarnock, Co.

Dublin, Ireland at £6, including postage.

Queen Mary and the Cruiser The Curacoa Disaster by David A. Thomas and Patrick Holmes published by Pen and Sword Books at £18.95 ISBN 0-85052-5489 In October 1942, with clear bright weather and excellent visibility, the giant liner Queen Mary scythed through the diminutive cruiser Curacoa which had come out into the waters off Bloody Foreland - NW of Ireland's Co Donegal - to escort her to the safety of the Clyde.

338 men died in the five minutes it took for Curacoa to sink, and the whole incident was kept shrouded in secrecy until the end of the war two-and-a-half years later.

Co-author Patrick Holmes was one of the 101 men to survive that terrible collision and now, as one of the very few survivors still alive, he and David Thomas have pieced together an account which lays to rest many of the myths which have surrounded the tragedy.

Thoroughly researched, detailed and yet with a human touch this is a book which makes strangely compelling reading.

The books reviewed are not available from the RNLI.

Where the books are available only from one source an address will be given, otherwise readers should contact a good bookseller, quoting the title, publisher and ISBN..