I ! ) South By South West (Painting the Channel Islands) by Peter Collyer published by Thomas Reed Publications at £27.50 ISBN 0901281 840 This latest publication from Peter Collyer is a record of many trips to the Channel Islands that are home to his wife's family.

In a brilliant series of paintings and sketches, artist Collyer offers the beauty and drama of the islands he has grown to love. Accompanying the exquisite miniature watercolour pictures is a text that brings to life his travels in this fascinating and individual corner of the British Isles.

Historical and geographical facts fall alongside local legends and happenings, with descriptions of the flora and fauna and stories of the people and places. The author's ability to visit a site and, as an artist, to capture its spirit makes this new book a real and rare delight.

Peter Collyer is well known to theRNLI.

His award-winning book 'Rain Later, Good' was adopted by the charity as its 175th anniversary book. It has already run to three editions and raised tens of thousands of pounds in royalties for the lifeboat service.The History of the Berwick-upon-Tweed Lifeboats by Jeff Morris published by the author at €2.50 (including postage and packing) Berwick-upon-Tweed lies, at its name implies, at the mouth of the River Tweed, the natural border between England and Scotland, although the geographical border is just over two miles to the north. The town lies on the northern bank of the river, with Tweedmouth, the small port which is home to the town's fishing fleet and small commercial vessels on the southern bank.

As was often the case in the early years, the RNLI established lifeboat stations as a direct result of a major shipwreck and, indeed, such was the case at Berwick-upon-Tweed. On 10 November 1834, a large foreign vessel was wrecked near the pier at Berwick and most of her crew was lost.

As a result a lifeboat station was built at Spittal Beach in 1835 to accommodate a' Palmer' type lifeboat. Managed by the Berwick Lifeboat Association, the boat was 26ft x 6'3, rowing six oars and costing £65.00, which was met by local subscriptions. As with all lifeboats prior to 1851, this lifeboat was a non selfrighter.

The RNLI took control of the lifeboat station in 1854, at the request of the Berwick Lifeboat Association, and a new 'Peake' type self-righting lifeboat arrived at the station in October 1855.

As usual Jeff Morris's book is a comprehensive account of the history of the station's lifeboats and lifeboat houses, illustrated by period photos and describing some of the more interesting services carried out over the years.

The History of the Berwick-upon-Tweed Lifeboats is available from the author at 14 Medina Road, Foleshill, Coventry CV6 5JB for £2.50 including postage and packing.For the yachtsman The Language of Sailing by Richard Mayne published by Carcanet Press Limited at £14.95 ISBN 1 85754 1685 Learn to tell your Spider from your Spile, your Spanker from your Spar and your Serang from your Settee . . .

Many dictionaries explain the technical terms of sailing. None, until now, has systematically set out to explore their etymology and evolution.

The Language of Sailing shows how many of the words are derived in complex and controversial ways from a wide range of European languages.

You may think you know the meaning of words such as knee, pudding, pink, table and pant, but this book will prove you wrong! It is not intended simply to entertain sailors and scholars. Anyone interested in the literature of the sea will find here an unusual and suggestive resource Sly humour stalks its pages. So does an immense amount of well-researched, practical and up-to-date nformation.

Using Radar Robert Avis published by Adlard Coles Nautical at £10.99 SBN 0-7136-5252-7 Using Radar is a clear and oncise guide which will lelp potential purchasers make the right choice of quipment for their boats, as well as guiding existing owners through the wide •ange of facilities available.

Robert Avis, highly experienced in using radar for real', helps owners get the best from their sets, jxplaining: • how radar works • how to install, set up and adjust equipment • radar's capabilities, inaccuracies and errors • how to interpret the information displayed • screen orientation • collision avoidance • blind pilotage • integrating radar with other navigation aids This book will help readers unravel the mystique of radar and enable them to make the most of its capabilities as a navigation aid on both yachts and motorboats.

The books reviewed here are NOT available from the RNLI.

Please see either Ihe address given in the text or contact a good bookseller quoting the author, full title and ISBN.