Sailing Around Britain: A Weekend Sailor's Voyage in 50 Day Sails (Making Waves Book 5)

Just avoid this book. I had a massive interest in sailing around Britain and was excited to read something, anything, by someone who had already done this. Instead on focusing on the sailing and the experience we get a constant moan about what the author thinks is wrong with, well everything. Town planners, politicians, Europe, marinas not being luxurious enough, all sort of toxic bile. After a possibly good start each chapter soon turns into a passionless listing of departure times, stream of complaints about the world and arrival times. That's about it. I was so looking forward to reading just anything on this topic that I felt this book couldn't fail: I was wrong.

Useful to read how this was done, but despite the author’s smiley face on the back cover, his negative, self-opinionated narrative was really depressing, and reminiscent of the typical sailing club know-it-all bore who is so critical of everyone else while having no self-awareness of his own failings and prejudices.Apart from the typos while criticising other people’s language (it’s “Spey” Bay, not “Spay” – the latter is what a vet does to a cat or dog to stop it breeding!) to put such sneering comments about the RNLI towing a boat back to safety when his own engine had been very unreliable, is so self-righteous.Worth a read I guess but so disappointed to end reading it hoping I never have the author moored up next to my boat. Book will be going to the charity shop.

Most enjoyable read. A different approach to circumnavigating Britain by approaching it as a series of day sails. Not a pilot book but a sailor’s log of his voyages and observations. He laments the decline of coastal industry, the lack of celebrating the past and the impact of today’s wind turbines and other ugly modern structures on our beautiful landscapes. He bemoans in some coastal areas at the lack of proper facilities for the visiting recreational sailor and contrasts the poor planning by local authorities and government with the good. He intersperses his observations with interesting local history from the places he stops at. Of course his sail and book date from 2007 which was the worst possible summer in history. He might be forgiven for some of his “Victor Meldrew” commentary. After 10 years some things may have even changed for the better. Perhaps he might do a sequel? I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

I used this book as a guide to following in Kim's footsteps around Britain. Very useful. It recounts the experiences of one particular yachtsman on one particular trip, and makes no pretense to be a generic guide to circumnavigating the mainland, so of course it's a personal view of the places he visits. For anyone thinking of a similar trip, this book shows how feasible it really is for any competent person who has the time, equipment and inclination, to day sail around the whole coastline.

Somewhat spoilt by the author's unnecessary and often ill informed declaiming of his social and political prejudices and often contradictory tirades against council spending - not ok for social matters but ok when aimed at the 'visiting yachtsman'. I'm really just interested in whether the harbours and anchorages are worth visiting.

good book

Fine

Lots of interesting points and good effort by the sailor.Seems to be quite grumpy narrative at the beginning for the head north section and notably the mood lifts as the boat heads towards a more southern direction.

Fantastically written with good sense of humour, a great read for those who like sailing.

I found this book very entertaining and informative. Quite an inspiration. I hope to follow in the authors shoes some day soon

Excellent account for planning a trip

An interesting read if you are thinking of sailing around Britain. Highlights some of the places to go and those to miss! The East Coast is a difficult place to sail and not really worth the effort by the sound of it.

Apart from his idea of sailing round treating each day as a day sail I found this book rather depressing to read. Sturgess has that tipical English view of the world and that is everything should be created and named in the English way. That way when English people travel they can feel at home. Why shouldn't countries name their own towns and citys You can't complain because you can't pronounce them. I'm planning my own trip and because of this book may not even bother with the east coast. I think if one read this book prior to planning a trip one might not even bother.

What I expected to have been a book focusing on sailing was spoilt beyond enjoyment by the interjection of the author's petty political views. There are better books on sailing round Britain (which the author didn't do - he missed the north of Scotland) - that are better written and edited and with fewer glaring errors.

Poorly written, boreing in it's style, and written from the angle of a 'superior' English Londoner, who clearly knows very little of Irish, or even Celtic, history.He thinks original Celtic and Irish place names should be written in correct Queens English on marine charts, rather than their actual Irish names.Would he expect Russian or even French place names to be written in 'English' to satisfy his typically inner London attitude?I can say this, because I was born and brought up in London, lived in Cornwall for 25 years, and now live in Ireland.His attitude is so bad, I couldn't finish the book.If it's sailing tales you are after you won't find much of interest here.If it's literary style that interests you, you won't find that either.Sailing alone?Not with the succession of crews joining ship.I have given it one star, but it doesn't deserve even that.