Making Waves Series
By Nicholas S. Gray, Dilip Donde, Lijia Xu and
()
About this series
Jim retired from his Team GBR role in 2000, after the Sydney Olympics, but it is a testimony to him that two of the gold medallists from Tokyo 2020 (which took place in 2021 – in elite sports a lifetime since Jim retired) credit him in their success, saying he was a 'huge inspiration' and they 'couldn't help be motivated' by him. On top of twice winning the Yachting Journalists' Association Yachtsman of the Year Award (1984 and 1995), Jim was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 British Yachting Awards. The story is told as modestly as a Yorkshireman can, and is interspaced with tales of cars, car journeys and one or two parties! Jim also takes time out of the story to give his thoughts on all aspects of youth training, competing internationally and coaching. Anyone involved in race training will benefit from the wisdom he provides in these pieces.
Titles in the series (7)
- Golden Lily: Asia's First Dinghy Sailing Gold Medallist
1
The fascinating autobiography from Asia's first ever dinghy sailing gold medallist. Learning to sail and becoming a full-time athlete at just 10 years old, Lijia Xu was taken away from her parents and enrolled on the gruelling Chinese training regime, a programme meticulously prescribed across all sporting disciplines to catapult the nation's talented youngsters to international champions. A rare insight into a shocking world of relentless physical training and unquestioning mental compliance, Lijia's honest and heart-felt account takes you on her journey from physical disabilities and debilitating injuries to learning to think for herself, eventually going on to achieve her dream of becoming an Olympic gold medallist. This is an inspirational story of a young woman's will to succeed despite all that her background threw at her.
- Last Voyages: The Lives and Tragic Loss of Remarkable Sailors Who Never Returned
3
Looking back at the lives and sailing careers of some of our lifetime's finest yachtsmen, this collection of eleven original, moving accounts is just as much a celebration of the good – tales of hope, achievement and courageous spirit – as it is an account of their tragic final voyages. Included are world-renowned racers, like Eric Tabarly and Rob James, highly experienced cruisers and adventurers, like Peter Tangvald and Bill Tilman, and the notoriously ill-prepared Donald Crowhurst, as well as other famous and some less well-known sailors. Starting with the sad loss of Frank Davison and Reliance in 1949, the book concludes with the amazing last voyage of Philip Walwyn in 2015 – crossing the Atlantic single-handed in his 12 Metre yacht Kate. All of the men and women described were friends with or known to the author, Nicholas Gray, who himself competed in several short-handed long distance races, where he met and raced against many of these fascinating characters. Peppered with photographs showcasing the sailors and their yachts, this is a refreshing look at those who have helped to shape this sport's history, honouring their lives and accomplishments before detailing their tragic last voyages.
- The First Indian: The First Indian Solo Circumnavigation Under Sail
2
An engrossing narrative of one man's struggle to achieve his dream against all odds, this is both a fast-paced adventure and a telling commentary on how heroes are often made despite the system they operate in, by dint of sheer perseverance and commitment to a chosen path. Above all, it's a paean to the power of self-belief that serves to inspire, motivate and exhilarate. On 19 May 2010, as he sailed INSV Mhadei into Mumbai harbour, Commander Dilip Donde earned his place in India's maritime history by becoming the first Indian to complete a solo circumnavigation under sail, south of the 3 Great Capes. The feat, successfully completed by just over 200 people in the world, had never been attempted in his country before. In his own words, the book chronicles his progress over four years, from building a suitable boat with an Indian boat-builder; weaving his way through the 'sea-blind' and often quixotic bureaucracy; and training himself with no precedent or knowledge base in the country, to finally sailing solo around the world. During this gruelling task he was mentored by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail solo non-stop around the world.
- A Wild Call: One Man's Voyage in Pursuit of Freedom
4
Martyn Murray was finding modern life, with all its restrictions and controls, suffocating. Following years of soul-searching, his father's death triggered him into opening the old logbooks and charts to retrace the sailing trips they had once shared together. He determined to revisit those waters and bring home the freedom of the seas. Falling in love with an old ketch in Ireland, he bought and restored her enough to sail back to Scotland. Over the next two summers he cruised Scotland's Western Isles, with one goal: to reach St Kilda – the remotest part of the British Isles, 40 miles from the Outer Hebrides. During his cruising he considered the islanders and their sense of freedom – often restricted by absentee landlords and officialdom. He railed against bureaucracy and commercial enterprise restricting the yachtsman's ability to roam free. For parts of his journey he was joined by the beguiling Kyla; a rare, independent spirit who both excited and frustrated Martyn. But much of Martyn's voyaging was undertaken alone, encountering a variety of places, situations and characters along the way. He attempted his long-awaited sail out to St Kilda through the teeth of a storm, believing that achieving this feat would bring him the freedom and clarity that he craved. What he came up against was far more testing and turbulent than the tides and gales of the North Atlantic. As he sailed back to the mainland things fell into place: a sense of achievement in completing the arduous voyage alone, but – most of all – an understanding of who he is, clarity on his relationship with Kyla and a real sense of his own freedom.
- Sailing Around Britain: A Weekend Sailor's Voyage in 50 Day Sails
5
Kim Sturgess was a weekend sailor: he enjoyed club racing and several brief sailing holidays, but had never attempted a substantial expedition. Reaching the age of fifty focused the mind and he decided to sail around Britain. While many cruising sailors would not contemplate a 1900 nautical mile voyage, he broke the voyage into a series of day sails, making it an achievable ambition for him, largely single-handed, and for many other weekend sailors who might dream of sailing around their home island. This book tells the quirky traveller's narrative of the voyage and visits to forty-eight towns. Evoking the spirit of both Jerome K. Jerome with his Three Men in a Boat and Joshua Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World, Kim shares his thoughts and struggles, recounting how easy it is for anyone to become an adventurer here at home. But don't expect to always agree with him – he has been described as "the Jeremy Clarkson of yachting"!
- My Life in a Blue Suit: The man who helped make Britain great at sailing
7
At five out of the last six Olympic Games team GBR has been the top nation in sailing, a result of strong leadership from the Royal Yachting Association and very talented sailors and coaches. But Barry Pickthall, formerly the Yachting Correspondent of The Times observes: "If one man deserves recognition for Britain's remarkable success within the sailing Olympic arena, it is Jim Saltonstall – the coach who has cajoled, encouraged and inspired so many youngsters towards world stardom over the past 3 decades." This is the story of Jim Saltonstall and his contribution to the success of British sailing. It starts in his home county of Yorkshire and the seaside town of Bridlington where he learnt to sail. It goes through his experiences in the Royal Navy, which he joined aged 15, with tours all around the world but, particularly, sailing with the Royal Navy team and becoming the Royal Navy Sailing Coach. This led to his appointment as the first RYA National Yacht Racing Coach, the development of the GBR Race Training Scheme and, in due course, great success at youth, world and Olympic levels. The 31 Olympic medals won by the 19 sailors who give glowing praise to Jim in the Foreword confirms his contribution to this success. Jim retired from his Team GBR role in 2000, after the Sydney Olympics, but it is a testimony to him that two of the gold medallists from Tokyo 2020 (which took place in 2021 – in elite sports a lifetime since Jim retired) credit him in their success, saying he was a 'huge inspiration' and they 'couldn't help be motivated' by him. On top of twice winning the Yachting Journalists' Association Yachtsman of the Year Award (1984 and 1995), Jim was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 British Yachting Awards. The story is told as modestly as a Yorkshireman can, and is interspaced with tales of cars, car journeys and one or two parties! Jim also takes time out of the story to give his thoughts on all aspects of youth training, competing internationally and coaching. Anyone involved in race training will benefit from the wisdom he provides in these pieces.
- In Bed with the Atlantic: A young woman battle anxiety to sail the Atlantic Circuit
6
In Bed with the Atlantic is a travel memoir of a young woman, Kitiara Pascoe, as she goes from never having stepped on a yacht, to sailing over 18,000 miles – across the Atlantic, around the Caribbean and then back – in three years with her partner. At first, she was dogged by doubt, a belief that she wasn't a 'sailor', never would be and that she was in no way capable of such an undertaking. She believed that the ocean was out to get her, that weather needed to be battled with and that she would forever be ruled by anxieties that plagued her. Woven into the narrative of the journey's progression are stories from Kit's childhood and life before the voyage, explaining her battles with anxiety and the feelings of being lost as a graduate in post-recession Britain. The book also relays her struggle with reconciling a life of travel with the expectations and experiences of those back home, at an age when most of her contemporaries were starting corporate careers and families. In her courage to leave everything she knows behind, she learns the history of the islands and their people, swims with turtles, explores strange cave systems, and learns to forage for food straight from the sea. But she also encounters hardships like running out of food and water, battling against storms, trying not to be struck by lightning, and discovering the crippling loneliness of sailing an ocean for months on end. Sailing back to the UK after three years Kit realises the colossal difference that sailing has made to her life and understanding of the world. She ponders how easy it is not to do something, to protect ourselves from risks and ridicule and everything that makes us uncomfortable. But now appreciates that it is only when we take the risk, that we get the reward and that we connect not just with the world at large, but also with ourselves.
Related to Making Waves
Related ebooks
Female Force: Cher Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMighty Morphin Power Rangers Archive Vol. 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYour Guide To: Fearless Entrepreneurship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGLO Workbooks Great Learning Opportunity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man in the Mirror Journal: Everything Begins and Ends with You Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMud Pups’ Adventures vol. 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOMWG Oh, My Wonderful God!: A Tribute in Verse to Our Lord and Savior Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVincent Price Presents: Tinglers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTales from William F. Nolan's Dark Universe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSweet Pea Saves the Rainbows Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Adventures of Hallie & Ralph Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLegend of Isis: Darkness Falls Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOdyssey Presents: Gallery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhispers From The Word Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Itsy and Bitsy Birdie Book Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMessages from the Heart of Love - Spirituality Basics in 144 Empowering Quotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNurse Best's Medicinal Cocktails and Mocktails: Over 100 Cocktail and Mocktail Recipes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFAME: Lady Gaga: Giant-Sized Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTom Corbett: Space Cadet: Danger in Deep Space #4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlying Saucers Vs. the Earth #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Adventures of Eli and Jake Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKyron and The Meadow Monster Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe First Extraterrestrial Signal: The Global Reaction to the Signal from the Outer Space Aliens Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn the Way Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Rescued Two Dogs: Now Who Will Rescue Me? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoyals: The House of Windsor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings360+ Sex Position - Now Enjoy New Position Every Day Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings20 Million Miles More #0 Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Extreme Rhyming Poetry: Over 400 Inspirational Poems of Wit, Wisdom, and Humor (Five Books in One) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRookie Rescuer: Learning about God and 'First Responder' Work through Real Calls! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Sports Biographies For You
The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis--Lessons from a Master Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organizaion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Birth of The Endless Summer: A Surf Odyssey Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Things That Make White People Uncomfortable Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swagger: Super Bowls, Brass Balls, and Footballs—A Memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Baseball 100 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Slash Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5MOX Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Endure: How to Work Hard, Outlast, and Keep Hammering Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Imaginary Girlfriend Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBall Four Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Build a Car: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Formula 1 Designer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Under Our Skin: Getting Real about Race. Getting Free from the Fears and Frustrations that Divide Us. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America's First All-Black High School Rowing Team Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tiger Woods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Making Waves
0 ratings0 reviews