Water Sports

Ross Edgley famously ran a marathon pulling a 1.4-tonne car and climbed a rope the height of Everest (8,848 m), after living with Yamabushi warrior monks in Japan and partaking in Shamanic pain rituals with fire ants in the Amazon jungle....

A beautiful exploration of cold-water traditions in Scandinavia and around the world, and a thorough account of why it provides such a boost to body and soul....

Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, this is the bestselling story about a rowing team's quest for Olympic gold in Nazi Germany....

A heartwarming and uplifting story about second chances and facing the secrets of the past. Perfect for fans of Philippa Ashley, Holly Martin and Ali McNamara....

After sailing 300,000 miles and weathering dozens of storms in all the world's oceans, John Kretschmer has plenty of stories and advice to share. In Sailing a Serious Ocean, John tells you what to expect when sailing the oceans and shows how to sail safely across them....

The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) are vital for maritime safety....

The RYA Yachtmaster examination is the gold-standard qualification for sail and power boaters the world over. This audiobook is the RYA's official and definitive guide to the Coastal and Offshore exams....

No sea voyage, whether long or short, offshore or within sight of land, should go ahead without adequate planning and this audiobook is your perfect companion to help you prepare thoroughly before setting off....

Roger Deakin set out in 1996 to swim through the British Isles. The result a uniquely personal view of an island race and a people with a deep affinity for water....

A deeply rendered self-portrait of a lifelong surfer by the acclaimed New Yorker writer....

It is likely not terribly surprising that surfers like to party. The 1960-'70s image, bolstered by Tom Wolfe and Big Wednesday, was one of mild outlaws....

Conceived as an audiobook, this extended personal conversation is an invaluable course in how to get started sailing, what boat to buy and how to pay for it, and the value of forever directing our imagination beyond the horizon ahead....

Yet familiar though the sea areas are by name, few people give much thought to where they are or what they contain. In Attention All Shipping, Charlie Connelly wittily explores the places behind the voice....

A must-have book for walkers, sailors and everyone interested in the natural world, How to Read Water unlocks the secrets of water in all its forms....

The true account of the 2017-2018 solo nonstop circumnavigation by Jerome Rand aboard the Westsail 32 Mighty Sparrow. A testament to endurance and adventure, this memoir recounts what life is like aboard a small sailboat during a 271-day voyage around the globe, alone....

The sea has always been a part of Nuala Moore’s life – her earliest memory is of jumping off her father’s trawler in Dingle harbour and swimming back to shore. Her memoir Limitless is a generous, inspiring love letter to the sea....

From the author of the best-selling RYA Navigation Handbook, this audiobook is based on the RYA’s official title to support the RYA VHF Operator's Short Range Certificate examination....

John Kretschmer is sailing’s practical philosopher - as much a doer as a thinker. And that is the overarching theme of this chronicle of a sailing life.... 

Humans, unlike other animals that are drawn to water, are not natural-born swimmers. We must be taught. Our evolutionary ancestors learned for survival; now in the 21st century, we swim in freezing Arctic waters and piranha-infested rivers to test our limits....

The History of Surfing reveals and defines this sport with a voice that is authoritative, funny, and wholly original....

A man and his chicken sail 45,000 nautical miles in this powerful story of following your dreams no matter what stands in your way....

Danie Couchman grew up on the move, her family never staying still long enough for her to say where she's from. At 25, and living in her 17th home, she finds herself drowning in the rush of London life and makes an impulsive decision: to buy a narrowboat and make it her home....

Nothing can beat the feel of the warm sun on your back, the gentle wind in your hair, and a swaying deck under your feet. If you long to take to the open water and sail wherever the wind takes you, you'll find everything you need to know in Sailing For Dummies....

Inspired by his own witnessing of the power of the sea through travelling around Britain's coastline in a panel van with his young family, William Thomson tells the story of the cycles of the sea....

The Tidal Year is a true story about the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection, rewilding, and hope....

The sea has always been a part of Nuala Moore’s life – her earliest memory is of jumping off her father’s trawler in Dingle harbour and swimming back to shore. She’s swam in some of the most dangerous and remote waters in the world. But her burgeoning career stalled when she became the sole carer of her ailing father; she couldn’t commit to training, and she struggled with a lack of direction. That’s when she found ice swimming – swims that take up less time, but which are far more demanding, physically and mentally. Nuala’s philosophy is that we are all capable of greatness.

Coach Duncan began his coaching career in 1968 - in Newport News, Virginia, for the Glendale Gators. He used his education and his experiences to craft a coaching career over 51 years, retiring from coaching in January 2019. He credits swimmers, colleagues, and volunteers for his coaching successes - and his family for allowing him the unusual working hours and days, the weekends and weeks away from home and the level of focus he gave to his work.

The story is told beginning with the vision and desire to sail on the ocean, through the training and education, buying a boat, gaining experience, and finally embarking on a 1000nm journey to bring the boat home, singlehanded. An immersive nonfiction adventure story, Becoming a Sailor captures the scene as one would experience it. Becoming a Sailor also goes into technical detail about the repairs and additions to Sobrius, a 1972 Dufour Arpege, as well as the techniques the author had to learn in order to sail singlehanded on multiday passages.

A "normal" Caribbean hurricane travels from east to west, but Lenny was anything but normal. Spawned south of Cuba in 1999, this late-season storm defied all predictions by moving steadily east toward the Leeward Islands. Eventually building almost to Category 5 strength, Lenny squatted for two days between the Virgin Islands and St. Martin, whipping the ocean with 155 mile-per-hour winds and sixty-foot seas.

Sailing on a boat by yourself out at sea and out of sight of land can be exhilarating or terrifying, compelling or tedious - sometimes it can be all of these things just in one morning. It is an adventure at odds with our normal, sociable lives, carried out floating on a medium wholly inimical to our existence. But the deep ocean is also a remarkable place on which to think. Richard King's enormously engaging and curious book is about the debt we owe to solo sailors: women and men, young and old, who have set out alone.