June 26 - 'Rebirth of a Legend' Part 1 of the Gipsy Moth IV DVD series is available from http://www.gipsymoth.org/ See the whole story of Gipsy Moth IV's refit and the start of the voyage. All the proceeds from the DVD go towards funding young people to take part in Gipsy Moth’s round the world voyage.

June 26 - Seamaster Sailing Series provides the latest sailing news on a monthly DVD, including interviews with famous sailors and footage on board some of the newest and fastest boats. The pace is fast, the interviews are interesting and the footage of boats sailing is some of the best. http://www.seamastersailing.com/

June 12 - Hooked by G. Bruce Knecht - A true story of pirates, poaching and the perfect fish. Remember the outcry when an Australian patrol boat followed an illegal fishing boat half way around the world at great expense? This is the story of the chase, the objectives of the people involved in both boats and why the Pategonian toothfish needs protecting. Review at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news06/0612.htm

June 6 - Letters from the Med by Andrea and Ian Treleaven is a written and photographic account of their three summers cruising around the Mediterranean on their 47ft Beneateau yacht. Andrea's letters are concise and informative, conjuring up the atmosphere of the European ports with their old cities, modern marinas, stylish shops, restaurants and the passing parade of scantily clad people. The book will be launched at the CYCA this evening. Review at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news06/0606.htm

May 2 - Nick Moloney’s DVD Sea of Dreams is a documentary on his sailing adventures, particularly racing solo around the world in the Vendee Globe. Nick, from Victoria, set himself three goals - to sail around the world with stopovers with a crew (Whitbread Race), sailing around the world without stopping (winning the Jules Verne Trophy on the trimaran Orange), and sailing around the world solo. The DVD takes you behind the scenes of achieving these goals - his emotional struggle with breakages on board, extreme weather conditions and his father’s illness. A continuous video will be screened on his website from May 5 – 7 and the DVD will be available to purchase online at http://www.nickmoloney.com

Jan 13 - If you have read ‘1421: The Year China Discovered the World’ by Gavin Menzies you may be interested to know that an art collector will be showing the Map of 1418 to the press for the first time on January 17 in Hong Kong. The Map of 1418, shows every continent of the world and evidence will be presented to the audience to consider that Columbus, da Gama and Magellan used copies of this map to reach the New World. More information at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news05/0113f.htm

Dec 8 - Learn to Sail DVD – a Perfect Christmas present
Rowland Short takes the beginner through all phases of learning to sail. Safety, knots, theory, rules of the road, are all covered in this professionally produced DVD. Author of a range of maritime training CDs, Rowland Short is a qualified Yachtmaster instructor with more than 30,000 ocean miles “under his belt”. Available from Boat Books – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or from the Academy of Maritime Training $49.00. Phone: 618 8338 4222, Fax: 618 8338 5566 Email: sales@maritimecd.com

Dec 7 - Conrad Humphreys epic 104 day race around the world during the Vendée Globe in 2004-05 has been produced by APP Broadcast and is available now as a DVD. After 25 days at sea, Conrad was about to enter the desolate waters of the Southern Ocean when he hit a submerged object at speed. Flung across the cabin, the impact of the collision smashed one of his twin rudders and as he limped towards Cape Town to make repairs everyone thought that Conrad's race was over. www.conradhumphreysracing.com

Nov 7 - Editor’s recommendation - Seamaster Sailing’s monthly DVDs and Fox Sports programs have the latest news from the sailing world plus features on the characters that have achieved fame in the sailing arena. http://www.seamastersailing.com/

Oct 31 - For the first time in 30 years Australian journalist and author, Rob Mundle, won't be covering the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Rob left for Spain on Sunday and will spend the next seven months travelling around the world, writing the official book for the Volvo Ocean Race.

Oct 14 - Ellen MacArthur's new book Race Against Time published by Penguin will be available from October 27 – a collection of images and Ellen’s words, taken from her daily logs during her successful non-stop round the world record. Media release at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news05/1014b.htm

July 16 - The Best Travel Job in the World: Crewing a Luxury Yacht by Andrew C. Virieux. This 80 page booklet explains the positions available on the different sized yachts. People entering the industry can work towards a better job with a higher salary or take courses for skilled positions. It tells you where to be and the time of year when skippers are more likely to be recruiting and how to find a job. This is a handy booklet with lots of links for more info. $12.95 http://www.toptraveljobs.com

June 27 - Ellen's MacArthur's DVD of her round the world record is now on sale. Media release at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news05/0627c.htm

Mar 15 – DVD Seamaster Sailing Series February 05 edition has an interview with Vincent Riou, winner of the Vendee Globe and footage of the 3 top boats racing to finish. Ellen MacArthur is welcomed home, Nick Moloney is joyful after rounding Cape Horn and then in despair when Skandia’s keel falls off. Skandia Geelong Week features briefly. The March edition has Ellen telling more about her round the world record sail. http://www.seamastersailing.com

Mar 7 - Kijana – The Real Story by Jesse Martin - Boating OZ followed the Journey of Kijana, Jesse's trip with 4 friends, but from the stories posted on the website I never felt we were getting the whole story. Now it's out in a book and a film is soon to be released. Editor's review at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news05/0307c.htm

Oct 5 - Chasing the Dawn by Nick Moloney. Australian Nick Moloney tells the story of his sail around the world in 2002 on the maxi catamaran Orange, with 12 Frenchmen. Review by the Editor at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news04/1004.htm

Sep 6 - ISAF Official Olympic Film will be available from October 11 on DVD in VHS or NTSC format. The film will bring you the action from the race course, together with facts and figures and interviews with the Gold medallists. Media release at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news04/0906c.htm

June 29 - Oceans Alone - Chris Sayer's solo adventures on the high seas, by Rebecca Hayter. Boating OZ has followed Sayer's sailing career in Mini 650s over the last couple of years as he competed in Trans Tasman events and the Mini Transat races from France to Guadeloupe in 1999 and his unofficial race to Salvador de Bahia in 2003. Book review at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news04/0629a.htm

April 17 - Slow Travel - Sell the house, buy the yacht and sail away... by Mari Rhydwen. Mari and her husband left Perth and did just that with no real plans to go anywhere in particular. They cruised to Asia and then crossed the Indian Ocean stopping at Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Chagos and the Seychelles before reaching Kenya and Tanzania.

Chagos is an 'uninhabited paradise full of fruit trees and fish, where people can live like castaways off the bounty of the sea'. 'It is perhaps the last place on earth where you can pretend to be free of society and of law and where the people who visit create their own conventions.'

And on Africa .... 'I don't think I had set off across the ocean in search of anything in particular; here I realised I had found it in that strange world of exiles-in-Africa.' PB $24.95

Mar 15 - Finding Nemo DVD: Last week I watched the Walt Disney movie set on the east coast of Australia about a clown fish searching for his son with a blue tang fish suffering from short-term memory loss. It's worth seeing - the animation of the fish and the images of the Great Barrier Reef are superb. Editor.

Mar 9 - Wooden Boats, Iron Men - The Halvorsen Story by Randi Svensen was launched at the Australian National Maritime Museum's Classic and Wooden Boat Festival last weekend. The Halvorsen family immigrated from Norway to Australia and built boats such as 3 time Sydney Hobart winner Freya and Australia's first America's Cup challenger, Gretel as well as the motor cruisers that were hired on the Hawkesbury for family holidays. Hardcover with over 100 photographs $65.00 from the Maritime Museum. Ph: 612 9298 3698 or email mlee@anmm.gov.au

Mar 2 - The Wrecking Crew is a story of high tech piracy on cargo ships written by Mark Chisnell, one of the crew of the OneWorld Challenge in the last America's Cup. Ideas in philosophy and a knowledge of high tech navigation equipment seem to have been the inspiration for this fast paced psychological thriller. Review by the Editor at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news04/0302.htm

Dec 22 - Mrs Cook: The Real and Imagined Life of the Captain's Wife by Marlene Day. If you think life is hard living with a sailor today, spare a thought for Elizabeth Cook. The Captain was away for three years at a time and not heard from for most of that time. When he returned Elizabeth would became pregnant and the baby would be born after his next departure. Then three of her children died when he was at sea and she outlived the rest, dying at 94.  PB$21.95

Dec 5 - Readers of Scuttlebutt have recommended a collection of sailing books at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/books/

Oct 24 - Sunsail has signed a new book deal with Nautical Data Ltd., the publishers of the Reeds Almanac series and a large number of cruising guides and charts, to write up-to-date pilot books on all of Sunsail's cruising areas around the globe. Starting with the cruising grounds of Croatia and moving on through the Ionian and Sporades areas of Greece before tackling Turkey, the first of the new pilot books should be available for the 2005 summer season. Media release by Kate Elkington at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news03/1024c.htm

Oct 20 - Tasaki Osaka Cup 2003 Official Book Released - The 128 page, full color book consists of over 300 photos and comprises profiles of all boats, race details, photos taken by competitors themselves during the race, people behind the scenes, information and profiles on the Osaka and Melbourne cities and full archives of the event. Media release at http://www.boatingoz.com.au/news03/1020a.htm

Oct 20 - The Navigators - The Great Race between Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin for the North-South Passage through Australia by Klaus Toft. In 1800 it was rumoured that a strait separated the east part of Australia from the west, running north - south. Bonaparte sent Baudin to Terres Australes on a much publisized scientific expedition but he also gave instructions to chart the straight with a view to claiming the western part for France. Joseph Banks urged the British Admiralty to mount a rival mission and Flinders was despatched in a leaky ship. This book is easy to read, takes a fresh look at Australian history and gives the reader an idea of what it must have been like to live on a ship at this time. Highly recommended by both Kathy & Tim from Boating OZ. PB $20.00

2003 Reviews