Hardback by Bloomsbury, £30
Along Scotland’s coast there are dozens of marinas and harbours, each filled with boats, vessels that give endless hours of pleasure to those who like nothing better than taking to the sea and taking on the challenges mother nature throws at them. Even if you aren’t lucky enough to own a yacht there’s still a great deal of pleasure to be had by watching one in full sail.
Former Classic Boat editor, Nic Compton, has some might say, the best job, as he’s spent more than 20 years sailing and photographing classic yachts. This large book – a perfect book to impress visitors by having it sitting on the coffee table, is the culmination of his decades-long passion. It’s a stunning collection showcasing what he considers to be the 20 most beautiful and fascinating classic boats sailing today.
Timeless and magnificent, they are captured in glorious full colour photography while he tells, in his own unique style, their story. Highlights for me included, The Lady Anne (1912) 72ft of sheer beauty designed by legendary Scottish designer, William Fife III and built at his Fairlie yard on the Clyde and Bloodhound (1936), a formal Royal Yacht, owned by Prince Philip and The Queen from 1962-69.
When not racing the seas, Bloodhound accompanied the Royal Yacht Britannia on cruises, notably around Scotland’s west coast where it was used by members of the family to go off and ‘rough it’ while the rest of the family stayed on board Britannia with its 200 plus crew. More interestingly when not being used by the UK’s first family, Bloodhound was loaned to yacht clubs for a nominal fee so hundreds of people got a chance to sail her and as a result developed a deep affection for her.
Bought in 2010 by the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust for an undisclosed sum, when she’s not berthed alongside Britannia in Leith, she can be found in Oban offering day sails around the Western Isles. Packed with fascinating facts, history, amusing anecdotes and full colour photography that will make sailors drool, it’s a book you’ll return to again and again.
