First Class Sailing help boat owner Mark Essex achieve his goal of getting his Yachmaster qualification. Here he talks to FCS Ceri Hurford-Jones about how he found the course and the pressures of the exam and the challenging conditions it was was held in!

For more information on how to improve your boating skills just visit https://www.firstclasssailing.com/ 

In this episode Marine Podcaster Ceri Hurford-Jones meets up with Annabel Finding to talk about the Imray pilot book she is newly responsible for……. The Channel Islands, Cherbourg Peninsula & North Brittany.

We had a lot of fun whilst chatting, as I’m sure you’ll be able to tell…but we did have all sorts of technical issues whilst recording….NOT anyone’s fault….such are the challenges of us both being on boats with Annabel’s located currently in Turkey!! So please excuse some of the variations in sound!!

The Channel Islands, Normandy and Brittany coasts can seem a daunting sailing area for those unaccustomed to their ways, but this book provides reassurance and so much practical advice that anyone using it will feel confident of success.' (Yachting Monthly). It is the definitive pilot for anyone interested in the challenge of exploring the less frequently used passages and anchorages.

To find out more just visit:

https://www.imray.com/Publications/Imray+Pilots/Imray+pilots+and+cruising+guides/North+West+Europe/IB0199-1/ 

It’s my pleasure to welcome you to another edition in our series Explore with Imray. As I get to talk with more of the editors behind the wonderful pilot books Imray produce.

I hope you’ll enjoy hearing more about their passion for the water along with some of their favourite anchorages and of course discovering more about the cruising grounds they cover which hopefully will provide you with some inspiration for your next cruise.

In this episode I met up with Jane Cumberlidge to talk about the pilot book she is now responsible for……..The Bristol Channel and River Severn Cruising Guide including Milford Haven to St Ives including the Navigable Severn to Worcester

Yachting monthly said ‘This pilot book covers nearly every creek, pill, river and harbour from Milford Haven to St Ives via Lydney and Bristol. It’s beautifully illustrated throughout, with inspiring photographs and a comprehensive set of harbour chartlets. Plenty of historical and cultural asides and a wealth of detail on shoreside attractions’ .

To find out more just visit;

https://www.imray.com/Publications/Imray+Pilots/Imray+pilots+and+cruising+guides/North+West+Europe/IB0012/

For this episode marine podcaster Ceri Hurford-Jones had the great pleasure to hook up with Chris Howes the editor of 2 pilot books - the Fenland Waterways and The River Great Ouse and its tributaries. 

Chris had kindly moved his barge ‘Lily May’ upstream on the Great Ouse for our chat in order to get a decent Wi Fi signal (which also necessitated him temporally putting up an 8ft ariel pole) such are the challenges of communications in some of the far-flung outer reaches of the UK!!

An Amazon customer said ‘5 stars - quite simply, if you use the river Nene, then you need this book. It tells you where all the Friends of the River Nene spots are, it tells you where you can moor for the night, it tells you tons of info about places of interest. Just buy the book, it will really improve your river life.’ 

This is a great podcast that will have reaching for this link ;https://www.imray.com/Publications/Imray+Pilots/Imray+Inland+Waterways+Maps+%26+Guides/British+Isles/IB0212-2/  

In this episode marine podcaster Ceri Hurford-Jones was delighted to meet up with Norman Kean the editor of South & West Coasts of Ireland Sailing Directions, East & North Coasts of Ireland Sailing Directions and (co-editor) of Cruising Ireland. 

Norman is a fascinating guest who has a huge passion for the Emerald Isle, making it an absolutely fascinating conversation that covered everything from his favourite anchorages to some of the issues involved in taking your pets across to Ireland.

Relied upon for over 80 years as the standard text on small-craft pilotage of the Irish coast. Over 350 ports, harbours and anchorages, described passage planning, pilotage, tides, dangers, lights and marks, on shore facilities, latest information from INFOMAR, new pontoons in 12 harbours, and a new chapter on crossings to and from England and Wales.

To order your own copy of his book(s) just click here; https://www.imray.com/Publications/Bookshop/Other+Publishers+Pilot+books%2C+Handbooks%2C+Almanacs/North+West+Europe/RBICC0001-3/ 

In this Explore more with Imray podcast Marine Podcaster Ceri Hurford-Jones talks to David Edwards-May about his pilot book The Inland Waterways of France.

David shares his own boating history along with his personal favourite stretches of canal. He also covers how the canals themselves are operated, licensed and managed, together with some fascinating insights into the uniquely French way of operating the actual system! He has some really useful practical advice for both the new and returning inland waterways cruiser.

The Inland Waterways of France pilot book was first published over 65 years ago as a single volume presenting nearly 80 waterways in alphabetical order. However, boat ownership, cruising habits, leisure and lifestyle choices have changed significantly over the years, and the extent of useful information has expanded. Consequently, the 9000 kilometres of navigable waterways in France are now covered by three volumes that David has a real passion for as you will hear!

Volume 1 covers Northern France down to the capital region Île-de-France, central France and Burgundy.

Volume 2 presents the waterways from the northeast to the southeast, hence the classic cruising itineraries from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean Sea via the Rivers Meuse, Moselle, Sarre or Rhine, converging on the ‘common trunk’ of the Saône and Rhône.

Volume 3 brings together all the other navigable waterways, from Southern France (the ‘Midi’) via the rivers flowing into the Atlantic Coast, to the remarkable network of canals and canalised rivers in Brittany

For your own copy of this brilliant Pilot Book just visit: https://www.imray.com/Publications/Imray+Pilots/Imray+Inland+Waterways+Maps+%26+Guides/Rest+of+Europe/IB0138/

In this Imray podcast together with The Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation, Jo Winter talks with Marine Podcaster Ceri Hurford-Jones about her favourite area, together with some words of advice for both the new and returning cruiser.

The South China Sea pilot books cover Singapore to Hong Kong via the Gulf of Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Jo first visited Southeast Asia in 1976 as an impoverished backpacker just two years after the end of the Vietnam War, She found then, as now, the people friendly, helpful but undemanding, often reserved or shy, but always responding to smiles.

Her love and fascination for southeast Asia, its culture and its people have remained with her ever since. Once Jo and her husband returned to the South China Sea in 2007 their planned (repeat) circumnavigation has been put on hold as they have spent longer and longer exploring the fabulous cruising grounds of South East Asia, and enjoying the company of the resourceful, friendly people who live here.

Jo hopes that her Cruising Guide will encourage many more people to head east on their boats and experience, as she has, one of the most diverse, beautiful, unspoiled and undiscovered sailing areas in the world.

To discover more of the delights that this fascinating area has in store just go to: https://www.imray.com/Publications/Imray+Pilots/Imray+pilots+and+cruising+guides/Pacific%2C+Australia%2C+New+Zealand%2C+Asia/IB0147/

Steve Pickard is the Pilot book editor for Mediterranean Spain, including the Straits of Gibraltar all the way to the French border

In this Imray podcast (together with The Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation). Steve Pickard brings to life, with Podcaster Ceri, some of his favourite Med Spain areas together with some words of wisdom for both the new and returning cruiser.

Steve first came to the Mediterranean region in the winter of 1978 on a delivery trip from the Hamble to Greece. In Gibraltar he took over a Nicolson 39 that had spent Christmas hove to off NW Spain. Almost certainly as a result of these excesses the rudder dropped off on their first night out from Gib when he was amazed to find out how warm the winter sea was! As Almeria drew close he was treated to his first sight of Moorish Spain with the town’s imposing castle dominating the very welcome port. Steve has cruised this coast many times since and always too quickly has found that the slower the progress, the greater the rewards.

To order your copy of this fascinating pilot book just go to:

https://www.imray.com/Publications/Imray+Pilots/Imray+pilots+and+cruising+guides/Mediterranean/IB0236-1/

For this edition of Explore More with Imray, together with The Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation, podcaster Ceri meets up with Linda Lane Thornton to talk about the pilot book she co writes with Anne Hammick FRIN and Hilary Keatinge.......The Atlantic Islands. This amazing book covers; Bermuda, Azores, Madeira Group, Canary Islands and Cape Verdethe.

Linda started off sailing a little Wayfarer dingy, before progressing to completing an Atlantic circuit including a visit to the Azores.

She then married Andy, who was at that time a complete Novice sailor, so they went off chartering in the Greek islands before buying there own Nicholson, half Tonner, that they sailed out of Blyth, Northumberland, before trading up to a Nicholson 35 in 2006.(Andy said it was her birthday present!!). On which they sailed over 5,000 miles, completing a complete circumnavigation that ended up in…… the Azores!

After three more Atlantic circuits they finally settled on São Jorge, in the Azores over 15 months ago.

To order your own copy of this fascinating book goto; https://www.imray.com/Publications/Imray+Pilots/IB0235-1/

Welcome to another edition in our series Explore More with Imray as Ceri Hurford-Jones talks to more of the contributors that work with Imray. Today’s guests are Rod and Lu Heikell, editors of the Greek Waters Pilot and Ionian  

Growing up in the west country Lu gained a love of cruising and dinghy sailing from her father, Peter. Then met up with her husband Rod in 1999 when she joined him as crew on a trip from the Azores to Gibraltar…..

Born in New Zealand, Rod Heikell, abandoned academic life in the UK, and sailed a 1950s, 20 foot plywood yacht down to the Mediterranean where he worked in the charter market. Until in ignorance of the scale of the task, he decided to write a yachtsman’s guide to Greece. Over the past five decades, together with Lu, they have produced a whole host of pilot books covering everywhere from the Med to the Indian ocean, along with many other books and novels.

Now, living on the Isle Of Wight, when they're not on their beloved yacht Skylax, they work on their books and enjoy cooking great food.

For your copy of these pilot books just go to: 

https://www.imray.com/publications/Books/IB0211-1/