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      • Trusted Partner
        Business, Economics & Law
        January 2023

        Trade winds

        A sailing voyage to a sustainable future for shipping

        by Christiaan De Beukelaer

        Almost everything you consume, from your weekly shop to the Christmas presents you ordered online, arrived by cargo ship. Shipping is the engine of the world economy, transporting 11 billion tonnes of goods each year. Despite an environmental crisis, shipping emissions have doubled since 1990, producing over one billion tonnes of CO2, more than aviation, more than Germany, even more than France, Britain, and Italy combined. To understand whether there are any realistic and sustainable alternatives for the industry, Christiaan De Beukelaer spent 150 days covering 14,000 nautical miles on-board the Avontuur, a century old two masted schooner fitted for cargo. Trade winds traces the author's transatlantic journey, which crystallised his thinking on the uncertain future facing the gargantuan machine that is commercial shipping. This book engagingly recounts both this personal odyssey and the journey the shipping industry is embarking on to cut its carbon emissions.

      • Canoeing & kayaking
        March 2016

        Kayak Across The Atlantic

        by Pete Bray

        This first-hand account of an epic voyage across the North Atlantic ocean in a kayak in 2001 tells the story of Pete Bray's successful attempt to make the first ever solo unsupported crossing in a paddle-powered kayak. The author's first attempt a year earlier ended abruptly off the coast of Newfoundland when he had to be rescued. Kayak Across The Atlantic vividly describes the pain and discomfort he endured during his second attempt, encountering some of the worst weather for many years, and his sheer determination to succeed during the 76 days he was at sea.

      • Adventure
        July 2012

        Ghosting Home

        Vol 3 in the Strong Winds series

        by Julia Jones, illus Claudia Myatt

        The first three titles in the Strong Winds series work closely together as a trilogy. Ghosting Home is unquestionably the most far reaching and exciting as its action extends from Fujian Province in China to England's Suffolk rivers. There is a back story linking to the 1950s Indonesian Confrontation but the main thrust of the book is thrilling present-day action where the puzzles of the previous two volumes are finally solved and a year in the lives of the teenage protagonists leaves them significantly wiser in the ways of the world. It was a loveReading4kids Book of the Month.

      • Adventure
        June 2011

        The Salt-Stained Book

        vol 1 in Strong Winds Series

        by Julia Jones, illustrated by Claudia Myatt

        Much-praised, well-reviewed winner of a People's Book Prize. The Salt-Stained Book is a sailing adventure novel which has proved popular with adults and older children alike. The Salt-Stained Book pays homage to Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons but remains completely comprehensible to people who have never read Ransome or stepped on board a boat. The action is deliberately kept local and specific as the teenage hero, Donny, awaits the arrival of his unknown great aunt from Shanghai. Issues of disability and abuse of power are important themes within the novel but primarily it's an exciting story with characters to touch the heart and an powerful emotional range. Sailors and Ransome lovers additionaly relish the authors lifelong relationship with his yacht Peter Duck. This has already gained the Salt-Stained Book readers in Japan and New Zealand. A translation into German is in progress and the book was recently read at the Flensburg Book Festival (Sept 2014) The Salt-Stained Book has sold almost 4000 copies in its print edition and is also popular as a Kindle ebook and an audio download. It should be welcome wherever outdoor adventure is enjoyed. "I loved it," said Griff Rhys Jones, author, TV presenter and sailor.

      • Adventure
        November 2011

        A Ravelled Flag

        vol2 in the Strong Winds series

        by Julia Jones, illus Claudia Myatt

        A Ravelled Flag takes the action on from the ending of the Salt-Stained Book as Donny discovers that his enemies have not yet given up and Anna searches for her mother. It's a bleaker winter story as the grim underlying motivation becomes clear and the level of peril increases. Skye's disability makes her frighteninly vulnerable and is hard for Great Aunt Ellen to accept. A glimpse into Native American culture and history provides additional interest as the back story is revealed. The extent of criminal activity (eg exploitation and people-trafficking) will begin to become obvious to older readers.

      • Adventure
        October 2013

        The Lion of Sole Bay

        vol 4 in the Strong Winds series

        by Julia Jones , illus Claudia Myatt

        The Lion of Sole Bay is a stand-alone title in the Strong Winds series (which is on going with vol 5 scheduled for early 2015) . The 12 year old protagonist Luke appeared in the the earier volumes but most of the characters are new and there is the mix of adult and child characters that have combined to give this series an all-age appeal. The Lion of Sole Bay is a modern adventure story but is based on the author's original research into the provenance of an old Suffolk pub sign which has been identified as coming from the single captured Dutch warship at the battle of Sole Bay 1672, part of the third Anglo-Dutch war. This little-known episode in history is vividly described in a series of 'lectures' offered by a comically enthusiastic character at the end of the book. The main story is fast-paced and exciting. It was a LoveReading4kids Book of the Year and was described by children's critic Julia Eccleshare as "one helluva thriller" and was chosen by The Bookbag as one of the top 10 self-published titles for 2013.

      • Fiction

        The Psychedelic Traveller

        Short Stories

        by ANTHONY JAMES

        A collection of short stories from adventures and fantastic imaginings aroud the world.  Each story is set in a different country, from Brazil to Siberia, from new Zealand to India. Each story is a cameo in itself, each one of a different mood, be it playful, or dark, of conflict or good humour. Stories will remind those who travel widely of the pitfalls and opportunities and remind all the readers that there is nothing more wonderful than this wonderful world and the ppeople in it.

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