Tag: Arthur Beale

Arthur Beale hosts talks by successful round Britain sailor Kim Sturgess and Last Voyages author Nicholas Gray

On 26th October Arthur Beale and Fernhurst Books will be hosting an evening looking at two contrasting voyages which are recounted in books from the Making Waves series.

Kim C Sturgess will recount how, at the age of 50, he undertook his first major sailing adventure, sailing around Britain – the dream of many cruisers in the UK. He made it achievable in 50 day sails and 1 night passage. This has proved a popular tale and his book (Sailing Around Britain) moves into its second edition in October as part of the Making Waves series.

Nicholas Gray has done many voyages himself, but has recounted the lives and last voyages of 11 famous sailors in his book Last Voyages which was published this year. This evening he will talk about some of the characters from his book and give his take on Donald Crowhurst whom he met before his last voyage. One reviewer commented: “Nicholas Gray even manages to add something new to the well-known story of Donald Crowhurst”. This will become even more well-known as the film The Mercy, staring Colin Firth, based on Donald Crowhurst, is released later in the week. Nicholas will perhaps be able to give a less sensational account.

As well as short talks on these voyages, the authors will be available for questions, conversation and even signing copies of their books.

A nominal £5.00 entry fee is charged but this is fully refunded on purchase of one of the books in the Making Waves Series (or any purchase over £15.000 from the shop).
Places are limited, so we ask you to email talks@arthurbeale.co.uk to reserve your place.
Date: Wednesday, 25th October 2017
Time: 18.30 for an 18:45 start
Venue: St Giles in the Fields Church, 60 St Giles High Street. London, WC2H 8LG (just over the road from Arthur Beale)

Lodestar to launch a new edition of The Sea and the Snow at Arthur Beale’s, 6th October

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London West End yacht chandlers Arthur Beale are hosting an evening of talks with slideshows and film on the 6th October to celebrate the launch of a new edition of Philip Temple’s book The Sea and The Snow in conjunction with publishers Lodestar Books.

Start time is 18:45 sharp, so please arrive early, and the event is at Arthur Beale Ltd, 194 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8JP.

This new edition is well illustrated and includes with many previously unpublished photographs from the expedition to Heard Island, a remote speck in the far Southern Ocean, four thousand kilometres to the south-west of Australia.

In 1964 it had been the object of a number of expeditions, but none had reached the summit of its 9000-foot volcanic peak, Big Ben. Warwick Deacock resolved to assemble an impressive party of nine to tackle the challenge.

Heard had no airstrip and was on no steamer route, and the only way to get there was by sea in their own vessel, and so Deacock called on veteran mountaineer turned high-latitude sailor Bill?Tilman, already renowned for his sailing to climb expeditions, and he readily signed on…

The launch will be attended by the author Philip Temple, Bob Comlay, who later sailed to Greenland with Tilman, and the expedition’s engineer Colin Putt.

Their reminiscences, combined with a slide show and some never-released film of the expedition, will make for a memorable event; we suggest you book early to be sure of a seat.

As usual at a Beale’s talk, there will be a nominal £5 admission charge, to be refunded against any purchase to the value of £15 or more on the night – such as a copy of The Sea and The Snow!

 

 

Arthur Beale talk: The Sea Chart with chart expert John Blake

The Sea Chart John Blake

Historic West End, London chandlers Arthur Beale  Ltd are putting on a talk by navigator and historian John Blake on The Sea Chart.

The event is to be held on Wednesday the 4th May at St Giles in Fields Church just over the road from Arthur Beale and proprieter and sailor Alasdair Flint tells me it is a free event!

Alasdair suggests arriving early to browse the selection of nautical goods in the shop and notes that there’s a tendency to end up in a pub or going for a curry afterwards.

Please email talks@arthurbeale.co.uk to reserve your place.

Bloomsbury has just published the second edition of John’s book The Sea Chart with a foreword by Sir Ben Ainslie CBE, an additional 55 pages and 44 more illustrations of early sea charts and maps which will be available to purchase after the talk at a special price of £22.50.

Here’s Arthur Beale’s promotional blurb:

 

‘John Blake served in the Royal Navy and in the Reserve for nearly 16 years as an executive and navigating officer, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

‘During his naval time he served extensively in sea-going ships and qualified as a navy underwater diver and a naval air defence specialist. On leaving the service he gained a business diploma and moved into retailing, opening three retail stores in Covent Garden, London; Boston, Massachusetts and later in Osaka, Japan, featuring exclusively British gift products.

‘He is a keen maritime historian and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and writes regularly on maritime history for yachting and maritime magazines. He is a member of the Society of Authors.

‘John Blake’s talk will look at how the sea chart was pre-eminent in exploring and discovering the world since the earliest known chart of c.1275 with illustration from seventeen major archives and museums across the world, including those from Europe, China, India and Arabia, America and of course the foremost explorers of the 19th century Britain.

‘John has given highly acclaimed talks at the National Maritime Museum, Royal Ocean Racing Club, The Darwin Centre, Pembrokeshire, Royal Thames Yacht Club, United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Royal Southern Yacht Club, New York Yacht Club, Royal Lymington Yacht Club, Little Ship Club, London, Marlborough College Summer School, Bath Sailing Club, Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers, Wessex Cruising Association and the Indian High Commission (Nehru Centre), London.

‘In 1991 John Blake and his wife started an Intellectual Property Licensing Agency, Classics Licensing Company, and in 1996 helped initiate and run the licensing of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office archives, producers of the Admiralty sea charts, as their Licensing Agent for six years under the brand name The Admiralty Collection.’

 

On the 9th June Alasdiar and colleagues will show the 1950s film Ha’Penny Breeze. Set in Pin Mill on the River Orwell, he says it is a little gem. Calling all East Coast Sailors!

Ha'penny Breeze