The magic of the Swatchways: cameos of cruising in small yachts,

by Maurice Griffiths

One of the best yachting books ever written, this is Maurice Griffiths' first collection of yarns about the joys and problems of sailing the Thames estuary. The Magic of the Swatchways rejoices in the natural romance of the wild and deserted creeks and rivers of the East Coast of England, speaking to those who love to explore in small boats.

235 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Duncan]

Normally, I'm the sort of person who falls for this salty nonsense. Maurice Griffiths wrote tellingly about bashing through the waves in a boat that was somewhat too small for coastal sailing and almost killing himself several times. Blah, blah, blah. The swatchways are enticing because they are sheltered from all that, I thought.

Nevertheless.

It is a classic piece of yachty literature, and a palliative for those who think one needs to travel the entire world and all its oceans to have said of oneself that one has sailed.

You can get in a lot of trouble right close to home, and Griffiths talks about a bunch of different ways you might do it. Most of them involve poor weather forecasting, train schedules, no engine and bad charting--problems I might have, but which, in others, I'd declare to be unforgivably bad seamanship. Especially the train schedules.

Actually, it's been years since I read this, so I might be thinking of another book.

[Chris]

I love this book so much that I sipped it, a few paragraphs at a time, over many months, dragging out the time over which I was able to savor the experience. I've shared the book with friends who have a significant interest in sailing, most significantly with a brother, who has no interest at all, personally, in "the swatchways," the skinny waters that are so special to Griffiths, but who fell under the spell of the book in much the way that I did. I cannot recommend a book more highly than I recommend this book to you!

[Mr Frederick M Soole]

Beautiful and poetic book that I reread all the timemails. You probably have to sail in the area for this to make sense reaLlysfaen but still...

[Dave Clarke]

If this doesn't inspire you to get back on the water, and start messing about in boats again, nothing will ...

[Paul Mullings]

My absolute favourite tales of a world long since past, but to those who seek can still find the Magic!

[Sailaway]

excellent my kind of book!