Sailing yachts: books - history, ships and construction (1/3)

The Golden Age of Yachting

In this great book, the author presents a panoramic view of yachting, providing an insightful introduction to the pleasures, craft and history of yachting with emphasis on the era of the great steam yachts. What gives the book true life and depth is the individualistic style of the author.
It is fresh and original, with subtle humor and a bit of gentle sarcasm.

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La belle plaisance - 100 ans de yachting classique

Once reserved for the great and the good of this world, "Yachting" experienced a tremendous democratization in the immediate post-war period. The latter, the result of a long process that began on the banks of the Marne at the time of the Impressionists, experienced a slow evolution in which the Glénans center played a significant part, both by developing a new philosophy of pleasure boating and by perfecting small units in traditional wood construction and then in plywood such as the Muscadets, Corsaires and other Belugas.

These modest sailboats compared to the large yachts of yesteryear then opened a new page in maritime history, that of the Belle Plaisance, of camping at sea, which was the school of many great sailors of recent decades.

This modest epic is recounted in this book, illustrated with period documents and information on the construction, history and achievements of all these small boats which revolutionized the very notion of pleasure boating and brought joy to the generation of the 1960s and beyond, before the arrival of polyester and mass pleasure boating.

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Vent, voile, vitesse - 150 ans de records en mer, des clippers aux multicocques

For over 150 years, ships of all sizes have embarked on crazy sailing races across all the world's oceans. First, it was the large merchant sailing ships that attempted to reach ports in the shortest possible time.
With the advent of steam, yachting took over in the 1880s with the famous challenges between American and English schooners, then between English and French. But the record for crossing the Atlantic, set in 1905, was not beaten until... 1980, by Eric Tabarly.

Since then, the largest transoceanic multihulls have regularly faced the clock, around the world, with a crew or solo, on the Atlantic or on many other perilous courses. In October 2001, billionaire adventurer Steve Fossett relaunched the international competition by crossing the Atlantic in 4 days, at the same time as Olivier de Kersauzon was tacking his new giant trimaran Geronimo for the first time. The year 2002 was full of record attempts on the most legendary courses, including the Jules Verne Trophy and the Transatlantic Challenge.

"Vent, voile, vitesse" traces the epic of all the sailors who tried or will try to sail faster than the wind against the raging elements. This album tells the story of one hundred and fifty years of a quest for the absolute, and takes the reader from the era of the legendary clippers with square headlights to the craziest multihulls of the 21st century.

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Voile - Les courses les plus célèbres, les plus grands navigateurs et leurs bateaux

This unique work invites us to a complete overview of all the major races on the planet, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, via the Mediterranean and the southern seas, without forgetting the Olympic Games and the ever-young America's Cup, the oldest sporting trophy in existence.
Both a very well-documented reference work and a succession of stories mixing anecdotes and poignant details, VOILE takes the reader on a breathtaking surfing experience on all the seas of the globe.

Abundantly illustrated with exceptional photos, VOILE also unfolds like a gigantic human, technical and sporting epic. We find with emotion all the legendary characters who built it, from the Tabarlys, Chichesters, Moitessiers and Peter Blake to the giants like Kersauson, Dennis Conner, the Peyron brothers or Russell Couttts but also the skippers of the young generation launched to conquer the most prestigious victories.

The author also does not forget to give pride of place to the women sailors, from Florence Arthaud to Ellen Mac Arthur and Isabelle Autissier. To produce this exceptional work in its scope, the author Timothy Jeffery surrounded himself with the best specialists such as the Australian champion and journalist Vanessa Dudley as well as the technical expert of Yachting World, Matthew Sheahan.

Contents:
1) The races.
2) The pinnacle of sailing.
3) Offshore races.
4) Round the world races.
5) Coastal and inland waterway races.
6) Sailors.
7) The boats.

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