Swatchway Magic

A contemporary collection of tales of the same East Coast of England 'swatchways' that Maurice Griffiths explored in his now classic book 'The Magic of the Swatchways', first published in 1932.

Inspired by this book, we tell of how they are today, embellished by our experience of sailing them over the past 40 years.

The Magic is still there in peaceful anchorages or convivial pubs ashore - which is perhaps a surprise, certainly a relief, in our modern, rushy, communication-obsessed world.

The old salt in the pub at Pin Mill said, 'We've seen changes, but what we do is much the same - we go sailing, for fun and for peace.' A real-time narrative, not a pilot guide, which can be delved into at will by sailors or land visitors alike and in 15 chapters follow in our wake to 20 creeks, 10 anchorages, a dozen pubs and the 'magic' that is still there.

The foreshores teem with life, the tides still have to be worked, the vistas are as endearing as ever, all brought to life through 40 original new photographs.