Dick Holness

After a lifetime of sailing as a hobby, to my surprise I have written two books in conjunction with Colin Jarman and Garth Cooper. These are both available on Amazon - one is 'East Coast Pilot', the other is 'Where Land Meets Sea'.

'East Coast Pilot' has been a joy to write, needing as it does extensive and frequent cruising of 'my' part of the book - the North Kent Coast, the Swale, Medway, Thames, Canvey & Leigh, and of course Ramsgate. I was also cajoled into creating and maintaining a website, www.eastcoastpilot.com, where users of the book can keep it up to date with the frequent changes that occur, as well as look up useful information like tides and weather forecasts.

'East Coast Pilot' has done well, from its first edition in 2005, to the current and fourth edition published in April 2015. My involvement in the project has brought me into contact with a host of delightful like-minded people who cruise this wonderful area.

Circumstances meant that with the research for the fourth edition, I did a lot of extra work over and above 'my' usual chapters, resulting in the updated versions of the chapters for the Colne, Blackwater, Crouch and Roach being mostly my work as well.

The fourth edition has brought many improvements, not only the extra chapter for Great Yarmouth (a response to reader requests) but also, for instances, greatly extended use of annotations on the photographs.

'Where Land Meets Sea' was a spin-off from 'ECP', making use of the superb aerial photography of Patrick Roach to create a pictorial tour of the East Coast from Lowestoft to Ramsgate, a view that few readers will ever see for themselves.