That first day is hard. The hands begin to cramp, drops of blood start oozing through your fingertips . . . In 2003, Tori Holmes, a 21-year-old from Alberta, Canada, and Paul Gleeson, a 29-year-old financial advisor from Limerick, Ireland, met in Australia when Holmes answered an ad to drive the support vehicle for Gleeson’s 5,000-kilometre cycling trek across that country. During their first adventure together, Gleeson fell hard: both off his bike and for the woman driving the car. Once Australia was behind them, it became clear that crossing a continent together was simply not enough. Acting on self-assured determination and an ever-growing sense of adventure, Gleeson and Holmes embraced the dream of rowing a tiny boat across the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean in the 2005/06 Trans-Atlantic Race. Of course, neither of the young adventurers knew how to row, so they connected and trained with the only Irishmen ever to have completed the same race, Eamonn and Peter Kavanagh. In November 2005, after months of training, Paul and Tori left the Canary Islands to row 4,800 kilometres across the Atlantic. In February 2006, they completed their epic journey after 86 days of huge seas, violent storms, terrifying capsizes, unbearable thirst, bizarre hallucinations and sleep deprivation. Along the way, however, during one of the darkest moments in the race, inspiration came in the form of an unseen, yet completely perceptible, presence. Old seafaring lore has several theories as to what this might have been, but both adventurers are keeping their minds open on it. Part inspirational adventure story, part travelogue and part romance, Crossing the Swell is an honest and intimate portrayal of what it takes to truly engage in the many adventures that life has to offer.

Acting on self-assured determination and an ever-growing sense of adventure, Tori Holmes, a 21-year-old from Alberta, Canada, and Paul Gleeson, a 29-year-old financial advisor from Limerick, Ireland, embraced the dream of rowing a tiny boat across the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean in the 2005/06 Trans-Atlantic Race. Of course, neither of the young adventurers knew how to row. In February 2006, they completed their epic journey after 86 days of huge seas, violent storms, terrifying capsizes, unbearable thirst, bizarre hallucinations and sleep deprivation. Part inspirational adventure story, part travelogue and part romance, Crossing the Swell is an honest and intimate portrayal of what it takes to truly engage in the many adventures that life has to offer.

Vols. 10-11 include Meteorology of England by James Glaisher as separately paged section at end.

Have you ever wondered where surfing waves come from, what makes every wave different, why some peel perfectly and others just close out; why, some days, the waves come in sets and other days they don't, and how the tides, the wind and the shape of the sea floor affect the waves for surfing? If you have, this book is for you. Now in its third edition, Surf Science is the first book to talk in depth about the science of waves from a surfer's point of view. It fills the gap between surfing books and waves textbooks, and will help you learn how to predict surf. Surf Science is also a useful introduction to oceanography and the science of waves. You don't need a scientific background to read it - just curiosity and a fascination for waves.