The sight of a dust jacket in blue with a compass and a sea chart, and a sub-title promising ‘Pirates, Castaways and Madness’ raises hopes of an entertaining account of adventures on the high seas.

Cormac James

ON behalf of the Cobh Branch of the World Ship Society which held the 64th AGM of the Society last weekend, I would like to thank everybody who helped make it such a special weekend. Delegates came from Britain, Germany and even as far flung as Tasmania.

Franklin, Tragic Hero of Polar Navigation, by Andrew Lambert, Faber and Faber, £20.