Description Sails, Skippers & Sextants Sails, Skippers & Sextants contains fifty stories of inspiring individuals and inventions and their impact on the development of the sailing world as we know it. Which woman made the first solo transatlantic crossing? Who saved thousands of lives with the invention of navigation lights? What is the story behind the invention of the compass? Many of us know the story of modern sailing pioneers – Dame Ellen MacArthur and Francis Chichester, Claire Francis and the challengers of the Americas Cup – but what about those unsung heroes and the inventions which enabled sailors to speed across the oceans and navigate more safely? Covering the invention of cloud classification and screw propellers, to radio telephones and the measurement of tides, this is a book to inspire and intrigue sailors everywhere.
