East Coast Rivers Cruising Companion

Well established as 'the East Coast yachtsman's bible', this 20th edition of Jan Harber's classic cruising companion marks the book's 60th anniversary. Dating back to 1956 when Jack Coote, Jan's father, produced the first black and white edition, East Coast Rivers, now extending from Lowestoft to Ramsgate, continues to cover the rivers, curlew-haunted creeks and intricate shoals and swatchways of the Thames Estuary and surrounding rivers. Comprehensive pilotage and nautical information based on years of local knowledge is complemented by port information and local maritime history, helping cruising sailors to make the most of their visit to the East Coast.

The text is illustrated throughout with updated charts and photographs, including spectacular aerial shots of a number of the rivers and entrances that make up this cherished cruising ground. Not only a pilot guide, this is the memoir of a family's history; exploring, capturing and celebrating this extraordinary sailing area.

Praise for East Coast Rivers Cruising Companion

"There's a reason why this book has stayed in print for 60 years."
— Sailing Today

"Years of experience shine through in the well-thought-out use of photographs and chartlets."
— Classic Boat

"Packed with practical advice, descriptive passages and photographs taken from cockpit level. If you keep a boat anywhere between Lowestoft and the Thames or intend more than a fleeting visit to the area, it's money well spent."
— Motorboat & Yachting

About the Author

Janet Harber went afloat from a very young age, starting on her father's cruising boats. In the 1950s her father, Jack Coote, wrote a series of articles on various East Coast rivers for Yachting Monthly magazine, which were soon published in book form – in the first edition of this cruising companion. During this time Janet and her sister Judy spent their childhood weekends and summer holidays exploring the rivers and creeks of the Thames Estuary in the family boat Iwunda, helping with the research for East Coast Rivers.

As a teenager she sailed with Ocean Youth Club, and, after training as a photographer, lived and worked in London where she raced Merlin Rockets on the Thames at Ranelagh Sailing Club in Putney. While working at Yachts & Yachting magazine Janet kept her family's Hunter Europa, followed by a lifting-keel Hunter 701 at Paglesham on the River Roach, and cruised the East Coast rivers in the summer holidays. She also crewed on Sonatas and Impalas and raced at Burnham and on The Solent.

Janet shared a Twister and later a Dragon with her father, and in recent years she and her husband sailed a lifting-keel Fox Terrier on the River Ore. Nowadays Janet sails on her sister's lifting-keel Parker 325 based on the Deben and Orwell rivers.

About Fernhurst Books

Fernhurst Books was founded in 1979, initially publishing books related to dinghy racing. The list soon expanded to include cruising and other watersports. In 2006 the business was sold to John Wiley, but in 2013 a group of sailing enthusiasts (including the original founder) bought the list and name back, once again creating an independent nautical publisher owned and run by sailors. Fernhurst continues to publish books that instruct, inform and inspire those with a passion on, in or under the water. Their 140+ titles range from how-to guides to narrative to coffee-table books, covering sailing, surfing, canoeing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, swimming, diving and fishing.