NAUTICAL BOOKS FOR SALE

"Living in the Backwaters"
by Michael Emmett

"Michael's first book "Blackwater Men" tells the story of how his family worked smacks from Maldon and his own career as a fisherman. It was as a professional fisherman that he had the smack Ostrea Rose built at Heybridge for oyster dredging in Lawlings Creek. This smack's design, like its owner is firmly rooted in the past. However in the early 1980s an oyster disease swept through the Blackwater making it impossible for commercial oyster fishing to continue.

Michael then turned to charter work, hiring out the Ostrea Rose to people wishing to have a holiday afloat. This book covers the years of chartering and taking part in traditional boat races and rallies.

A dry sense of humour and the fishermens' belief that tomorrow their luck will turn is the philosophy behind this most readable personal story."
Robert Simper

"Traditional Sail - A Panorama of Heritage"

"For more than a thousand years, Maldon has played its part in Britain's maritime heritage and is therefore well placed to take account of it. For a long time, the town's port was a major source of income and is still home to several historic Thames sailing barges. Many trades linked with the sea such as boat-building, salt making and oyster-fishing continue to thrive within the District. Nowhere is therefore better qualified than Maldon to host this festival of Traditional Sail 1994"

John Whittingdale OBE, MP