Jonathan Eyers – författare

Sailors are a notoriously superstitious lot - even if some won't admit it. Years of taking to the water, at the mercy of uncontrollable (and sometimes deadly) forces, have led even the wisest to seek ways of influencing the gods or fate. From bad omens and odd rituals to lucky tokens and forbidden words, the superstitions of the sea are legion.Many of these superstitions have refused to go away and quite a few have entered the general public consciousness. Some are amusing in their own right, others have fascinating origins, whilst for many there are bizarre anecdotal incidents which would appear to lend credence to these arcane beliefs.Illustrated with quirky cartoons, this book explores nautical superstitions from all over the world in an informative yet entertaining way.Includes superstitions about: Boatbuilding, naming and launching; Lucky and unlucky dates to sail; People, things and animals not to let on board; Signs and portents at sea; Words not to say (and their alternatives); Predicting the weather; Fishing; and much, much more!

Sailors are a notoriously superstitious lot - even if some won''t admit it. Years of taking to the water, at the mercy of uncontrollable (and sometimes deadly) forces, have led even the wisest to seek ways of influencing the gods or fate. From bad omens and odd rituals to lucky tokens and forbidden words, the superstitions of the sea are legion.Many of these superstitions have refused to go away and quite a few have entered the general public consciousness. Some are amusing in their own right, others have fascinating origins, whilst for many there are bizarre anecdotal incidents which would appear to lend credence to these arcane beliefs.Illustrated with quirky cartoons, this book explores nautical superstitions from all over the world in an informative yet entertaining way.Includes superstitions about: Boatbuilding, naming and launching; Lucky and unlucky dates to sail; People, things and animals not to let on board; Signs and portents at sea; Words not to say (and their alternatives); Predicting the weather; Fishing; and much, much more!

How to Snog a Hagfish! explores the most bizarre, the most disgusting and the most fascinating creatures that inhabit the oceans.When attacked, the hagfish (also known as the slime eel) ties itself in a knot that travels the length of its body, squeezing out mucus by the bucketful and making it impossible for a predator to keep hold. To eat, a starfish regurgitates its stomach, digests its food then swallows its stomach back down again. Pearlfish stick close to sea cucumbers, whose bowels they swim into when danger''s near. And with shark attacks and jellyfish encounters, the oceans take on another level of repulsiveness when man dips his toes in the water.We know more about the surface of the moon than we do the underwater world, but some of the species covered in this book are beyond even the imagination of science fiction writers. Entertaining yet informative, the idea of this book is not to wallow in grossness with the intention of putting people off their dinner, but to explore just how fascinating and ''alien'' our own planet can be.Highly illustrated, and with stories and anecdotes that help bring a human perspective, this book demystifies the natural world beneath the waves, and shows how it''s not quite so shocking when you understand why these creatures have developed the way they have.

Everyone knows the story of the Titanic, but in terms of loss of life that catastrophe doesn''t even figure as one of the 50 worst maritime disasters of the last three hundred years.The twentieth century was the age of the great ocean vessels, capable of carrying thousands of passengers, but it also became the age of unprecedented losses at sea. The causes of disaster are legion: besides icebergs and enemy torpedoes, ships have been sunk by fire, explosions, flooding, capsizing, storms, collisions and human error.Many of these disasters have been almost forgotten, such as the loss of the Wilhelm Gustloff, the deadliest maritime disaster in history. 10,000 people died when the ship sank in the freezing Baltic, many of them trapped below decks in total darkness. Had they not been German civilians, and had the ship not sunk in January 1945, maybe history would not have largely overlooked the catastrophe.This book tells the stories of the worst maritime disasters in history, not simply in terms of lives lost, but in how far reaching the effects of the disasters were. With disasters from all over the world, these are stories of the people (whether they lived or died) as well as the ships. They are stories of tragedy, war, heroism and cowardice, greed and sacrifice. Only for the lucky few were they also stories of rescue and survival.

Everyone knows the story of the Titanic, but in terms of loss of life that catastrophe doesn''t even figure as one of the 50 worst maritime disasters of the last three hundred years.The twentieth century was the age of the great ocean vessels, capable of carrying thousands of passengers, but it also became the age of unprecedented losses at sea. The causes of disaster are legion: besides icebergs and enemy torpedoes, ships have been sunk by fire, explosions, flooding, capsizing, storms, collisions and human error.Many of these disasters have been almost forgotten, such as the loss of the Wilhelm Gustloff, the deadliest maritime disaster in history. 10,000 people died when the ship sank in the freezing Baltic, many of them trapped below decks in total darkness. Had they not been German civilians, and had the ship not sunk in January 1945, maybe history would not have largely overlooked the catastrophe.This book tells the stories of the worst maritime disasters in history, not simply in terms of lives lost, but in how far reaching the effects of the disasters were. With disasters from all over the world, these are stories of the people (whether they lived or died) as well as the ships. They are stories of tragedy, war, heroism and cowardice, greed and sacrifice. Only for the lucky few were they also stories of rescue and survival.

Sailors are a notoriously superstitious lot - even if some won''t admit it. Years of taking to the water, at the mercy of uncontrollable (and sometimes deadly) forces, have led even the wisest to seek ways of influencing the gods or fate. From bad omens and odd rituals to lucky tokens and forbidden words, the superstitions of the sea are legion.Many of these superstitions have refused to go away and quite a few have entered the general public consciousness. Some are amusing in their own right, others have fascinating origins, whilst for many there are bizarre anecdotal incidents which would appear to lend credence to these arcane beliefs.Illustrated with quirky cartoons, this book explores nautical superstitions from all over the world in an informative yet entertaining way.Includes superstitions about: Boatbuilding, naming and launching; Lucky and unlucky dates to sail; People, things and animals not to let on board; Signs and portents at sea; Words not to say (and their alternatives); Predicting the weather; Fishing; and much, much more!

How to Snog a Hagfish! explores the most bizarre, the most disgusting and the most fascinating creatures that inhabit the oceans.When attacked, the hagfish (also known as the slime eel) ties itself in a knot that travels the length of its body, squeezing out mucus by the bucketful and making it impossible for a predator to keep hold. To eat, a starfish regurgitates its stomach, digests its food then swallows its stomach back down again. Pearlfish stick close to sea cucumbers, whose bowels they swim into when danger''s near. And with shark attacks and jellyfish encounters, the oceans take on another level of repulsiveness when man dips his toes in the water.We know more about the surface of the moon than we do the underwater world, but some of the species covered in this book are beyond even the imagination of science fiction writers. Entertaining yet informative, the idea of this book is not to wallow in grossness with the intention of putting people off their dinner, but to explore just how fascinating and ''alien'' our own planet can be.Highly illustrated, and with stories and anecdotes that help bring a human perspective, this book demystifies the natural world beneath the waves, and shows how it''s not quite so shocking when you understand why these creatures have developed the way they have.

Gripping historical adventure set during the Great Fire of London. A young boy orphaned by the Plague learns to survive as a thief on the streets of London - until fire breaks out...London, 1666. Orphaned by the Great Plague, Sam is soon starving on the streets - and desperate enough to steal some bread. He''s quickly recruited as one of sinister Uncle Jack''s children, and taught to pick pockets. If he gets caught by the law, the punishment will be death - and if he crosses Uncle Jack, it could be just as bad. Still, it''s a living for Sam and his fellow thief Catherine... until the long, hot London summer means a blaze at the Pudding Lane bakery runs out of control... and they learn that Uncle Jack''s schemes are far more evil than they knew.Running for their lives from thiefmasters, thieftakers and the Great Fire of London itself, can two reluctant criminals save an innocent life - and their own skins?

Gripping historical adventure set during the Great Fire of London. A young boy orphaned by the Plague learns to survive as a thief on the streets of London - until fire breaks out...London, 1666. Orphaned by the Great Plague, Sam is soon starving on the streets - and desperate enough to steal some bread. He''s quickly recruited as one of sinister Uncle Jack''s children, and taught to pick pockets. If he gets caught by the law, the punishment will be death - and if he crosses Uncle Jack, it could be just as bad. Still, it''s a living for Sam and his fellow thief Catherine... until the long, hot London summer means a blaze at the Pudding Lane bakery runs out of control... and they learn that Uncle Jack''s schemes are far more evil than they knew.Running for their lives from thiefmasters, thieftakers and the Great Fire of London itself, can two reluctant criminals save an innocent life - and their own skins?

Naming a boat is as personal as naming a baby (even if few male skippers would risk telling the wife that). The culmination of many years of dreaming and penny pinching, the purchase of a boat of any size is a huge event for any sailor, and with that comes serious naming pressure. Many boatowners have a secret fear that someone else got their brilliantly original name first – or ruined it forever by reducing its reputation to snigger-worthy opprobrium. Sometimes it''s so difficult to name a boat that skippers are desperate enough to ask the sorts of people who think Boaty McBoatface would be a good choice… The perfect gift for any skipper or would-be skipper, and featuring hundreds of common and uncommon names, this entertaining little book will answer perhaps the most important question new owners should ask themselves: what will this name say about me? And as everyone knows, once you''ve named a boat, you never ever change it, so it also answers the question: what is my boat name saying about me right now? Names will be categorised (and listed alphabetically within these chapters) as to: - Populist (helpfully yacht insurers release ranked lists of popular names each year, which has revealed some very interesting trends) - Don''t Even Go There (they might be uncommon these days, but sometimes there''s a good reason for that) - Pun Intended (some reveal a classic wit, others reveal just how many desperate unfunny dullards there are sailing around in yachts called Seas the Day) - A Bit of Pedigree (good names – but probably too classy for you to get away with copying them) - Common as Muck (bad names – Moondancer, Wave Catcher and others that sound like names from a bad children''s novel: where they come from, why they''re bad, and how to avoid inventing another) - Too Much Information (why using a boat to celebrate a bonus/retirement/divorce/second wife tends to be a bad idea a few months down the road) - The Devil''s Own (don''t tempt fate by calling your boat Invincible, as the Royal Navy did each time the last one sank/exploded – plus other superstition-violating names) With fascinating history, a fair bit of psychology and a lot of humour, this is the essential guide for all would-be boat owners, and anyone looking for a dad-type gift on Father''s Day or Christmas.

Naming a boat is as personal as naming a baby (even if few male skippers would risk telling the wife that). The culmination of many years of dreaming and penny pinching, the purchase of a boat of any size is a huge event for any sailor, and with that comes serious naming pressure. Many boatowners have a secret fear that someone else got their brilliantly original name first – or ruined it for ever by reducing its reputation to snigger-worthy opprobrium. Sometimes it’s so difficult to name a boat that skippers are desperate enough to ask the sorts of people who think Boaty McBoatface would be a good choice…The perfect gift for any skipper or would-be skipper, and featuring hundreds of common and uncommon names, this entertaining little book will answer perhaps the most important question new owners should ask themselves: what will this name say about me? And as everyone knows, once you’ve named a boat, you never ever change it, so it also answers the question: what is my boat name saying about me? Names will be categorised and listed alphabetically within these chapters:- Pun Intended (some reveal a classic wit, others reveal just how many desperate unfunny dullards there are sailing around in yachts called Seas the Day)- Common as Muck (bad names – Moondancer, Wave Catcher and others that sound like names from a bad children’s novel: where they come from, why they’re bad, and how to avoid inventing another)- A Bit of Pedigree (good names – but probably too classy for you to get away with copying them)- Don’t Even Go There (they might be uncommon these days, but sometimes there’s a good reason for that)- Word Piracy (expressions borrowed from other languages - with varying degrees of wisdom)- Myths, Legends and Gods (inspired by heroes and deities of cultures now lost to the past)- The Devil’s Own (don’t tempt fate by calling your boat Invincible, as the Royal Navy did each time the last one sank/exploded – plus other superstition-violating names)With fascinating history, a fair bit of psychology and a lot of humour, this is the essential guide for all would-be boat owners, and anyone buying a gift for Dad for Father’s Day or Christmas.