Under Wide and Starry Skies – the book

For reviews and extracts please see below.

Cast off the lines and discover 50 of the most fabulous off-the-beaten-track sailing destinations on our planet.

If you own a sailing boat, chances are that you’ve wondered what it would be like to throw in your job, cast off and sail over the horizon.

Here are 50 out-of-the way destinations to encourage you to sell up and go (or enjoy a temporary escape) with practical tips including formalities, the prevailing weather and GPS positions. The selection of locations is based on over 70,000 miles of sailing. Some (St Helena, Cocos Keeling) are classic yet remote destinations that have been favoured by circumnavigators ever since the days of Joshua Slocum. Others (in Japan, Patagonia or the Pacific Northwest) have been chosen as perfect examples of the attractions of those regions. Common denominators are protection from the weather, scenic beauty and historic and/or human interest. And the fact that, while solitude is not guaranteed, you won’t be troubled by the arrival of a cruising flotilla or by a novice dragging anchor onto you.

Each anchorage is introduced with a lively account describing the place, its history and people (if any) as well as the author and his crew’s adventures. Each account is followed by a beautifully hand-drawn sketch of the anchorage and an information box.

Here are the destinations covered in the Pacific:

And here are the Atlantic/Indian Ocean destinations:

Under Wide and Starry Skies is published in softcover and electronic formats.

Both electronic and softcover are now (January 2025) available in the UK and Europe. The electronic version is available in North America, softcover to follow in May 2025. It can be ordered at most outlets, including Amazon.

Reviews

Royal Cruising Club (UK) – April 2025

Under Wide and Starry Skies is certainly not your average cruising guide. It comprises part sailing autobiography of its author and his wife in successive 27 foot cruisers over almost 40 years and 70,000 miles, and detailed descriptions of fifty very remote anchorages spread literally all around the globe.

Each of the chapters covering the destinations include interesting details of when and how Nicholas and Jenny Coghlan came to it, with an occasional cautionary tale of disaster narrowly avoided. The reader can chart the progression from celestial navigation (including attempting a theoretical method of obtaining position from a single sun sight when the sun was directly overhead) to electronic methods.

As the voyages described cover almost 40 years, many of the experiences and characters described will no longer be in existence, but they give a flavour of the location. In some cases the potted history of the area revealed fascinating snippets (e.g. how Thousand Islands Dressing was invented) and give useful background information.

The book includes entry formalities as at the time of writing but acknowledges that requirements change often with little or no notice, and current details are usually obtainable from the web. Equally health and security considerations may need to be updated before setting off.

This is, primarily, a very enjoyable read to while away the “off” season and dream about locations for future cruises. I am sure some of the more intrepid RCC sailors will say “Been there – done that” for some of the destinations, particularly the South Pacific and South Atlantic, but perhaps the Commodore might consider a special award for the first member to sail to Alkwasir Island , negotiating 6 cataracts on the Nile! The book is available from Adlard Coles at £19.80

W J C L

Sailing Today – April 2025

Coast (UK) – April 2025

Book Hub (New Zealand) – February 2025

Cruising Association (UK) – January 2025

Having sailed over 70,000 nm with his partner, Jenny, Nicholas Coghlan is well qualified to write about these 50 Sailing Destinations in Seas Less Travelled as the book is sub-titled. Split into five sections the destinations are numbered on the maps of a) North and South Pacific Ocean and b) North and South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The following introduction clearly explains his reasons for encouraging sailors to expand their horizons to include a selection of places they have visited during the 40 years of sailing in their two yachts – both 27ft long.

The layout of each destination follows the same pattern which is well arranged. Each stopping place has an introductory story, starting with their very first offshore experience forty years ago. Nicholas calls these stories ‘essays’ but I think that is too staid a word as I was occasionally caught laughing out loud during my reading sessions; all well written with anecdotes and information in equal quantity. There are maps with the anchorage/marina noted as well as other points of interest visited, many pictures and a few sketches are also included which adds to the appeal of each area. The sections are completed by a page or two entitled ‘If you go…’ which contains the detailed information regarding the destination under headings such as Entry Formalities, Getting There, Distances, Weather etc.

The 327 pages of narrative are crammed with interesting stories and loads of informative material, even if some of these ‘essays’ are a bit dated the information in the panels is not. There is an Appendix, A Note on Charts, which makes for interesting reading covering as it does the decline in the production of paper charts and the rise of the use of Google Maps/Earth, plus charting information used within the book.

Reviewed by Sandy Duker