The book can be dipped into (probably while sitting on the loo) and can be guaranteed to bring a smile to the reader's face.

Adlard Coles Nautical Tel: 020 7758 0200 Fax: 020 7758 0222 E-mail: sales@acblack.com Web: www.adlardcoles.co.uk Encompassing Britain - Painting at the Points of the Compass By Peter Collyer, with forward by Libby Purves. Price £27.50 - a royalty of £2.25 will go to the Neptune Coastline Campaign for every book sold.

A new book by the painter and writer Peter Collyer is set to raise funds for the National Trust's Neptune Coastline Campaign.

Encompassing Britain - Painting at the Points of the Compass was published in September and the publisher and author are donating a generous royalty for each will book sold.

Collyer's previous bestsellers are Rain Later, Good and South by Southwest. In this book he visited the 32 points of the compass from the centre of the country - near Clitheroe in Lancashire.

He meticulously planned and executed a series of journeys that took two years and covered 9,000 miles, resulting in a series of miniature watercolour paintings reproduced in this book, with each one accompanied by what the publishers call a delightful, perceptive and quirky text telling of his journey, the places and some of the people he met.

Thomas Reed Publications Tel: 01225 868821 Fax: 01225 868831 GPS Afloat Bill Anderson, 128pp, 240mm x 170mm, soft cover, £14.95 Bill Anderson is a vastly experienced sailor. He's also the man who set up and ran the Royal Yachting Association's (RYA) Yachtmaster training and examinations. So he knows a thing or two about getting around at sea.

GPS Afloat is a complete guide, from buying a simple handheld device or sophisticated chartplotter, through how to get it working to how to work it and find your way around.

It answered a few questions for those in the BB office.

Fernhurst Books Tel: 01903 882277 Fax: 01903 882715 E-mail: marketing@fernhurstbooks.co.uk Web: www.fernhurstbooks.co.uk GPS Logbook Bill Anderson, 128pp, 171 x 240mm, hardback, £9.95 Devised by ex-Royal Navy and ex-RYA cruising secretary, Bill Anderson, Fernhurst's GPS logbook recognises just about every boat these days has a GPS to aid with the navigating.

So Anderson put together page layouts that are easy to understand and easy to complete to give the sailor a well-ordered logbook.

Each left hand page is for passage planning, while the right hand pages take the actual plots. There are also pages for comments and notes.

Hardback bound in dark blue with a gold foil-blocked front cover.

Fernhurst Books Tel: 01903 882277 Fax: 01903 882715 E-mail: marketing@fernhurstbooks.co.uk Web: www.fernhurstbooks.co.uk The RYA Book of Diesel Engines Tim Bartlett, 90pp, 244 x 172, soft cover, £12.99 Another journalist of repute, Tim Bartlett has written several nautical books, including the RYA Book of Navigation and the RYA Book of Outboard Motors.

The RYA Book of Diesel Engines is another in the same style; aimed at boat owners rather than engineers. It's written in clear English with simple diagrams and photographs and offers a complete introduction to marine engines, from Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow to how a turbocharger works to what should be done during regular maintenance schedules.

Adlard Coles Nautical Tel: 020 7758 0200 Fax: 020 7758 0222 E-mail: sales@acblack.com Web: www.adlardcoles.co.uk The Complete Day Skipper Tom Cunliffe, 178pp, 250 x 175mm, hardback, £18.99 There's not much that Tom Cunliffe hasn't experienced in a life devoted to cruising the world. A Yachtmaster examiner and sailing instructor by trade make Cunliffe an ideal author to communicate the necessities of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Day Skipper syllabus.

Starting with yacht handling under power, the book moves on to boat husbandry and sailing skills before dispelling the mysteries of modern electronic navigation systems.

Text in black and white with lots of pictures and line drawings.

Adlard Coles Nautical Tel: 020 7758 0200 Fax: 020 7758 0222 E-mail: sales@acblack.com Web: www.adlardcoles.co.uk