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New Editions for 2008Click on the covers below to find out more about the areas covered in each edition:
Every year we update thousands of facts and figures and have a policy of continuous improvement. Recent changes to Reeds Almanac include: Over 45,000 updates and changes 484 major harbours and 532 minor harbours covered Further improvements to layout and appearance, making this Almanac even easier to use Expansion of global communications information to reflect the latest technological advances.
A new observation form in the First Aid section enables the casualty's symptoms / responses to be passed to medics ashore.
Passage information for Central South England has been updated to reflect current rules and regulations.
Passage planning checklist
The vocabularies have been merged into a six language format, which includes more words and topics grouped for easier access
All tidal curves appear at the top of the page for ease of use
Detailed description of the change from MHWS to HAT (Highest Astronimical Tide) as the reference level for calculating clearance under bridges and overhead cables
The reinstatement of the emergency childbirth at sea section for which the original Reeds Almanac will always be remembered Tidal stream charts for South Brittany and South Biscay
Times of Navtex transmissions are in chronological order, to facilitate the rapid finding of the next transmission
Metmarine area forecasts for the North and West coasts of France (sent as text messages) are included
Wi-fi/ Internet cafes and National Coastwatch Institution stations are shown on area maps, and fuel availability times are listed too
All Lat/Long coordinates and harbour chartlets are now referenced to WGS84
Many chartlets upgraded and expanded to provide better information and more coverage, including Milford Haven, Avonmouth / Bristol approaches, Watchet, Minehead, Lundy, Solent (East and West), Newhaven, Eastbourne, Wexford, Glenarm, Ballycastle, Rathlin, Sark
New chartlets of the Bridge channel at Plymouth and Le Havre marina
Revised chartlets of the Bridge Channel at Plymouth and Le Havre marina
Rivers Stour, Orwell and Deben and their approaches now include the Sunk precautionary area
Simplified chartlets of the River Exe, Lorient and Ria de Arousa
New marina at Oeiras (West of Lisboa) and marinas at Ayamonte, Mazagon and Puerto America (Cadiz) expanded
In Gibraltar, changes to Queensway Quay and the former Sheppards Marinas are fully described and charted
The index is expanded and substantially improved.
All the Reeds Almanac series come with a free Reeds Marina and Services Guide containing detailed marina plans for the UK, Ireland and Channel Islands, plus a comprehensive directory of marine services and suppliers. We have continued to improve the design and appearance of the Almanacs to make them look fresher, more appealing, more modern and — most important of all, easier for the readers to find their way to the information they need. Click here to view some sample pages from the Almanac showing: In 2007 we celebrated the 75th anniversary of the first publication in 1932 of Reeds Nautical Almanac, now universally known as plain Reeds. The first compiler, editor and the moving light behind this venture was Captain O M Watts, one of the youngest Merchant Navy officers ever to hold a Master's certificate, aged 23. Oswald M Watts (Ossie to his friends) left the sea in 1927 and for a time delivered yachts and taught navigation. The publisher, Harold Brunton-Reed, and editor shook hands - as Watts described it, 'the only agreement we ever made'. The first edition was published on 1 January 1932 and cost 2/6 (two shillings and six pence, or 12·5 pence in today's money). Reeds finest hour came in 1944, when the government ordered 3000 extra copies of the Almanac for use in vessels involved in the D-Day Normandy landings. After the war, O M Watts continued to edit Reeds until his retirement in 1981, and thereafter as consultant editor until his death in 1985. In the late 1980s Reeds was sold by the Brunton-Reed family to a new publisher, Thomas Reed Publications, with a new editorial team. Coincidentally in 1981 Macmillan Publishers launched the first edition of the then Macmillan & Silk Cut Nautical Almanac. 2006 is also the 25th anniversary of the Macmillan Nautical Almanac, which owes much of its success to the same clear-headed skills of its founding editors as O M Watts brought to the task half a century earlier. Within 10 years this new Almanac had overhauled Reeds, which in 1993 foundered over a copyright infringement and ceased publication in 1994. In 1999 Nautical Data Ltd acquired the Almanac from Macmillan and re-named it Reeds Nautical Almanac. The well-liked Macmillan style and clear-cut layout was retained and still forms the basis of all subsequent editions. Since December 2003 Reeds has been owned by Adlard Coles Nautical, under whose famous name we are confident that the Almanac will go from strength to strength. 'Reeds was so important to us that when we had our gaff cutter, Grace O'Malley, built in 1987, we asked the builder to construct a special rack to hold it in place near the chart table. Alas, on the day of launching, we found that it had been built slightly too small and Reeds would not fit. The boatbuilder came up with the perfect solution - he took hold of Reeds, put it in a vice, and took a plane to it and shaved it sufficiently to fit perfectly. We have a picture of him doing it.' 'At the age of 10 I was planning imaginary voyages using my fathers Reeds. Over the 50 years since, I have trusted Reeds for many factual ocean and coastal voyages.' Bryan Willis (Chairman, Americas Cup Jury) 'In 1932 I was only 7 and the sea was just something for swimming in. Immediately post-war as a Subby on minesweepers in the Indian Ocean I had a "professional" interest in navigation having to wrestle with sun-run-mer.alt. etc. In the ensuing years, with the small-mariner's interest in navigation, Reeds has proved to be an indispensible aid even acting as a reference for those, like me, writing specifically on weather. Long may it continue.' Alan Watts (Author and journalist) 'All beginnings are difficult, therefore remember
.. A little knowledge is dangerous, but no knowledge is even worse. To this end the almanac over the years as become not only a great guide but a necessity! Vision - When it is dark enough we can see the stars.' Stokey Woodall (ocean sailor, author, teacher in celestial navigation and company director of Britain's premier ocean sailing school International Ocean Services) 'When it was hardback and about 4in thick it was just Reeds, no other description was necessary. Good to see it has survived the changes and competition, but it needs a padded cover — still damages your foot if it slides off the chart table.' Colin Jarman (Sailing writer and photographer) 'One aged memory of Reeds is that, having bought the new edition, one had to get rid of the old one. It could not be kept on board otherwise you might look up tide tables for the wrong year. But it somehow looked too good to throw away and so you took it home and added it to a dust attracting and rarely looked at collection.' Basil Mosenthal (Author) 'I don't quite remember buying the first edition of Reeds. Certainly from 1952 for me the prime reason to go to the London Boat Show was to obtain next years edition of Reeds so planning the summer cruises could begin in earnest. From 1976, when Pat Price and I started evening classes in navigation in Central London, it was necessary to draw on Reeds frequently for extracts of tidal information and details of entry into UK ports. In 1980 Jeremy Howard-Williams latched on to what we were doing and commanded us to put it all in book form. 'Members of the RNSA have used Reeds since its inception and it remains one of the most reliable publications of its type. I am sure that the Flag Officers and members of the Central Committee join me in wishing Reeds a Happy Birthday and many more years of successful publication.' Tim Norman-Walker (General Secretary, Royal Naval Sailing Association) 'From its inception an important part of the almanac was a comprehensive section on astro-navigation, contributed by the famous Captain O.M. Watts. His well-considered system enabled small-boat navigators to handle astro without the need to carry bulky sets of tables. Times changed, and in the early nineties the astro section was removed. Not unexpectedly there was a chorus of complaint from faithful users; so in 1997 it was decided to publish the astro information in a separate volume, originally called The Heavenly Bodies. Nowadays, under the Adlard Coles imprint, this continues, in a modernised form, as Reeds Astro Navigation Tables for Yachtsmen, and is appreciated by mariners world-wide who wish to practise the art of sextant navigation and to back up their electronic equipment.' Harry Baker (Editor, Reeds Astro Navigation Tables for Yachtsmen) |
