Great Yachts & Their Designers

""Looking at yachts is much like looking at a gallery full of paintings,'' muses the yachting correspondent and marine photographer for London's Associated Press. ``One goes to look to gain inspiration, to admire technique, to have one's memory jogged by composition and moved by content.'' Eastland is too reverent when relaying ``the grandeur, the elementary hugeness, power, and grace, of these mammoths.'' But enthusiasts of this male-dominated sport will no doubt warm to this vividly illustrated volume, replete with particulars on races (the America's Cup, the Admiral's Cup, etc.) and a variety of yacht designs, owners, skippers and builders. Eastland divides yachting history into three periods (1890-1939, 1956-73, 1974 to the present), chooses yachts for inclusion here based on, among other factors, racing success and design ingenuity, and demonstrates how cruising design often follows closely on the heels of racing success. Among the yachts featured are the Britannia, the four Australias, USA, French Kiss and Italia. Dolphin Book Club featured alternate. (November 20)