From inside sleeve: This book is the combined log and diary of - 19th-century pioneer of small-boat sailing. R.T. McMullen undertook no long ocean voyages; none of his sailing was done outside the hme waters of the British Isles; most of it was in the English Channel. 'Down Channel' will be reckoned by many, however, to be the most valuable volume in the Mariner's Library "The secret, or one of the secrets, of McMullen's eminence," writes Authur Ransome, was that "he set himself a much higher standard of efficiency in amateur sailing than had ever been set before." He was also the first to emphasize that the worst danger to small boats in rough weather is not the sea but land. Full though it is if sound practical advice, based in the hard lessons of experience, the book gains charm and authority from the frankness with which McMullen records his own frequent early mistakes, and it is a delightful and unforgettable personality that emerges unconsciously from these severely nautical logs.