Excitement mounts as Sunderland lecturer's tall ships book draws closer

University of Sunderland lecturer Naomi Austin is only around five weeks away from seeing her book published, covering her 25 years of being involved in the races.

“I’m so excited and truly privileged to announce the upcoming launch of my first ever book based on a subject which is incredibly close to my heart,” said Naomi.

She said it had been a “very difficult eight months at times, especially coming up against many brick walls when it came to funding it and it would have been easy to give up, but I’m not a quitter and due to the support of my fantastic friends and family I have been able to see the book through to completion and see my dream become a reality”.

The book is more than just a history of the races and Naomi explained: “Although the book and accompanying exhibition was originally going to be just based on the Tall Ships Races; after finding more out about the history of Sunderland and meeting such incredible people who worked on the Wear, there was no question about adding in a chapter specifically dedicated to shipbuilding on the Wear.

“The city should be incredibly proud of their history and what they have achieved over the years and I feel that the people of Sunderland should build on this and continue to shout about these achievements.”

The book includes digital drawings and rarely seen photographs “taken from the archives and interesting facts about some of the most famous ships to come from the Wear as well as some of the ships who will be visiting the Wear for the Tall Ships Race in just a few months time”, said Naomi.

“I want to get people talking about the wonderful things that have come out of Sunderland rather than focus on the subject which involves a round ball!”

The book is available to pre order at: https://thecallofthesea.printtrail.com

It’s due to be published in early June and will be available at Waterstones Sunderland and Newcastle as well as the National Glass Centre.

The accompanying exhibition at Washington Arts Centre opens on Friday, August 3, and runs until Saturday, September 1.