The Beken family of Cowes have been photographing yachts through three generations, and their name has be come a by-word for the best of sailing photography. This volume, a worthy successor to the Bekens' previous book, A Century of Tall Ships, presents the reader with a 100-strong collection of the world's most exciting and successful racing yachts over the past decade. It is also a comprehensive portrait of the vari ed types of craft and events that make up modern competitive yachting. Nowadays, the America's Cup is the most publicized sailing event of all, with the majestic 12-Metre boats match-racing like modern-day jousters. Who can forget the dramatic win of the Cup in 1983 by Australia II and its emphatic re-acquisition in 1987 by the American Stars & Stripes? Both these famous boats are captured here. By contrast, international racing series like the Admiral' s Cup and Sardinia Cup are teamboat events, and in this book are many champions of these contests, hard-fought to complex handicapping rules. Imp, Police Car and Jade are but three of them. The large ocean greyhounds that have competed in four Whitbread Round the World Races represent a keen balance between design for speed and the need to survive the ravages of great oceans. These imposing craft are not easily forgotten and we can admire here winners and other competitors such as Great Britain II, Flyers I and II, Ceramco New Zealand and UBS Switzerland. Ocean-racing multihulls almost defy the imagination, for awesome speeds are achieved by these deceptively strong spiders of the sea. They are represented by four breakneck machines, Roger & Callet, Royale, Apricot and Paragono And for the ultimate in speed, included too is the fastest boat ever across the Atlantic, the turbo-engined Virgin Atlantic Challenger II. This beautiful book is a fine tribute to the greatest ocean racers of recent years, captured in the masterly pictures of Beken of Cowes. And the accompanying text by Bob Fisher, Britain's foremost yachting writer, ensures that The New Ocean Thoroughbreds is a book every yachtsman will be proud to put on his bookshelf.