AUGUST IN THE COUNTRY

› ID guide to 21 common seashells. › Top coastal events this month. › A delicious crab recipe.

With her slender hull , sharply set sails and raked masts, the sailing schooner Eleanora combines elegance and power as she surges past the Needles Lighthouse on the Isle of Wight during a Round the Island Race. This heralds a summer of waterborne festivities from the sailing haven of Cowes, which culminates in Cowes Week (4-11 August). All the while the 31m-high Needles Lighthouse keeps guard serenely. There has been a lighthouse here since 1785, though this version was built in 1859.