Picks out records covering English sailors (8)
I believe the answer is:
discerns
'picks out' is the definition.
('discern' can be a synonym of 'pick out')
'records covering english sailors' is the wordplay.
'records' becomes 'discs' ('disc' can be a synonym of 'record'**).
'covering' is an insertion indicator.
'english' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'sailors' becomes 'rn' (abbreviation for Royal Navy).
'e'+'rn'='ern'
'discs' placed around 'ern' is 'DISCERNS'.
(Other definitions for discerns that I've seen before include "Distinguishes, makes out" , "Detects, makes out" .)