SIMMER'S BLUE WATER VOYAGE

Charts and Cruising Guide Reviews

Click the icon below to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet listing all the charts we have aboard SIMMER.  We updated this list on 12-01-01 to include charts back to the east coast of the US from RSA:

SimmerCharts.zip (approximately 30K, updated Dec. 1, 2001)

Click the icon below to download an Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet listing weatherfax, SSB and HAM radio nets we have used around the world:

Simmer Frequencies.XLS (Approximately 56K, updated Aug. 23,2002)

We thought we would put on a critic's hat here and list the cruising guides we have used or heard of during our trip and put down a few thoughts on how useful and accurate they were.  Perhaps this will be useful to anyone who plans to follow us across the oceans of the world in years to come:

2000-2001 Sailors Guide to the Leeward Islands, Chris Doyle, ISBN 0-944428-51-7, $22.50

2001-2002 Sailors Guide to the Windward Islands, Chris Doyle, ISBN 0-944428-53-3, $22.50

Both these guides are pretty good.  Plenty of good chartlets  for the more popular anchorage's.  Lots of info on restaurants and shopping ashore but not so much on the people or cultures. Worth the money for sure.

Southern African West Coast and S. Atlantic Cruising Notes, Tony Herrick, No ISBN (Available locally in RSA), $6.50

We used this guide from Cape Town to Saldanha Bay in RSA and also for St. Helena and Ascension Islands.  Sparse but good information.  There are no other guide books available for this area.  A new edition had just come out as we left with more information.  Worth the cost.

Southern African Cruising Notes (East to West), Tony Herrick, No ISBN (Available locally in RSA), $6.50

This is the only guide we could find to the east coast of South Africa and is very good. Covers weather, the Agulhaus Current, ports and available "bolt-hole" anchorage's from Richard's Bay to Cape Town.  We were very glad we had it with us.

East Africa Pilot, 1998, Delwyn McPhun, ISBN 0 85288 251 3, $65.00

A very good guide to Madagascar and Mayotte.  There is so much cruising in this area and so few boats doing it that many, many harbors are still to be discovered.  The guide can only cover the major spots and all weather harbors.   A guide to Madagascar alone would be hundreds of pages. Friends who used it for the African coast (Kenya, Tanzania ...) also had good things to say about it.  Highly recommended.

Click here to download a Microsoft Word file describing the anchorages we used in Chagos and Mayotte.

IO Anchorages.Doc (Approximately 112K)

The Maldives, SunSail Charters, No ISBN, Appears locally published

Since we only stopped at Addu Atoll (the furthest south in the Maldives) we did not use this guide.

Sail Thailand, 3rd Ed 1999, Artasia Press, ISBN 974-88825-7-8, $40.00

This guide has absolutely beautiful pictures.  The charts are pretty good and the information on caves, hongs, dive spots, etc is pretty good.  Definitely the best coverage of Thailand available, though if you were on a budget and could only have one book get the Indian Ocean Crossing Guide.  Many of the Thai anchorages are covered in this IO guide.

Yachtsman's Guide to the Red Sea, Robin Bell, No ISBN, Out of Print, $5.00

Red Sea Pilot, 1st Ed 1995 w/ Supplement to Sept 96, E. Morgan & S. Davis, ISBN 0-85288-253-X, $69.95

Since we are not going through the Red Sea now (See our itinerary) we will not be using these guides.

Indian Ocean Cruising Guide, 1st Ed 1999, Rod Heikell, ISBN 85288-295-5, $63.00

We seem to use this guide more for Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand than the "SE Asia Cruising Guide".  It does not cover the area in as much detail but hits the high points and is laid out in a more logical format.  We used it for determining our passage across the Indian Ocean and together with Jimmy Cornell's "World Cruising Routes" this book has been very helpful. The guide continued to be of value in Madagascar and Mayotte.  This has to be the best value of any of the guides we have bought.  It covers a vast area,  and does it well.

Cruising Guide to SE Asia Vol. II, 1st Ed 1999, S. Davis & E. Morgan, ISBN 0-85288-378-1, $63.00

We used this guide through Indonesia and were not impressed.  Indonesia is a difficult area to cover because of its vastness and the many possible routes to sail through the islands.  However, we were constantly confused by the organization of the book, and there isn't much info on anchorages either.  A listing with a GPS waypoint seems to be all there is unless it is a well-traveled anchorage.  The book did not improve for Malaysia and Thailand either.  We think that good charts, the Indian Ocean Cruising Guide and other cruiser's input are enough to sail this area. 

Northern Territory Coast Cruising Guide (Australia), 2008, J. Knight

This book is the most detailed guide to cruising Northern Australia, being written by a member of The Royal and Australian Institutes of Marine Technology. It was used by solo sailor Zac Sunderland - sixteen year's old - to navigate through the area. Since the entire Northern Territory area is poorly surveyed at best, this book has some valuable information. The notes on tides through this area were worth the price.

Click here to download a Microsoft Word file describing the anchorages we used between Bundaberg, Qld and Darwin, NT:

OzAnchorages.doc (Approximately64K)

Cruising the Coral Coast, 7th Ed 1996, Alan Lucas, ISBN 0-64627858-4, $65.00

A very good guide to the Queensland coast.  Well laid out and informative.  Do wish however that the guide covered more of the reef anchorages along the way.   The author's evaluation of anchorages is suspect though.  He says most anchorages are rolly, but we have not found them to be as bad as stated.  If you are going to spend allot of time in the Whitsunday's then the book "100 Magic Miles" is also a worthwhile investment.  We did not have it and did not feel we needed it.  There is one more guide called "The Curtis Coast" which has anchorages and routes that the Lucas guide does not have, but again we did not feel it was necessary.

Cruising Guide to New Caledonia, 1996, Joel Marc, ISBN 2-9508530-2-1 $79.95

This is a great cruising guide.  Well laid out, easy to use, accurate, and complete.  You don't need any others.  Listed the US price we paid.   If you can wait to get to New Caledonia you can buy it, in English, for $52.   Unfortunately we would recommend you have it aboard before going through the Havana pass on southeast side of the island so we guess you just have to pay the money.

A Yachtsman's Fiji, 2nd Ed 1993, Michael Calder, ISBN ??, $35.00

We didn't like this book.  The layout and format is confusing. It assumes that you can afford all BA charts and pilots and that you have them aboard and open as you read it.  The sketch charts are good, but the bearings and waypoints given are not always accurate.  The aerial photos are a nice touch but don't seem to be as useful as those we've used in the Bahamas.  Usually they are the wrong angle for approach.  If you can find the "Migrant Cruising Guide to Fiji" buy it instead.  However, we will begrudgingly admit that the book covers many areas no one else does and together with adequate charts this book is useful.

A Cruising Guide to the Vava'u Island Group in the Kingdom of Tonga, 1992, The Moorings, No ISBN, $12.00

A thin book which includes a modified copy of the US DMA chart for this area.  It was written for the Moorings charter fleet. Anchorage's are numbered and everyone identifies anchorage's by number rather than by the island or bay name so you will be lost without it.  It really makes cruising these waters easy.  Have it aboard. This guide is available from the Moorings in Neiafu.

Landfalls of Paradise, 3rd Ed 1993, Earl Hinz, ISBN 0-82481466-5, $45.00

We had high hopes for this book based on the fact that everyone references it.   Unfortunately, the book is out of date and the information on clearance procedures is generally wrong.  We wouldn't  spend the money on it again.  The sketch charts are few and of insufficient detail to be useful.  On a positive note, information about the people and cultures was very good.  However, a Fodor's or Lonely Planet travel guide has the same information.  (NOTE:  There is a new edition available - not sure how much of an update it is)

The Pacific Crossing Guide, 1997, RCC Pilotage, ISBN 1-57409-036-4, $59.95

We really liked this book.  The section on weather in the Pacific was well written and informative.  The sketch charts were based on BA charts and of sufficient detail to be useful in addition to the US DMA charts we carried.  The ports covered were limited to the major crossroad ports around and across the Pacific.  The information about preparing your boat was lame but by the time you leave Panama the boat you have is it anyway.  We would recommend this book.   We hope their Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Med and Atlantic Crossing Guides are as good.

South Pacific Anchorage's, 1996, Warwick Clay, ISBN 0-85288-356-0, $59.95

This was a strange book.  It covers hundreds of anchorage's from the Galapagos to New Caledonia and New Zealand and even much of the North Pacific.  Many of the sketch charts cover anchorage's no one else talks about and that are not even shown clearly on charts of the area.  However, it is pretty obvious that many of these charts were drawn from memory so there are more than the normal number of errors.  The Lat/Lon references given sometimes are placed on or inside of reefs so they are not to be trusted.   If you are sticking to the tried and true Milk Run anchorage's (which is where everyone else is) then you don't need this book.  If you want to get away from everyone, then have it on board but be very careful about how much you trust it.

Charlie's Charts of Polynesia, 3rd Ed 1995, Charles E. Wood, ISBN 0-9697265-0-3, $29.95

The bible for the South Pacific east of 165 degrees west. Particularly useful in the Tuamotus.  The sketch charts are crude but generally accurate.  The Lat/Lon grids, references, and leads are accurate and useful.  The information on weather is useful but not really detailed.  At $29.95 its a bargain.  Have this guide on your boat!

The Panama Guide, 1996, Nancy and Tom Zydler, ISBN 0-9639566-3-9, $39.95