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St Francis |
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CSY 44 |
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Files on Our Website
Links to information we frequently reference
Last Updated:
05/05/2025
Pacific Ocean Cruising Guides & Information Useful? Buy Us A Beer
Compendiums: Collection of useful tidbits from other cruisers, our own experiences, and various online sources. Valuable updates to old (but still very useful) cruising guides.
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General Pacific Crossing Articles and Info |
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| Name | Format | Size | Comments |
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Pacific Crossing Considerations and Options (SSCA
Article) Alt: Our SSCA Presentation |
After 5 years bouncing north and south across the
Pacific, here are our thoughts on how to not zoom through the best
cruising grounds in the world. Last Updated Nov 06, 2010 |
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South
Pacific Cruising Strategies (Latitude 38 Article) |
590 K | Article on options for crossing the Pacific and seeing as much as possible | |
| Understanding South Pacific Weather | htm | 2k |
Everything we know about South Pacific Weather -
Links to useful wx info Last Updated Feb 14, 2011 |
| Gulf Harbor Radio's Weather page | link | As you go west beyond French Polynesia, Gulf Harbor Radio will be an excellent source of weather advice. | |
| Cyclone Tracks from El Nino and La Nino years | 1 MB | A plot of cyclone tracks from 1959-2009 in the Western Pacific, broken out by La Nina and El Nino years. | |
| Jim Corenman's Letters from the South Pacific | 650 K | (Published in Latitude 38 in the late 1990's, but still relevant) Great info, especially the part on South Pacific Weather | |
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French Polynesia |
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| Name | Format | Size | Comments |
| Timing Your Visit to French Polynesia | Link | Link | When
to go where in French Poly by s/v Pitufa |
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French Polynesia Weather Compendium Version 2.0 Upd July 23, 2021 |
1.7 MB | Brand new, revamped, revised, and enhanced! | |
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The Marquesas
Compendium Rev 2024.4 Updated Nov 15, 2024 |
3.0 MB | Still being updated, thanks to passing cruisers. | |
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The Tuamotus
Compendium Rev 2025.1 Updated March 1, 2025 |
4.1 MB | 180 Pages. Still being updated by passing cruisers. |
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The Tuamotus Current
Guestimator for 2025-2026 Apple "Numbers" Version (note 2019 v) |
zip (xlsx) |
350 KB |
Now Updated for 2025 Short "How To" Guide Numbers version compliments of s/v Greyhound |
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Fakarava Bommies (gpx) |
zip | 17K |
Supplied by Kevin Hiscox s/v Mat-Lau Short "How To" Guide |
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The Gambiers and Australs Compendium
Rev 2024.2 Updated June 14, 2024 |
2.8 MB |
91 Pages Little-visited cruising gems. |
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The Societies Compendium Rev 2024.6 Updated September 23 , 2024 |
6 MB |
183 Pages. Still being updated by passing cruisers. |
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| Jacaranda's Supplemental Info for French Polynesia | Link | Link | Lots of good info from s/v Jacaranda who are in their 5th year in French Polynesia. |
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Clearance Procedures for Tahiti and Moorea
(Likely obsolete) |
52K | Information for cruisers on clearance into and out of Papeete and Moorea (2017), produced by Marina Papeete. | |
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Marine Protected Areas in French Polynesia
UPDATED Mar 2021 |
20MB | Information for cruisers on Marine Protection Areas in French Polynesia. | |
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TahitiCruisersGuide.com
(covers all of Fr Poly) PDF Version in case website goes away. Aug 2024 |
Link | Link | The guide covers all of French Polynesia, and includes vendors and services. Access online or download as a pdf with gps location coordinates. |
| Mr. John's Guide to French Polynesia | 900K | Last Updated Dec 2008 | |
| Stopover Handbook for French Polynesia (English) 2024-2025 Version | 17 MB |
Yellow Flag Guide for Yachts Visiting French
Polynesia 2024/2025 source |
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| Tahiti Tourism Site (several downloads) | 2 MB | Link to Tahiti Tourism website, where they have a number of updated publications. | |
| Dream Yacht Charters Leeward Islands Pilot Guide | 2 MB | Updated June 2014. Contains lots of good info for yachts in the Leeward Islands of French Polynesia. | |
| Moorings Charters Leeward Islands Guide | 2 MB | Downloaded from Moorings Site Nov 2015. | |
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Diving in
Tahiti Covers diving in the Societies and Rangiroa and Manihi in the Tuamotus |
7 MB | Excerpts from an out of print diving guide from 1992 | |
| Charts for Society Islands | Google Earth and other charts for Society Islands (thanks to Stephano) | ||
| Bruce Balan's Chart Locker | link | New mbtiles charts for all of French Polynesia | |
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A great guide to help you get around French Polynesia. More than just "Hello" and "Thank you", it has nautical terms and the French terms for those critical boat parts you may have to go looking for, along with a helpful diagram. A must have in French speaking countries! Click to buy on Amazon | ||
Cook Islands and Samoa Islands and Niue |
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| Name | Format | Size | Comments |
| Cooks and Samoas Compendium (Including Niue) - Rev 2024.1 | 2.6 Mb | As good as it gets, unless we get
cruiser updates. Last updated August 2024 (Palmerston, Am Samoa) |
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| Mr. John's Guide to The Dangerous Middle | 4Mb | Covers the Cook Islands and Niue Last Updated Feb 2009 |
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| Bruce Balan's Chart Locker | link | New mbtiles charts for all of Cooks and Samoas | |
Tonga |
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| Name | Format | Size | Comments |
| Bruce Balan's Chart Locker | link | New mbtiles charts for Tonga | |
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Tonga
Compendium - Rev 2025.1 |
3.3 MB | Largely revamped 2023. Please keep sending updates!
Last updated Jan 27, 2025 |
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Tonga Cruising Information Alternate Link |
1 MB | Cruising information by Tonga Cruising Station (Cafe Tropicana). Updated frequently. | |
| Tonga Diving Information | html | 1.2MB | Fairly comprehensive list of dive sites in Vavau, and a few in Haapai. |
| Stopover Handbook for Tonga 2025 | 34 MB | Another Yellow Flag Guide! NEW! source |
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| Exploring Minerva Reefs | link | An excellent guide to Minerva Reefs, plus a lot of other good stuff on the Gulf Harbor Radio site. | |
| Mr. John's Guide to Tonga | 14Mb | Last Updated Sep 2010 | |
| Moorings Tonga Cruising Guide | 3 MB | Last updated 2005 | |
Fiji |
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Fiji Compendium -
Rev 2024.4 |
7 MB | Updated Sep 23 2024
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| Fiji Satellite Charts (2012) | KAP & gpx | various | Soggy Paws' home-made Google Earth based navigation charts for Fiji. Track & Waypoint files all over Fiji. |
| Fiji Marine Guide 2014 Edition | 11 MB | From Yacht Help Fiji | |
| Fiji Shores and Marina Guide 2020 | 18 MB | From Fiji Marinas | |
| Mr. John's Guide to Fiji | 4 MB | Last Updated June 2011 | |
| A Yachtsman's Fiji by Michael Calder 2nd Edition | 6 MB | Originally published 1987, updated in 1993. Free electronic edition published 2011 |
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| Bruce Balan's Chart Locker | link | New mbtiles charts for Fiji | |
Wallis, Futuna, Rotuma, Tuvalu, Kiribati |
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The Fiji-to-Marshalls Compendium Rev 2025.1 |
750K | Includes Wallis, Futuna, Rotuma, Tuvalu, Kiribati (Tarawa & nearby
atolls) Updated May 2, 2025 |
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| Mr. John's Guide to Kiribati | 14 MB | Includes Rotuma, Tuvalu, and Gilbert Islands of Kiribati. Last Updated June 2011 | |
| Pacific Cyclone Season, North instead of South | 500K | s/v Streetcar's voyage and info on going to the Marshall Islands instead of NZ for South Pacfic cyclone season. Published on Noonsite July 2013 | |
| Satellite Charts | Soggy Paws' home-made Google Earth based navigation charts for this trip | ||
| Bruce Balan's Chart Locker | link | New mbtiles charts. | |
| PNG, Solomons, and Vanuatu |
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The Papua New Guinea Compendium
Rev 2023.1 |
5.5 MB | 292 Pages Last updated June 23, 2023 |
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The
Solomon Islands Compendium
 Rev 2024.4 |
3.5 MB | Fully revised in 2024! 133 Pages Last updated August 2024 |
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Vanuatu Compendium
Rev 2024.7 |
3.2 MB | Fully revamped and Updated September 2024 |
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| Vanuatu Calendar of Events 2024 | 3 MB | Vanuatu Tourism's calendar of events throughout Vanuatu for 2024. | |
| Satellite Charts for PNG and Solomons | KAP | Extensive Collection from 2019 (note, all our waypoints are in Valhalla's Waypoint files) |
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| Bruce Balan's Chart Locker | link | New mbtiles charts for Solomons and Vanuatu | |
| Valhalla's Charts & Waypoints | gpx & mbtiles | Extensive Collection | |
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The Micronesia
Compendium Rev 2024.1 |
2.7 MB | Still a little rough, but lots of good info, somewhat organized. Updated 2024 | |
| Satellite Charts | Soggy Paws' (and friends) home-made Google Earth and other satellite- based navigation charts for this trip. | ||
| Bruce Balan's Chart Locker | link | New mbtiles charts for Micronesia and Palau | |
| Sherry's Skin Infection Micronesia | zip | 1.2 MB | Sherry got a serious and persistent skin infection in the outer islands of Micronesia. Might have been mycobacterium marinum aka fish tank disease. Here is her research. |
| Marshall Islands | |||
| The Marshall Islands Compendium 2025.3 | 3.8 MB | Update done by s/v Sugar Shack. May 2, 2025 | |
| Mr. John in the Marshall Islands | 6 MB | Last updated Nov 2011 | |
| Practical Marshallese | 1.5 MB | WorldTeach manual for Marshallese copyright Peter Rudiak-Gould | |
| Google Earth Charts | link | Soggy Paws' and others' home-made Google Earth based navigation charts, and track and waypoint files | |
| Bruce Balan's Chart Locker | link | New mbtiles charts for the Marshall Islands | |
Hawaii |
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The Hawaii Compendium Rev B.1 |
240K | A bit rough around the edges, but lots of useful
information Last Upd June 30, 2014 |
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| A Boater's Guide to Oahu | 11 MB | A companion document to a cruiser's Youtube about Oahu (2021-2022). Youtube | |
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Philippines |
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| Valhalla's Charts & Waypoints | web page | Extensive Collection of "How to's", gpx waypoints, & mbtile satellite charts. | |
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The
Philippines Compendium Rev 2024.2 |
6.1 MB | Over 300 Pages! Updated Dec 24, 2024 |
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| Cruising Guide to the Philippines - Conant Webb | 2 MB | Nice guide self-published by a longtime cruiser in the Philippines. Last updated 2009. | |
| Presentation: Cruising the Magnificent Philippines | 17 MB | 180 Page presentation on our 6 month cruise through the Philippines in 2018 | |
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Davao Marine Services Directory Rev Dec 2021 |
320 KB | Notes and contact info for finding necessary services in Samal and Davao. | |
Indonesia |
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| Indonesia Cruising Guide Amazon Link | web page | A "Must Have" for cruising Indonesia. Make sure you get the 2nd Edition. | |
| Valhalla's Charts & Waypoints | web page | Extensive Collection of "How to's", anchorage waypoints, & mbtile satellite charts | |
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The Indonesia
Compendium Rev 2024.5 Upd 29-Dec-2024 |
11.6 MB | Over 500 pages of useful information
on cruising Indonesia. Totally free, no ads, no gimmicks. |
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Indonesian 6-Month Visa 2024 Nov 13, 2024 |
660 K | Hot off the press, Rev 1 of Getting a 6-Month Indonesian Visa in 2024. | |
| Updated List of Indonesian Clearance Ports | 663 K | New list with 29 ports, signed into law May 3, 2023. | |
| sv Ocelot's excellent notes on cruising Indonesia | Link | Notes, waypoints, tracks, anchorage info, satellite charts. | |
| Indonesia 101 Anchorages | 24MB | Out of Print early anchoring guide for Indonesia (poor copy) | |
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Notes on Indonesian Clearance 2022 v1.7 03-May-2022 |
1.5 MB | The full process of getting a visa through an agent,
and checking in Indonesia. Brand new info from our
check-in Jan 2022 and Visa Extensions in March and April 2022. Needs updating as the visa process has changed, see other visa writeups above. Still helpful background. |
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Indonesian
Immigration Offices 2022 Upd 21-Apr-2022 |
1.4 MB | Scraped from the Indo Immigration Website March 2022, formatted for offline viewing. Organized by region and province. Addresses, phone numbers, websites and email addresses. | |
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Indonesian Immigration
Offices GPX Upd 21-Apr-2022 |
GPX | 45 KB | Rough locations of the Indonesian Immigration Offices (note: does not include the "21 Ports of Entry"). About |
| Dec 2021 Agent Cost Comparison | 50 KB | A spreadsheet trying to compare offerings and costs for various visa agents in Indonesia. | |
| Rock Art in West Papua | 24 MB | A 2004 publication by UNESCO detailing the "rock art" found in West Papua, Indonesia. Includes maps with locations. | |
| Fishes of Indonesia | 20 MB | A compilation by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research showing "market fishes" of Indonesia and their common (English and Bahasa) name and scientific name, with pictures. | |
Malaysia |
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| Valhalla's Charts & Waypoints | web page | Extensive Collection of "How to's", gpx waypoints, & mbtile satellite charts | |
| The Malaysian Compendium - Rev 2025.1 | 3.2 MB | Last updated 09 Feb 2025. | |
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Sail Malaysia Rally Cruising Guide
- Rev April 2023 Alternate Source |
1 MB | Last updated 04-April-2023 | |
Thailand |
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| Valhalla's Charts & Waypoints | web page | Extensive Collection of "How to's", gpx waypoints, & mbtile satellite charts | |
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The
Thailand Compendium Rev 2025.1 |
Very rough. Updated 08-Feb-2025 |
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SE Asia Facebook Groups |
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| Sail SE Asia | FB | Primary FB group for cruisers in SE Asia | |
| Women who Sail SE Asia | FB | FB group exclusively for women sailors in SE Asia | |
| Sail the Philippines | For cruisers sailing/cruising within the Philippines | ||
Indian Ocean to South Africa and the Red Sea |
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| Valhalla's Charts & Waypoints | web page | Extensive Collection of "How to's", gpx waypoints, & mbtile satellite charts | |
| Soggy Paws' Red Sea mbtiles & Waypoints | A collection of satellite charts for the Red Sea, including tracks and anchorage waypoints. New waypoints and charts May 2023 | ||
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Red Sea Compendium v 2025.5 |
11 MB | Cruisers notes on passage up and down the Red Sea.
Oman, Yemen, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE,
Jordan. Updated May 5, 2025 |
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Red Sea Pilot
3rd Ed 2024
New Color Edition released Sep 2024 |
Morgan & Davies Red Sea Pilot Imray just released a digital version as well as paper book form. |
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| Red Sea Maritime Security Chart Q6609 (2020v) | 4 MB | A fairly high resolution version of the 2020 edition of the 6609 chart. | |
| Red Sea and Northern IO Grib Files | zip | 16 MB | A collection of 14-day GFS Grib files saved at various times 2021-2023 |
| Red Sea Passage Facebook Group | PRIVATE GROUP! You MUST email wade@joana.ca with your boat info and cruising plans to be admitted to this group. | ||
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Indian Ocean Crossing Compendium v2025.1 |
6 MB | Cruiser's
notes on Myanmar, Andaman Islands, Sri Lanka, India (Kochin),
Maldives, Seychelles, Mayotte, Chagos, Maritius, Reunion,
Madagascar, Christmas, Cocos Keeling, Rodrigues. Updated Feb 8, 2025 |
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| Crossing the Indian Ocean On Passage Facebook Group | Public Group, apply to join group as normal. | ||
| Indian Ocean Crossing Facebook Group | PRIVATE GROUP! You MUST email sherry@svsoggypaws.com with your boat info and cruising plans to be admitted to this group. | ||
| South Africa Compendium | 1.2 MB | Rough collection of notes from cruisers going via S
Africa, includes some info on Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and
Namibia too. Last updated 2021. |
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| Sail to South Africa Whatsapp Group | Contact Jenny Crickmore-Thompson on Facebook to be added. | ||
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(We spent a LOT of time gathering, organizing and publishing this info for you...)
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| From s/v Sarana Central America Guide Other Free Guides |
May be more up to date than the below Ecuador guide. | ||
| From s/v Serenity Panama-Cruisers-Resource-Guide |
Lots of "where to find what" in Panama City, Panama. 2019 | ||
| Ecuador Cruiser's Guide (includes the Galapagos) | 740 K | Last Upd October 2013. Also includes some great info on backpacking / touring in South America from Ecuador. |
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| Puerto Lucia Cruising Information | 446 K | Updated Info on Puerto Lucia Ecuador from s/v Dreamer 2019, includes info on Fr Poly visa in Ecuador | |
| Galapagos Arrival Notes from Hawkeye | 2 MB | New! Updated info on what happens when you arrive in Galapagos. January 2024 | |
| La Libertad Port Guide | 160 K | Last Upd Nov 28, 2009 | |
| Extending Your Visa in Ecuador | 76 K | Probably Obsolete, Last Upd Nov 28, 2009 | |
Anchoring & Surviving
Hurricanes in Port
Name
Format
Size
Comments
Creative Anchoring by Captain Fatty Goodlander
ebook
A great book on anchoring tactics
from all aspects by one of
the masters of cruising. (Amazon)
How to Prepare Your Boat for a Hurricane in the VI
pdf
6 MB
By Cap'n Fatty Goodlander for the Virgin
Islands
Territorial Emergency Management Agency (Written ~2000)
Presentation on Surviving Big Storms in Port
pdf
20 MB
By Dave McCampbell s/v Soggy Paws. Presented at SSCA Melbourne Gam 2012
Presentation on Modern Anchors and Ground Tackle
pdf
16 MB
By Dave McCampbell s/v Soggy Paws. Presented at SSCA Melbourne Gam 2013
Blogged Summary about Preparations that Work, from Irma in 2017
link
Good stuff here, worth reading.
Hurricane Avoidance Tactics by Steve Dashew
link (pdf)
500 KB
Advice from a master sailor on what to do when
expecting a hurricane at sea.
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Technical Articles on SSB/Ham Radios Afloat--Antennas, Grounding, Tuners
| Name | Format | Size | Comments |
| Stan Honey's Marine Grounding Article | 1.3 MB | Originally published as part of West Marine's Advisor series, an EXCELLENT article that explains the differences between Electrical Grounds, Lightning Grounds, and Radio Grounds, and how to set your grounds up properly. | |
| .15uF Capacitors $.33 ea | A source for the capacitors for the RF Ground Stan Honey Mentions in his article. | ||
| Gordon West on using a Sea Water Ground | 115 K | Stan Honey's idea for a HF ground plane with pieces of metal connected together inside the boat is old and was useful for older HF systems with manual tuners. It is now superseded by Gordon West's testing on using sea water as a much more effective ground plane for modern HF radios with automatic tuners . | |
| Gordon West on Antenna Tuners | 3 MB | A 1987 Practical Sailor Article about Antenna Tuners and how to hook them up on a boat. | |
| Clyde Kirlin on Marine Antennas | 280 K | A few good tidbits in this 1987 article from Cruising World | |
| How Long Should My Backstay Antenna Be? | 283 K | Discussion from SSCA Bulletin Board between experts & newbies. | |
| Using Auto-Tuners | 234 K | Martin-G8JNJ explains the differences between different kinds of Auto Tuners | |
| Icom 802 "Clipping" | 234 K | Discussion from SSCA Bulletin Board about the Icom M-802 Clipping Issue | |
| Perkins Engine Codes | 263 K | How to read the codes on your Perkins engine to determine year and place of manufacture | |
| Spanish Engine / Mechanical Terms | 57 K | Handy reference for Spanish words relating to engines. (For more complete copy: SpanishForCruisers.com) | |
| Links to Engine Parts Suppliers | A collection of links to suppliers of engine parts, transmissions, props, etc. |
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you...)
| Name | Format | Size | Comments |
| Identifying Your Lewmar Winch | 134 K | From PYacht.com, how to tell what version of Lewmar winch you have Direct Link to PYacht's Page | |
| Pre-1980 Lewmar Winch Service Manual | 2.6 MB | Has many Vol I and Vol II Winches Thanks Dream Away for letting us scan! |
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| Lewmar Winch Service Illustrated ~1999 | 1 MB | From the Catalina Owner's Association, Lewmar 48's and 30's late 1990's design (no longer online at COA) | |
| Lewmar Winch Parts List v10 1992-2002 | 750 K | Official Lewmar Document | |
| Lewmar Ocean Winch Service Manual 2002 | 500 K | Official Lewmar Document, multilingual "Issue 5" | |
| Lewmar Ocean Winch Service Manual 2005 | 1.6 MB | Official Lewmar Document, multilingual "Issue 6" | |
| Barient Winch Service Manual Model 27 2-sp | 250 K | ||
| Maxwell Winch Manual | 2.3 MB | Covers servicing Maxwell winches sized 14 to 29 |
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Medical Reference Material
| Name | Format | Size | Comments |
| Offshore Medicine eBook (Excellent, Simple!) | 3 MB | Excellent, geared for the yachtsman | |
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Venomous
Sea Creatures and How to Treat their Stings (Source Article in Dive Magazine) |
3.5 MB | Great summary of what to avoid when diving/snorkeling, and what to do it someone gets stung/bitten. | |
| Decompression Sickness Symptoms and Remedies | 1 MB | Assembled info from DAN | |
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Ciguatera Info - Jacaranda Fish that have Ciguatera Risk in French Poly (2018) Ciguatera Info - Loose Cannon |
Link Link |
Factual information about the risks of ciguatera | |
| Where There is no Doctor | 15 MB | Geared for people in remote locations | |
| Where There is no Dentist | 12 MB | Geared for people in remote locations | |
| Your Offshore Doctor (Amazon Link) | ebook | A cruising doctor (circumnavigator) published book | |
| International Medical Guide for Ships - 3rd Edition | 2 MB | Too much info! |
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The New Soggy Paws in Raja Ampat June 2016
