S/V Soggy Paws - Useful Files and Links

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Last Updated: 05/22/2025

Panama, Ecuador, and Galapagos Info
General Pacific Crossing Advice
North Pacific Cruising Guides & Etc
South Pacific Compendiums & Etc
SW Pacific Cruising Guides
SouthEast Asia Cruising Guides & Etc Red Sea & Indian Ocean Cruising Guides & Etc Free Satellite Charts

HF & SSB Radio Installation Tips
Perkins Engine Info
Old Winch Manuals Reference
Anchoring & Surviving Hurricanes in Port Medical Reference Material
Our Published Cruising Articles Our Cruising Presentations

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.

General Pacific Crossing Articles and Info
Name	Format	Size	Comments
Pacific Crossing Considerations and Options (SSCA Article) Alt: Our SSCA Presentation	pdf		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
South Pacific Cruising Strategies (Latitude 38 Article)	pdf	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	pdf	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	pdf	650 K	(Published in Latitude 38 in the late 1990's, but still relevant) Great info, especially the part on South Pacific Weather

South Pacific Cruising Information French Polynesia Cooks, Samoa, Niue Tonga Fiji Between Fiji and Marshalls Far Western Islands
French Polynesia
Name	Format	Size	Comments
Timing Your Visit to French Polynesia	Link	Link	When to go where in French Poly by s/v Pitufa
French Polynesia Weather Compendium Version 2.0 Upd July 23, 2021	pdf	1.7 MB	Brand new, revamped, revised, and enhanced!
The Marquesas Compendium Rev 2024.4 Updated Nov 15, 2024	pdf	3.0 MB	Still being updated, thanks to passing cruisers.
The Tuamotus Compendium Rev 2025.2 Updated May 18, 2025	pdf	4.1 MB	180 Pages. Still being updated by passing cruisers.
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
Fakarava Anchoring Map New 2025	pdf	3MB	Fr Poly government regulations on anchoring in Fakarava
Fakarava Bommies (gpx)	zip	17K	Supplied by Kevin Hiscox s/v Mat-Lau Short "How To" Guide
The Gambiers and Australs Compendium Rev 2024.2 Updated June 14, 2024	pdf	2.8 MB	91 Pages Little-visited cruising gems.
The Societies Compendium Rev 2024.6 Updated September 23 , 2024	pdf	6 MB	183 Pages. Still being updated by passing cruisers.
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.
Clearance Procedures for Tahiti and Moorea (Likely obsolete)	pdf	52K	Information for cruisers on clearance into and out of Papeete and Moorea (2017), produced by Marina Papeete.
Marine Protected Areas in French Polynesia UPDATED Mar 2021	pdf	20MB	Information for cruisers on Marine Protection Areas in French Polynesia.
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	pdf	900K	Last Updated Dec 2008
Stopover Handbook for French Polynesia (English) 2024-2025 Version	pdf	17 MB	Yellow Flag Guide for Yachts Visiting French Polynesia 2024/2025 source
Tahiti Tourism Site (several downloads)	pdf	2 MB	Link to Tahiti Tourism website, where they have a number of updated publications.
Dream Yacht Charters Leeward Islands Pilot Guide	pdf	2 MB	Updated June 2014. Contains lots of good info for yachts in the Leeward Islands of French Polynesia.
Moorings Charters Leeward Islands Guide	pdf	2 MB	Downloaded from Moorings Site Nov 2015.
Diving in Tahiti Covers diving in the Societies and Rangiroa and Manihi in the Tuamotus	pdf	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
			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
Name	Format	Size	Comments
Cooks and Samoas Compendium (Including Niue) - Rev 2024.1	pdf	2.6 Mb	As good as it gets, unless we get cruiser updates. Last updated August 2024 (Palmerston, Am Samoa)
Mr. John's Guide to The Dangerous Middle	pdf	4Mb	Covers the Cook Islands and Niue Last Updated Feb 2009
Bruce Balan's Chart Locker	link		New mbtiles charts for all of Cooks and Samoas

Tonga
Name	Format	Size	Comments
Bruce Balan's Chart Locker	link		New mbtiles charts for Tonga
Tonga Compendium - Rev 2025.1	pdf	3.3 MB	Largely revamped 2023. Please keep sending updates! Last updated Jan 27, 2025
Tonga Cruising Information Alternate Link	pdf	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	pdf	34 MB	Another Yellow Flag Guide! NEW! source
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	pdf	14Mb	Last Updated Sep 2010
Moorings Tonga Cruising Guide	pdf	3 MB	Last updated 2005

Fiji
Fiji Compendium - Rev 2024.4	pdf	7 MB	Updated Sep 23 2024
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	pdf	11 MB	From Yacht Help Fiji
Fiji Shores and Marina Guide 2020	pdf	18 MB	From Fiji Marinas
Mr. John's Guide to Fiji	pdf	4 MB	Last Updated June 2011
A Yachtsman's Fiji by Michael Calder 2nd Edition	pdf	6 MB	Originally published 1987, updated in 1993. Free electronic edition published 2011
Bruce Balan's Chart Locker	link		New mbtiles charts for Fiji

Wallis, Futuna, Rotuma, Tuvalu, Kiribati
The Fiji-to-Marshalls Compendium Rev 2025.1	pdf	750K	Includes Wallis, Futuna, Rotuma, Tuvalu, Kiribati (Tarawa & nearby atolls) Updated May 2, 2025
Mr. John's Guide to Kiribati	pdf	14 MB	Includes Rotuma, Tuvalu, and Gilbert Islands of Kiribati. Last Updated June 2011
Pacific Cyclone Season, North instead of South	pdf	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
The Papua New Guinea Compendium Rev 2025.1	pdf	5.5 MB	292 Pages Last updated May 18, 2025
The Solomon Islands Compendium Rev 2024.4	pdf	3.5 MB	Fully revised in 2024! 133 Pages Last updated August 2024
Vanuatu Compendium Rev 2024.7	pdf	3.2 MB	Fully revamped and Updated September 2024
Vanuatu Calendar of Events 2024	pdf	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)
Bruce Balan's Chart Locker	link		New mbtiles charts for Solomons and Vanuatu
Valhalla's Charts & Waypoints	gpx & mbtiles		Extensive Collection

North Pacific Cruising Information
Federated States of Micronesia and Palau
The Micronesia Compendium Rev 2024.1	pdf	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	pdf	3.8 MB	Update done by s/v Sugar Shack. May 2, 2025
Mr. John in the Marshall Islands	pdf	6 MB	Last updated Nov 2011
Practical Marshallese	pdf	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
The Hawaii Compendium Rev B.1	pdf	240K	A bit rough around the edges, but lots of useful information Last Upd June 30, 2014
A Boater's Guide to Oahu	pdf	11 MB	A companion document to a cruiser's Youtube about Oahu (2021-2022). Youtube

SouthEast Asia Cruising Information
Philippines
Valhalla's Charts & Waypoints	web page		Extensive Collection of "How to's", gpx waypoints, & mbtile satellite charts.
The Philippines Compendium Rev 2024.2	pdf	6.1 MB	Over 300 Pages! Updated Dec 24, 2024
Cruising Guide to the Philippines - Conant Webb	pdf	2 MB	Nice guide self-published by a longtime cruiser in the Philippines. Last updated 2009.
Presentation: Cruising the Magnificent Philippines	pdf	17 MB	180 Page presentation on our 6 month cruise through the Philippines in 2018
Davao Marine Services Directory Rev Dec 2021	pdf	320 KB	Notes and contact info for finding necessary services in Samal and Davao.

Indonesia
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
The Indonesia Compendium Rev 2025.2 Upd 22-May-2025	pdf	11.6 MB	Over 500 pages of useful information on cruising Indonesia. Totally free, no ads, no gimmicks.
Indonesian 6-Month Visa 2024 Nov 13, 2024	pdf	660 K	Hot off the press, Rev 1 of Getting a 6-Month Indonesian Visa in 2024.
Updated List of Indonesian Clearance Ports	pdf	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	pdf	24MB	Out of Print early anchoring guide for Indonesia (poor copy)
Notes on Indonesian Clearance 2022 v1.7 03-May-2022	pdf	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.
Indonesian Immigration Offices 2022 Upd 21-Apr-2022	pdf	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.
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	pdf	50 KB	A spreadsheet trying to compare offerings and costs for various visa agents in Indonesia.
Rock Art in West Papua	pdf	24 MB	A 2004 publication by UNESCO detailing the "rock art" found in West Papua, Indonesia. Includes maps with locations.
Fishes of Indonesia	pdf	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
Valhalla's Charts & Waypoints	web page		Extensive Collection of "How to's", gpx waypoints, & mbtile satellite charts
The Malaysian Compendium - Rev 2025.4	pdf	3.2 MB	Last updated 22 May 2025.
Sail Malaysia Rally Cruising Guide - Rev April 2023 Alternate Source	pdf	1 MB	Last updated 04-April-2023

Thailand
Valhalla's Charts & Waypoints	web page	Extensive Collection of "How to's", gpx waypoints, & mbtile satellite charts
The Thailand Compendium Rev 2025.1	pdf	Very rough. Updated 08-Feb-2025
SE Asia Facebook Groups
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
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
Red Sea Compendium v 2025.5	pdf	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
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.
Red Sea Maritime Security Chart Q6609 (2020v)	pdf	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.
Indian Ocean Crossing Compendium v2025.1	pdf	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
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	pdf	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.
Sail to South Africa Whatsapp Group			Contact Jenny Crickmore-Thompson on Facebook to be added.

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Panama, Ecuador, and Galapagos Information
From s/v Sarana Central America Guide Other Free Guides	pdf		May be more up to date than the below Ecuador guide.
From s/v Serenity Panama-Cruisers-Resource-Guide	pdf		Lots of "where to find what" in Panama City, Panama. 2019
Ecuador Cruiser's Guide (includes the Galapagos)	pdf	740 K	Last Upd October 2013. Also includes some great info on backpacking / touring in South America from Ecuador.
Puerto Lucia Cruising Information	pdf	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	pdf	2 MB	New! Updated info on what happens when you arrive in Galapagos. January 2024
La Libertad Port Guide	pdf	160 K	Last Upd Nov 28, 2009
Extending Your Visa in Ecuador	pdf	76 K	Probably Obsolete, Last Upd Nov 28, 2009

Anchoring & Surviving Hurricanes in Port

Name Format Size Comments

Boat U.S. Hurricane Prep Booklet for Boats and Marinas link
to
pdf 3 MB Alternate Link if the original Boat US Link doesn't work.

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 PDF 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 PDF 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 PDF 3 MB A 1987 Practical Sailor Article about Antenna Tuners and how to hook them up on a boat.

Clyde Kirlin on Marine Antennas PDF 280 K A few good tidbits in this 1987 article from Cruising World

How Long Should My Backstay Antenna Be? PDF 283 K Discussion from SSCA Bulletin Board between experts & newbies.

Using Auto-Tuners PDF 234 K Martin-G8JNJ explains the differences between different kinds of Auto Tuners

Icom 802 "Clipping" PDF 234 K Discussion from SSCA Bulletin Board about the Icom M-802 Clipping Issue

The Sailmail Primer

The Winlink Book of Knowledge

Diesel Engine Stuff

Perkins Engine Codes PDF 263 K How to read the codes on your Perkins engine to determine year and place of manufacture

Spanish Engine / Mechanical Terms PDF 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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Winch Service Manuals

Name Format Size Comments

Identifying Your Lewmar Winch PDF 134 K Originally From PYacht.com (now Fawcett), how to tell what version of Lewmar winch you have. Source of Winch Spares

Pre-1980 Lewmar Winch Service Manual PDF 2.6 MB Has many Vol I and Vol II Winches
Thanks Dream Away for letting us scan!

Lewmar Winch Service Illustrated ~1999 PDF 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 PDF 750 K Official Lewmar Document

Lewmar Ocean Winch Service Manual 2002 PDF 500 K Official Lewmar Document, multilingual "Issue 5"

Lewmar Ocean Winch Service Manual 2005 PDF 1.6 MB Official Lewmar Document, multilingual "Issue 6"

Barient Winch Service Manual Model 27 2-sp PDF 250 K

Maxwell Winch Manual PDF 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!) pdf 3 MB Excellent, geared for the yachtsman

Venomous Sea Creatures and How to Treat their Stings

(Source Article in Dive Magazine) pdf 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 pdf 1 MB Assembled info from DAN

Ciguatera Info - Jacaranda
Fish that have Ciguatera Risk in French Poly (2018)
Ciguatera Info - Loose Cannon Link
pdf
Link Factual information about the risks of ciguatera

Where There is no Doctor pdf 15 MB Geared for people in remote locations

Where There is no Dentist pdf 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 pdf 2 MB Too much info!

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The New Soggy Paws in Raja Ampat June 2016