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Northwest Boat Travel, Anderson Publishing Co. Anacortes, WA, Tel: 800-354-2949. Lists all the harbors, charts to use, marina and other phone numbers, places to provision, do laundry, etc., and the latest happenings in the area. They also have a good website at www.boattravel.com with lots of information about cruising in the Northwest. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

Gunkholing in Desolation Sound and Princess Louis, Al Cummings and Jo Bailey-Cumminggs, Published by
Nor'westing Inc., Edmonds, WA. Out-of-print, but may be found in antique book stores. A very good but sometimes
critical guide on all the routes and anchorages in the area between Nanaimo and Desolation Sound. The book tells it like it is and what to look out for, which is important in cruising.

Exploring the South Coast of British Columbia, Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound to Port Hardy and Blounder Harbor, Don Douglass and Reanne Hemingway-Douglass, Fine Edge Productions. Good cruising guide with chart numbers, directions into coves, where to anchor in coves, and some history.

Exploring the Inside Passage to Alaska, A Cruising Guide from the San Juan Islands to Glacier Bay, Don Douglass & Rene Hemingway-Douglass, Fine Edge Productions. Similar to the above book, except for a larger area, therefore, with fewer anchorages in a given area.

Waggoner Cruising Guide, Robert Hale & Co., Bellevue, WA, Tel: 425-881-5212. Lists all the harbors, charts to use, marina and other phone numbers, places to provision, do laundry, etc.

Charlie's Charts, Washington to California, Now edited by Margo Woods. Detailed diagrams for entering all the major harbors and anchorages from Neah Bay, WA, to San Diego, CA. Note that these are not intended for navigation, but if you don't have this book, all your official guv'mint charts are not going to get you across the bar into a harbor or tell you which anchorage has nasty swells without a lot of guess-and-by-golly on your part. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

Charlie's Charts, Western Coast of Mexico, Now edited by Margo Woods . Don't leave port without it. The grand-daddy of Charlie Woods' guides with many of his sketches. Guv'mint charts don't tell you where many of the rocks are or what course to take into an anchorage. The spiral bound book also describes which anchorages are rolly and which have great beaches or interesting stopovers. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

Boating Guide to Mexico: West Coast Edition, Capts. John Rains & Patricia Miller. A companion to Charlie's Charts but with additional information, especially on marinas and local lore. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

Baja Boater's Guide, Vol 1. Pacific Coast, Jack Williams. Aerial black and white pictures of all the headlands and bays along the Pacific Coast of Baja California. Great for showing the protected and unprotected anchorages as you travel from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. Also describes the climate and weather. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

Baja Boater's Guide, Vol 2. Sea of Cortez, Jack Williams. Aerial black and white pictures of all the headlands and bays on both sides of the Sea of Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California. The introduction also has a great history of how Baja California was explored and settled by the Spanish and their Jesuit padres. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

MexWX: Mexico Weather for Boaters, Capt. John Rains. A great little book with information on some of the peculiar weather patterns. A good description of the what weather to look for before traversing the notorious Gulf of Tehuantapec. Also has all the HF SSB radio frequencies and times for weather broadcasts and faxs. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

The Baja Bash, John Elfers. A humorous description of what to expect going up the coast from Cabo to San Diego. It describes the bashing that can happen even when the sun is shining since you are going straight against the wind and waves. Some cruisers actually head for Hawaii and then sail back to California. You will be well prepared for the trip after reading the book. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

Panama and the San Blas Islands, (Also known as The Green Book) Nancy and Tom Zydler. This is the authoratative guide that everyone was using during our trip down the Pacific side and along the Caribbean side of Panama. It contains detailed information of all the anchorages and places we visited. While they disclaim responsibility for navigational uses it does have detailed information of depths and condition of anchorages as well as the places where to watch out for the rocks and shoals. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

A Captain's Guide to the Panama Canal, David Wilson. This thin booklet is a primer on transiting the canal. We found it to be the best source of what to expect and how to do it. It has all the important information you need to know before going through the Canal. Dave was a former manager of the Pedro Miguel Boat Club and has transited the Canal many times. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

The Concise Guide to Caribbean Weather, David Jones. A great little book describing the how weather develops in the Caribbean and why it develops in a different way from the weather above the Tropic of Cancer (23° 26´N Latitude). You will better understand Caribbean weather patterns after reading this book. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

Skipper Bob's Publications The following publications are ring bound booklets that are found at selected marinas and stores along the ICW or can be ordered directly from Skipper Bob and First Mate Elaine by calling (717)-244-0081. These booklets are an outstanding value. They don't have a lot of fluffy verbage but are excellant and concise with their information. The booklet on Marinas Along the Intracoastal Waterway paid for all his books the first time we got diesel fuel. Skipper Bob lists all the fuel prices so you know where to stop and fill-up. We finally met him as he helped us tie up to the Whitehall VT city lockwall in September, 2003. He had arrived a few hours earlier on his boat. The following are some of his publications.

Anchorages Along the Intracoastal Waterway, Skipper Bob's Publication. Best anchorages with mile markers from the Hudson River to Key West, including the Okeechobee Waterway, and the Gulf Coast of Florida from Tampa to Marathon in the keys. All rated by holding, wind protection, current flow, wake protection, scenic beauty, and ease of shopping. Also has bridge and lock restrictions. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

Marinas Along the Intracoastal Waterway, Skipper Bob's Publication. Fuel prices, transient slip fees, long term slip fees, do-it-yourself yards, and haul out fees. Mile by mile list of hundreds of marinas from the Hudson River to West Palm Beach. Information on courtesy cars, propane, shopping, CNG, approach depth, number of transient slips, phone numbers, approach directions, and much more. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

The Intracoastal Waterway, Norfolk to Miami, A Cockpit Cruising Handbook, by Jan and Bill Moeller. It has a detailed listing of all the bridges (with clearance heights), anchorages, stream inlets, and other aids and anti-aids (dangers) lurking along the ICW. They are listed in sequence by their tenth-of-a-mile mark along the ICW which starts at Mile 0.0 at the Red Lighted Buoy "36" in the middle of Norfolk and ends at Mile 1095.0, the Departure Point to the left (North Bound: to the right) for the anchorages at Key Biscayne. We followed the Guide religiously to correlate the stated mile marker references (eyeballs out the window) against the track on the electronic navigation charts (Live electronically, but check mechanically). A MUST HAVE, we used it.

Cruising Guide to Western Florida
Cruising Guide to Eastern Florida
Cruising Gude to Coastal South Carolina and Georgia
Cruising Guide to Coastal North Carolina
Each guide is an individual book at least an inch thick with valuable information. It is written by a fine North Carolina born boater and gentleman extraordinaire by the name of Claiborne Young. After using his guides for several years we finally met him and listened to one of his many presentations on boating. He was fascinating and enjoyable and we highly recommend him as a speaker. He has personally cruised all the waters he writes about, surveyed the depths, and sampled the fine quisine at restaurants along the way. Follow his recommendations and you wont go wrong. He also provides updates to his Guides through his Salty Southeast website at opcom@cruisingguide.com. Don't go down the ICW without checking for the latest info on the areas that have shoaled, bridges that are stuck, or new restaurants that have opened up. Especially after all the 2005 hurricanes, his network of cruisers feeds him more updated navigational information for his Salty Southeast newsletters than you can find anywhere else. A MUST HAVE, we used all 5 of the Cruising Guides.

Cruising the New York Canal System, Skipper Bob's Publication. Provides Lock locations, depth and height restrictions, places to stay, brief descriptions of higlights with mile marker position. Includes Erie, Oswegeo, Cayuga-Seneca, and Champlain Canals. Over 500 miles of waterways are covered. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

Cruising Guide to New York Waterways and Lake Champlain, By Chris W. Brown III, and Edited by Claiborne Young. A good book to carry along while doing the Great Circle or Canadian Circle through the Erie and Oswego Canals as we did. Written in the same style and with the same information for that area as in the other books published by Claiborne Young. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

Cruising Guide to the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, & the St. Lawrence Seaway, by Alan and Susan McKibben. This guide has lots of pictures and navigational information, history of the region, and locater maps for marinas and other resources. In particular, we found specifics, such as how to pass under a railroad bridge south of Beloil with only 5 ft. room on each side of the boat against a 2 knot current and then make a sharp, blind turn to starboard. Luckily the runabout coming around the bend (it had the right-of-way) heard my whistle and spun around to let me through. Reminded me of our ocean strategy where the BOSS (Big Old Steel Ship) always had the right-of-way. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast, by Hank and Jan Taft, and Curtis Rindlaub. This book is the only one we used while cruisind from Portland to past West Quoddy Head Light into Canadian Waters. We did not need any other guide for information on cruising along the rugged Maine Coast and its many beautiful inlets and quiet (or noisy in some cases) harbors. The only thing this guide didn't do is tell us how to avoid those dagnabbit lobster traps. Many were set 8 ft. apart in the channels to many great anchorages and even docks we tried to enter with a boat that had a 15 ft. beam. A MUST HAVE, we used it

Cruising the Rideau and Richelieu Canals, Skipper Bob's Publication. How to plan a summer cruise of the exciting Rideau and Richelieu Canals in Canada. What charts and guides to get, costs to be expected, where to stop and when to go. A complete guide of this exciting trip includes stops in Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec. Also informative guide to cruising the St. Lawrence Seaway and Lake Champlain. A MUST HAVE, after reading it we took his advice and changed our counterclockwise circle route to clockwise in order to take advantage of the strong Ottawa and St. Lawrence River currents.

Small Craft Guide, Rideau Waterway and Ottawa River, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ottawa, Canada.The official Canadian Government Guide for cruising along those two waterways. We obtained our copy in Canada. The Rideau Waterway was one of the highlights of our cruising experience. The important thing to know about the Rideau Waterway is that many of its 45 locks date back to the mid-1800's. They are generally hand operated by young college students during the summer. They carry an official 5 ft. across the stone entrance sill. This controlling depth can be raised to 6 ft. by overflowing the doors in the middle locks, which are generally the limiting ones. If you need depth, like we did for our own peace of mind, you need to ask for it before you start entering the lock. It is also advisable to contact the Canal authorities before entering the first locks to make sure it isn't a dry season where some locks may not even have 5 ft. of controlling depth. Vessels are limited to 100 ft. length, 28 ft. beam, and 22 ft. height. A MUST HAVE, we used it.

A Complete Cruising Guide to the Down East Circle Route, by Capt. Cheryl Barr. We purchased this book after we came back to the US, but it is has a lot of good data for those wanting to cruise down the St. Lawrence and around Nova Scotia. It has planning information, pictures, navigational data, marina locations, as well as some history of the area. We think it has lots of information not easily obtained.

Since our home is in Solana Beach, CA, we bought many of the books at Seabreeze Nautical Books, 1254 Scott Street, San Diego, CA 92106, Tel 888-449-7011, email: sbzbook@aol.com.