Stow a Reed's Below And Be Good to Go

Reed's is a must-have on board any sailboat heading out of the harbor. The small book has a massive amount of information about ports and facilities and tons of GPS waypoints for navigation beacons and buoys. It also has extensive tide and current tables.

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Reed's Nautical Almanac is an essential (and surprisingly readable) on-board resource. Three volumes cover the East Coast, West Coast and Caribbean.

The East coast version follows the coastal waters of North America from Nova Scotia -- including the Bay of Fundy -- south along the Atlantic Coast, around Florida, then along the Gulf of Mexico to Texas. The West coast edition covers coastal waters from Manzanillo, Mexico north along the Pacific Coast, through British Columbia, ending in the Bering Straight in Alaska. The Hawaiian Islands are also included. The Caribbean volume covers, well, the Caribbean.

Each book is broken down into sections tabbed as "Pilot," "Tides," "Currents," "Resources" and "Indexes."

The "Pilot" chapters have thousands of GPS waypoints for lights, buoys and other aids to navigation. Information is also included on local dangers like shoals, currents and other hazards. Port listings provide brief descriptions of facilities ashore. While not a detailed guide, and not a substitute for a complete cruising guide to an area, Reed's gives enough information to get into a port safely. The "Tide" and "Current" sections cover hundreds of locations. Again, the books are not substitutes for detailed local tide tables, but will get the job done.

"Resources," the last section before the detailed Index, is probably the most valuable. It should certainly be pointed out to any inexperienced crew as an emergency resource should the captain become incapacitated. It includes detailed information on contacting the Coast Guard, proper radio procedure and basic information on navigation and GPS.

While planning a trip, Reed's provides a great wide-angle view of the voyage. Local cruising guides zoom in on the details. And sometimes it's fun to just flip through the book to dream and scheme on all those places your sailboat can take you.