The Bottom Line
- Complete Coverage
- Big Bang for the Buck
- Lacks Detail
Description
- Great Value. One book covers a huge area with a surprising amount of useful information.
- Comprehensive Coverage. Lots of essential navigation information in one very portable place.
- Tide and current tables.
- Safer sailing. A great source of information for novices aboard the boat should they need it in an emergency.
Guide Review - Stow a Reed's Below And Be Good to Go
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.
