Pacific cruising guides?

[waikikin]

Has any one got any recomendations on cruising guides/pilots covering Pacific cruising, like from USA to Aus via beautiful islands/NZ etc, prefer plenty of colour pictures plus mud maps & worthwhile commentry on provisioning at various places & weather/routes, kinda like the A Lucas books & 100 magic miles style of thing ? Regards from Jeff.

[Evan]

I have the Pacific Crossing Guide by RORC (?). It's more of a broad brush approach to the whole pacific and not a cruising guide to each country. I find it very valuable as the first book to go to for planning such a voyage. Each country has individual cruising guides that are worthwhile.

[Paul Elliott]

In my bookcase at the moment:

"Guide to Navigation and Tourism in French Polynesia", by Patrick Bonnette and Emmanuel Deschamps
- This is fairly new (2000?) and covers the Marquesas through the Australs and Bora-Bora. Attractive book.

"Charlie's Charts of Polynesia"
- Covers Easter Island through the Cook Islands, and also a bit about the Hawaiian Islands. Not a lot of cultural info, but good detail on anchorages and facilities.

"The Pacific Crossing Guide", edited by Michael Pocock
- Mostly about routes, preparation, etc, but also has some good info on most of the major islands in the Pacific.

"Landfalls of Paradise" by Earl Hinz

Another interesting book by Earl Hinz is "Pacific Island Battlegrounds of World War II: Then and Now". Hinz describes the battles, and then describes his return visits many years later. It is much more a history book than a cruising guide, but I found it fascinating.

"D-Days in the Pacific" by Donald L. Miller
- NOT a cruising guide, but one of the best books I've read about WW2 in the Pacific. This is certainly a big part of the history of these islands, and is well worth studying before you visit. Reading this before my visit to Vanuatu really enhanced my experience there.

[waikikin]

Thanks for the replies Evan & Paul, thats given me a terrific start on this, Paul your right on about the WW2 stuff adding some extra interest, I spent a short time at Milne Bay/ PNG around 15 years ago & it was incredible to stroll though some absolutly beautifull peice of paradise & come across the rusted instuments of war, glad I wasn't there during the WW2 action. Thanks from Jeff.