Instructions for an adventure
The Pacific Crossing Guide, 4th Edition by Francis Hawkings

The Pacific Crossing Guide was created to be the complete reference book for anyone thinking about sailing the Pacific, whether going east-west or west-east. It covers everything you need for this great adventure, from timing and weather patterns to suitable boats, and from safety and communications onboard to port facilities.
This fourth edition has been expanded and refreshed, with additional information for those departing from the west coast of North America and sailing the North Pacific. It also contains new photographs and updated charts.
The Pacific Crossing Guide, 4th Edition
By Francis Hawkings
Adlard Coles, £60
ISBN: 978 13994 07014
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Radio revelry
Barques, Sparks and Sharks, by Len WilsonSeafarers are known for their story-telling abilities, and Orkney-born Len Wilson does not disappoint in this memoir of his years as a radio officer
Mastering our harbours
Harbours and Their Masters, by Mark Ashley-MillerNovice skipper Mark Ashley-Miller recently spent five years circumnavigating the UK and Ireland as a charity challenge – interviewing and photographing the harbour masters he met along the way.
The precarious path from piracy to prosperity
The Resurrected Pirate, by Craig S ChapmanThe Resurrected Pirate is a remarkable story told in an engaging way, illustrating for the modern reader the desperately narrow passage between life and death that a seafarer in this period might have to navigate.
Carving out a career
Ships' Figureheads, by Andrew PetersThe decoration of ships with figureheads was a way to present the might of military and mercantile power for centuries. These days, the skills needed to make these sculptures are kept alive by experts such as Andrew Peters