Cruising Guide to the Leeward Islands

Book excerpt: Fair winds and fine cruising is author Chris Doyle's wish for readers of this popular, newly updated guide to the 10 island nations of this enchanting Caribbean chain.Doyle's background in research makes this volume rich in practical details; yet its tone is conversational. His is also an intimate knowledge, gathered from more than 20 years of live-aboard Caribbean cruising on his Carib 41 Helos, a former charterboat.The Leewards are a cultural and topographic mix, and Doyle addresses them by geographical grouping. The Renaissance Islands (St. Martin, St. Barts and Anguilla), an economically strong bareboating enclave, offer short cruising passages and a wide choice of anchorages. The Islands That Brush the Clouds - a volcanic chain strung between Saba and Montserrat - present cruisers with a variety of channels and terrain. Most broadly strewn are the Islands of Mountains and Mangroves, a patchwork chiefly of rugged rainforest and exotic fauna, guarded in spots by spectacular reefs.The southern Leewards in particular have cried for reliable charting. Doyle provides aid throughout, using GPS coordinates, a trove of charts and color maps. All are cross-referenced with the newly released Caribbean Yachting Charts, exactingly detailed and available through Cruising Guide Publications. Spectacular photographs add a visual feast.Onshore accommodations, transportation, communications, entertainment and provisioning are also addressed throughout the guide, and in an exhaustive directory by island and service type.