on 25 Mar 2020
14 countries from Australia to China are covered in detail
News out of Phuket is that the stalwart, highly experienced, and knowledgeable trio of Bill O’Leary, Andy Dowden and Grenville Fordham have published the 6th edition of the Southeast Asia Pilot, some 15 years after the 1st edition.
As they point out on the guide’s website, “This guide encompasses over 3 million square miles of some of the best cruising grounds in the world. From the Andaman Islands in the west, through the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea and further into the Pacific Ocean to north Australia, Vanuatu and the Solomons in the east.
“We describe 45 degrees of latitude and 60 degrees of longitude. Most of the region lies north and south of the equator in tropical zones. This 6th Edition introduces chapters and notes on Greater China, Vanuatu and the Solomons. This regional pilot covers The Andaman Sea, which forms The Eastern Indian Ocean and The South China Sea, connecting via The Malacca Straits, as well as the seas north, south and east of Indonesia.”
Fourteen countries are included: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Hong Kong, the Philippines and Indonesia are covered in some detail. Introductory notes on the island nations of Palau, Vanuatu, and Solomons Islands are accommodated as potential stopovers to or from the Pacific. Notes for Cairns and Darwin in north Australia are included.
All the information required to pass through or cruise and explore by yacht is presented in an easy-to-reference style. The authors have compiled the information over more than three decades of personal experience in the region and have invited a number of well-qualified voyagers to update facilities and opportunities in these rapidly developing cruising destinations.
The best professionals have created detailed, helpful and accurate charts and a logical, easy-to-use, layout style. Combined with quality printing and a rugged, serviceable binding, the result is a volume that you’ll find on the bridge of almost every vessel plying these waters.
“This part of Asia is continuing to develop rapidly and more facilities are being built to cater for the growing demands of waterborne visitors,” they say. “New input is critical to the regular updating of the information within these pages. The guide will be published every 2-3 years to ensure that sailors have confidence in the advice given.”
To accommodate the ‘new’ locations without increasing going above 1kg, they are spinning off the Mergui Archipelago and the Andaman Islands chapters as free downloadable pdf booklets – following the same format and design as the print book. Announcements will be made on the guide website and social media when they are ready to download.
The authors welcome comments, updates and corrections, which can be e-mailed to: feedback@southeastasiapilot.com