A Cruising Guide to Puget Sound

Publisher: International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 1995

This area, with 2000 miles of coastline and more than 300 islands, is not easy to cover. Migael Scherer has visited "virtually all" the bays and coves in the text, accessing many in her dinghy where their 7 foot draft ketch would not enter. Most have also been visited by land.

The format is similar to those we are used to in European waters: the whole area divided into sections, chartlets giving detail in clockwise order with text describing approaches, anchorages/moorings, access to shore, and facilities. Local colour and historical detail is added. Coded indicators are used to indicate protection, beauty/interest etc. The book starts with general editorial material: general weather patterns, tides/currents, local warnings for floating logs and "deadheads", ecological data. These headings are not covered in as much detail as we are used to. The list of people thanked in the preface is probably no less than the space given to the weather synopsis.

Each area is covered by what the author describes as a "sketch map". These appear to be copied from official charts with the author's coding superimposed. The book is monochrome and some chartlets have so much detail at such a scale as to be nigh unreadable in daylight let alone at the chart table. There are a number of photos, chiefly of scenic value rather than helping in pilotage. For a hardback book, externally well-presented, these aspects are a disappointment; and the visiting sailor would not gain a great deal of confidence from the overall regional outline at the start.

Nevertheless, the text is well-researched and provides an invaluable detailed database for both planning a cruise in this fascinating area and for decisions about where to drop anchor. - MJD

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