The Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation was founded in 1976 with the objective of advancing 'the education of the public in the science and practice of navigation'. Its members write - and keep continually updated - pilot books covering many different parts of the world.

In the past twenty years Kitty van Hagen has cruised the Pacific extensively with her husband, Simon; through the Panama Canal to the Galapagos and on to Hawaii; up to Kodiak and the Pacific Northwest; a season cruising round Vancouver Island before heading south to San Francisco; to Mexico and a year spent exploring the Baha; from Mexico to New Zealand via French Polynesia; three years making the seasonal run between New Zealand and the island groups of the Cook Islands, Fiji, Tonga and New Caledonia before sailing on to Australia; then a return to New Zealand where they continued to be based for several years, sailing round North and South Island as well as the Chatham Islands and Stewart Island and across to Tasmania. Kitty is co-author of Yachting Monthly's highly acclaimed Classic Passages and author of The Sailing Cook Book (Collins) and The Happy Ship (Faber and Faber). Kitty has also written various articles for Cruising World, Sail and Yachting Monthly magazines.

A landmark publication and a godsend to potential and departing Pacific cruisers

Part I Preparations1 Casting Off
Work as a team to fulfil the dream
Taking children
Family and friends left behind
Joining a rally

2 The Pacific Ocean
Ring of fire
The formation of atolls
Human colonisation
Ethnic groups
European exploration and trade
Culture and festivals
Citizen science

3 Preparing the boat
The perfect cruising yacht?
Monohull or multihull?
Sail management
Downwind rigs
Stormsails
Wear on sails
Mast and spars
Standing rigging
Running rigging
Steering systems
Self-steering: autopilot vs wind vane
Ground tackle
The main engine
Fuel tanks
Bilge pumps
Water management
Cooking fuel
Fridges and freezers
Temperature regulation
Toilets and holding tanks
Dinghies
Outboard engines

4 Staying Safe
Preventing water ingress
Alarms
Spray hoods and biminis
Handholds and jack lines
Man overboard (MOB)
Getting the casualty back on board
PLB
AIS
Lightning strike
Fire
Abandoning ship
EPIRB
Flares
Liferaft
Grab bag
Security

5 Navigation and charting
The basics of navigation
Integrated or stand-alone electronics?
Electronic charting
When the electronics fail
Using satellite imagery as a navigational tool
AIS
Radar
Ship's log
Watch keeping
Eyeball navigation on coral atolls

6 Communications
Short range communications
Long range communications at sea
Mobile phones and internet access
Traditional 'snail mail'

7 The balance of power
General electrical setup: the basics
Power storage
Power generation
Alternative power generation
Power draw and calculation of usage
AC power
Shore power
Inverters

8 Routine maintenance and spares
Corrosion
Managing your maintenance
Backups and spare parts
Suggested spares
Tools
Manuals and parts lists

9 Provisioning and store keeping
Stores and storage
Fresh food
Dried food
Making bread
Galley hints
Water
BBQs
Fishing
Waste disposal
Hygiene and pests
Trade and barter

10 Common health problems while cruising
Injuries
Burns
Sunburn and skin cancer
Ears
Diarrhoea
Seasickness
Common parasites
Biting flies
Malaria
Dengue fever
Dangers in the sea
Ciguatera
Health and illness in toddlers and babies
Women's health
Common fears
Basic medical kit
Useful books to have on board
Useful websites

11 Managing the paperwork
Finance
Passports and visas
Ship's papers
Formalities
Courtesy flags
Insurance
Recruiting crew
Pets on board

12 Cyclone season and laying up
Leaving the cyclone belt
Staying inside the cyclone belt
Cyclone shelters - useful contacts
Laying up
Shipping home

Part II Passage Planning

13 Pacific weather and weather forecasts
The origin of Pacific wind systems
South Pacific wind zones
North Pacific wind zones
Tropical revolving storms
Pacific Ocean currents
El Niño
La Niña
Madden Julian-Oscillation
Weather forecasts

14 Routes to the Marquesas
West Coast to Marquesas
1 San Diego
2 Puerto Vallarta
Panama to Galapagos
3 Balboa
The Galapagos Islands
4 Wreck Bay
5 Academy Bay
Galapagos to Marquesas

15 FrenchPolynesia (the Marquesas, Tuamotus and Society Islands)
The Marquesas
6 Atuona, Hiva Oa
7 Taiohae Bay, Nuku Hiva
The Tuamotu Archipelago
The Society Islands
8 Papeete, Tahiti
9 Maeva Beach, Tahiti
10 Moorea
11 Raiatea
12 Bora Bora

16 Southern routes via Easter Island and the Australs or direct between Chile and New Zealand
Galapagos to Easter Island
Chile to Easter Island
13 Hanga Roa, Rapa Nui
Easter Island to Pitcairn
Pitcairn to the Gambiers and Tuamotus
Eastwards from New Zealand to Chile via the Australs
14 Raivavae, Austral Islands
Australs to Easter Island
Easter Island to Puerto Montt, Chile
New Zealand to Chile via the Southern Ocean
Chile
15 Puerto Montt, Chile

17 Bora Borato Tonga and Samoa via the Cook Islands
The Cook Islands
16 Avatiu, Raratonga
Niue
Kingdom of Tonga
17 Neiafu, Vava'u Group
18 The Ha'apai Islands
19 Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu

18 Routes between 'the Islands' and New Zealand
Tonga to Fiji
Tonga to New Zealand
New Zealand
20 Opua, Bay of Islands, North Island
Cruising New Zealand
21 Auckland, North Island
New Zealand to 'the Islands'
Republic of Fiji
22 Suva, Viti Levu
Fiji to Vanuatu
Vanuatu
23 Port Vila, Efate Island
Vanuatu to New Caledonia
New Caledonia
24 Nouméa, New Caledonia

19 Routes to and from Tasmania and the East Coast of Australia
Vanuatu or New Caledonia to Australia
Australia to New Caledonia or Vanuatu
Australia
25 Bundaberg, Queensland
Bundaberg to Brisbane
26 Brisbane, Queensland
Brisbane to Sydney
27 Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
28 Sydney, New South Wales
Sydney to Hobart
29 Hobart, Tasmania
Passages between Tasmania and New Zealand
Passages northwards up the New South Wales coast
Inside the Great Barrier Reef
30 Cairns, Queensland

20 Routes to and from Hawaii in the East Pacific
Panama to Hawaii via Galapagos
Hawaii
31 Honolulu, Oahu
Hawaii to Canada
Canada
32 Victoria, British Columbia
Canada or California to Hawaii
33 San Francisco, California

21 Routes south and west from Hawaii
Routes south from Hawaii
Fast track to New Zealand
South among the islands
The Line Islands, Kiribati
Hawaii to Samoa
Samoan Islands
34 Pago Pago, Tutuila, American Samoa
35 Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa
Hawaii to Australia via the Gilbert Islands and the Solomon Islands
36 Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, Kiribati
The Solomon Islands
37 Honiara, Guadalcanal
Routes west from Hawaii
The Marshall Islands
38 Majuro
The Caroline Islands
39 Pohnpei
Guam
40 Apra

22 Routes north from New Zealand to Japan and Alaska
New Zealand to Hawaii via Tahiti
The direct route north
New Zealand to the Aleutians via Japan
Japan
41 Fukuoka (Hakata), Kyushu
Japan to the Aleutian Islands
The Aleutians
42 Dutch Harbor, Unalaska
Mainland Alaska
43 Kodiak
Hawaii to Kodiak

Appendices