Customer Reviews

Landfalls of Paradise: Cruising Guide to the Pacific Islands (Latitude 20 Books)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Considing the relatively small market for a book like this, it's not surprising there's virtually nothing comparable in print. And Earl's territory is vast - all of the Pacific islands from Hawaii to New Zealand and north into Micronesia. The numerous maps should prove useful for orientation and could save you a bundle on official charts (although the author and publisher disclaim any responsibility for errors). There's lots of useful 'passage planning', yacht entry, weather, and public holiday information here, but the country intros could be shortened and the yacht facility sections beefed up. The oversized B&W photos throughout the book occupy space that could be better utilized. An appendix provides four pages outlining the use of amateur mobil radios, but no mention of communicating over the internet is to be found herein. At times, the coverage is skeletal and uneven. For example, on Tahiti only Papeete is visited. Moorea isn't included (!) and the popular Leeward Islands merit only a few lines. In contrast the seldom-visited Austral and Gambier islands receive four pages of maps and texts. In Fiji, Earl only descibes facilities in the main ports of entry: Suva, Lautoka, Levuka, and Savusavu. Really out of the way anchorages are seldom discussed. All that said, these criticisms are mute as there simply isn't another South Pacific cruising guide to choose from. It's a credit to Earl Hinz that he has kept this book going through four editions, and hopefully the electronic revolution will allow him to rejuvenate his book. Meanwhile Landfalls of Paradise is a basic reference work every Pacific sailor will want to carry aboard.

If you have lots of money and a big enough boat to bring every available book ever written on the South Pacific, then you should buy this book. But if you are like the majority of cruisers out there with limited space and budget, this is DEFINITELY a book you could do without. For starters, it covers far too large a geography to get into the details you would want to know information about (only three pages on the Marquesas, really?!) Additionally, the information is extremely outdated for having been updated in 2006 and has been out done by newer books (my wife and I sailed through the SoPac in 2009 and every time we used this book we found the information either non existent or incorrect). And finally, the book lacks the most important information you need as a cruiser, which is detailed charts and information on anchorages or passages through reefs. Without a doubt, this book would be an interesting read if you never make it to the South Pacific, but if you do get there you will want to look at the other books available on this subject. I would say this book was a complete waste of money for what we needed.

Earl wrote this book based on the voyages through the South Pacific he and his wife Betty undertook on "Horizon" their Morgan Out Island Ketch. It is a bit surreal as I sit on the deck of that same "Horizon" some thirty three years later and read of those voyages and places. The boat is still in the Pacific, granted a bit farther out on the rim, lying Kadena Marina, Okinawa Japan. The book is a great page turner even if you don't plan to voyage. It is a bit dated in some of the photos and data, but then again, the islands age slowly, in fact everything is a bit slower in this part of the world.

If you plan on cruising the South Pacific, like we did, do NOT purchase this book. If you seek anchorage or clearance information from this book you will be truly disappointed. The information in this "guide" is very old and out dated. And, the book is extremely general in nature. I.e., it will be a waste of your time and money if you seek to use it as a cruising guide for the South Pacific. - Jason and Karen Trautz, S/V YOLO -

I am planning to sail to the South Pacific next year, and this seems like a very valuable planning tool. It has some information about the history of European exploration, weather patterns, general geography, route planning, etc., but the bulk of the volume is devoted to specific info about the individual island groups, and individual islands in them.
I predict this will be open often during my trip, along with Charlies Charts and a few others.