Southern Ocean Cruising

Sally and Jerome Poncet’s _Southern Ocean Cruising_ is the second edition of the essential handbook to yachting in the Antarctic region, with an emphasis on the region’s environmental importance - and the environmental regulations in place to manage this fragile environment. It is an indispensable aid to anyone sailing in the Southern Ocean, and an excellent guide for visitors to the area’s geography and ecology.

As the authors note, yacht cruising and tourism to the Southern Ocean has expanded greatly in recent years, and this extra traffic puts a burden on the area’s fragile ecosystems. A large number of international regulations govern visits to the area. This guide, updated to November 2007, provides a complete reference to these rules and guidelines, as well as being a comprehensive guide to the region’s islands and their ecosystems. It is published by expert research group ERA (Environmental Research and Assessment).

General information for cruising in the Antarctic is given, including essential documents, regulations, formalities like advance notice and post-visit reports, equipment and preparation, environmental guidelines for visiting Southern Ocean islands, and overview information of the area’s wildlife and geography.

The core of the book, however, deals with each Antarctic island, coastline, special protected area and permanent station, including sections on Southern Ocean island chains north of 60°N. These sections detail flora and fauna, visitor limits, landing information, access guidelines, topology and geology, and general background information such as history. This section features 68 detailed maps, ranging from island chain overviews to cliff and bay details.

A number of appendices give a wide range of useful reference information, such as wildlife-watching guidelines, specially managed areas, records of the pioneering journeys in the Southern Ocean, further information resources and contacts, decontamination guidelines, etc.