Street's Guide to the Cape Verde Islands

Don Street's Enterprises Don Street is at 81 the oldest and longest-serving yachting writer in the world who is still sailing, racing a 74-year-old wooden Dragon, writing cruising guides and articles and drinking Heineken beer. Don's first article, Going South, apeared in the September 1964 Yachting. His first hard-cover guide, A Cruising Guide to The Lesser Antilles, has been in print since1966 and although the piloting information is still largely valid, today the stories in it invoke nostalgia for an era long gone. Over the years, Don rewrote and expanded this guide into four volumes covering all the islands of the eastern Caribbean from the western end of Puerto Rico to Trinidad and westward along the Venezuelan coast and offshore islands to Aruba. Imray-Iolaire Charts After cruising, racing, chartering, charting, and writing guides to the eastern Caribbean for over two decades, Street had become very frustrated with NOAA and the BA as neither would correct their charts when he informed them of errors. In 1979, he made a deal with Imray, Laurie, Norie & Wilson, a British company with a history of preparing charts and pilot books that dates to 1680, to compile charts of the eastern Caribbean. It took 10 full years to pull it all together, but Imray-Iolaire charts now cover all the eastern Caribbean west to Aruba, all the Atlantic islands. Tying them all together is Imray-Iolaire Chart 100, a gnomic projection where a straight line is a great circle course. On its reverse, weather charts show average wind strength and direction and the frequency of gales and extreme wave heights for every month of the year. Experienced sailors consider Imray-Iolaire charts to be the most accurate and up-todate charts in the world. Information for updates is obtained from BA, NOAA, and from the contacts Street has developed in his 55 years in the Caribbean. Corrections are available at www.imray.com. All Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) classed yachts are required by law to carry BA charts for the area they are cruising. Old-timers keep those charts in the bottom of the chart drawer and, for their day-to-day cruising in the Caribbean and Atlantic islands, keep the Imray-Iolaire charts on top of the chart table. Replicas of the Imray-Iolaire charts from St. Thomas to Trinidad are available in electronic form on a memory stick. While they don't replace the paper charts, they do provide a convenient format for making and reviewing cruising plans. Imray-Iolaire charts and memory sticks are available from all major chart agents in Europe, in limited quantities in Madeira and the Canary Islands, and throughout the Caribbean. Imray-Iolaire charts are used in digital format by Garmin, Jepperson (C Map), Maptech, and Navionics. Marine Insurance Street has been in the marine insurance business for 49 years, 45 of them placing insurance at Lloyds of London through London brokers, and maintains his claim-settlement record cannot be matched. When comparing quotes, Street says, the difference between which are very small in terms of the overall cost of running a boat, owners should consider the benefits of buying insurance through the broker who can give the best service and the widest coverage, and who has a proven record of prompt and fair settlement of claims. For more information, go to www.street-iolaire.com. Design Consulting Don Street is available for consultation on new construction of cruising sailboats, and on upgrades and alterations to existing cruising boats to make them faster, easier to handle, and more comfortable at sea and in port.