The Western Pacific - Pacific Crossing Notes: A Sailor's Guide to the Coconut Milk Run - page 360

By now, just enough sailors have explored these islands to trim the danger off the edges of
a cruise there. On the other hand, slowly divergent cruising tracks contribute to keeping
the pleasure fleet spread out, thus preserving the area's exotic appeal. Some crews angle
north with an eye on a Pacific loop, while others take a middle line for an eventual pas-
sage to Indonesia, and still others hug the southern edge of each island group on their way
to Australia.
With hundreds of small islands within each of these island groups begging to be explored,
sailors are spoiled for choice - a common conundrum in the Pacific. In fact, that's a topic
this section closes with, when we examine the options for an onward voyage to Australia
by comparing two crews' different routes west: one to Queensland via Huon and Chester-
field reefs, and another over New Caledonia to New South Wales. As difficult as some of
these choices are, the good news is you can't lose no matter which you opt for.