Author: Michael Cook

The passage south to Trinidad was fairly uneventful. After an excellent last meal in St. Martin on Saturday, we set out early on Sunday morning. Although we were able to beat into moderate winds on Sunday and Wednesday, light winds forced us to motorsail on Monday and Tuesday. There were several notable events during the […]

On Saturday, I finally identified and corrected the cause of the engine overheating. Or, to be more accurate, it took me so long to identify the cause that the problem eventually made itself obvious to me. While running the engine to cool the refrigerator, the cover on the heat exchanger came flying off and seawater […]

On Sunday, I decided to move the boat over to Baie Orientale. This new location would position the boat a short dinghy ride from Baie De l’Embouchure, which I am told is an excellent place to learn how to surf. I envisioned myself spending the days experiencing the exhilaration of riding waves, returning to the […]

My first full week on St. Martin was one of relaxation. The easygoing routine that I settled into was less the result of a need for rest than an attempt to slow my rate of spending. The weak dollar makes high living difficult on an island where everything is priced in Euro’s. On Tuesday, Zach […]

The passage from Virgin Gorda to St. Martin was difficult. Although we only had to cover 72 miles, it took us 32 hours of beating into wind, waves, and current before we finally reached our destination. For those readers who are not familiar with the concept of speed, 2.25 knots per hour (2.6 mph) is […]

My final week in St. Thomas was spent preparing the boat for the trip to St. Martin and spending time with the friends that I was fortunate enough to meet in Red Hook during that past two months. One addition to the boat that I acquired this week is a 15-foot two-person kayak. On Wednesday, […]

Following the departure of my visitors, I moved the boat over to Christmas Cove, St. Thomas and resumed my normal routine of boat maintenance, reading, and swimming. Twice each day, a tour boat full of snorkelers would arrive to swim around the bay and observe the marine life. These loud, pasty American tourists would float […]

Upon his arrival in St. Thomas, my Uncle Larry was eager to start fishing. On Friday morning, we moved over to Christmas Cove, St. Thomas and found spear fishing paradise. Even a horrible shot like myself could catch a few fish. While Uncle Larry caught a few fish worthy of eating, my fish tended to […]

After snorkeling in Francis Bay, St. John’s on Monday morning, we enjoyed a brisk sail over to Jost Van Dyke. With winds gusting to 27 knots, we sped along at nearly 8 knots while flying only the mainsail and staysail on a beam reach. This, along with the fast sail from Jost back to St. […]