Author: Michael Cook

All other events over the past couple of weeks have been overshadowed by the sad news of the passing of my grandfather, James Allison Cook. My grandfather collapsed and died from cardiac arrest while playing golf on January 19th. The shock of his passing has not yet set in and I am struggling to accept […]

It is strange that, during the past week spent anchored off of the tiny island of Porvenir, I have met more people than I normally do when I visit large cities. Despite only having four families residing on the island, a handful of visitors staying at the hotel, and less than five sailboats in the […]

The San Blas Islands might be the best kept secret in the Caribbean. It is difficult to imagine another place possessing more natural beauty. Instead of paying exorbitant prices to fly to Tahiti, where I understand that the local culture has been heavily impacted by tourism, a better option seems to be to purchase a […]

Several months ago, while discussing where to sail during my parent’s holiday visit, we considered whether we should stop in Cartagena, Colombia. On the one hand, cruisers raved about Cartagena and said that it shouldn’t be missed. On the other hand, it is Colombia and safety was a concern. After weighing the risks and rewards, […]

Following the departure of my friend TK and prior to the arrival of my parents, I was blessed with three days alone on Aruba. Most of this time was spent at the casino attempting to win money by betting on sports. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like gambling will provide an alternate source for funding my […]

During the past week, my friend Tom King (TK) sailed with me from Bonaire to Aruba. In between whining about how early the sun rises in the Caribbean and complaining about how much salt is in the water, TK managed to find time to prepare this week’s journal entry. Tom has since returned to his […]

Bonaire seems designed to make you stay. Like a casino or grocery store, it is a lot easier to get in than to get out. The only way to reach the island is by plane or by boat. To be fair, those are usually the only ways to reach any island lacking a bridge. What […]

Sailing through the outlying islands of Venezuela is what I expected tropical cruising to be like. On Saturday morning, I hauled anchor and departed Porlomar. Motorsailing around the leeward side of Margarita until the wind picked up from the north, the overnight passage to Tortuga offered one of the most spectacular night skies that I […]

From the water, the city of Porlomar, on the Isla de Margarita, appears similar to Miami. A row of high-rise apartments and hotels line the shore concealing a bustling town a couple of blocks inland. The anchorage is a large protected bay that comfortably accommodates well over a hundred visiting yachts. To go ashore requires […]

After a month and a half in Trinidad, I finally completed the last few projects necessary to prepare for departure. The main task was fixing the staysail roller furling, which involved taking the entire inner forestay ashore, replacing the wire, and reinstalling the roller furling system. This completed, I faced the challenge of transporting the […]