John Passmore

My daughter worries that I’m lonely, sailing all by myself with not even a dog or a cat for company. Not a bit of it. Let me tell you about the last few days. I came back to Linton Bay to collect the new outboard. It arrived in Colón via a forwarding company in Miami … Read more

 I’m still a bit shaky. I’ve watched the video that accompanies this post three times wondering whether I should record it again and pretend it was the first attempt (that’s what proper YouTubers would do). But I am strictly an amateur – so much so that the GoPro is back in its box because I … Read more

There I was in the Swimming Pool. It’s not really a swimming pool – just the anchorage to the south of Banedup Island in the San Blas of Panama. The Swimming Pool is so completely surrounded by coral reefs and islands covered in coconut palms that there is hardly a ripple. Also, there’s a nice … Read more

There! It’s done! I’ve ordered a new dinghy and an outboard to go with it. Actually, I rather hope the outboard – the electric outboard – is going to do more than just go with the dinghy. But more about that in a moment. The first thing to acknowledge is when to admit your mistakes … Read more

A reader has taken me to task for the “gloaty tone” of the last post which launched my ADHD MLM book. I did wonder whether I should add it to the blog or just leave it as a personal Facebook post – after all, it hasn’t got much to do with sailing. But then, one … Read more

This is the new book – the ninth book – and by far the most expensive. The Kindle version sells for £20. It’s £25 in paperback. But then it’s worth a lot more than that. To be precise, it’s worth £546,893. That is how much the information it contains has been worth to me. In … Read more

  This is The Graveyard in Linton Bay, one of the most popular anchorages on the Atlantic coast of Panama. You can see four wrecks (not counting the one in the middle sitting upright on its bilge keels with just the mast sticking out vertically like a lamp post). All of them dragged their anchors … Read more

Here we are on the second day of the passage from Santa Marta in Colombia to the San Blas Islands of Panama and finally, I’ve settled down to write about it. Writing a “passage piece” in the same way I would sit down two or three times a day as I do with the “Voyage” … Read more

Years ago, we had a friend from Colombia. He was married to Tamsin’s best friend at the time. His name was Ruben and he was the most charming man you could hope to meet. I remember introducing him to my mother one Christmas – mother must have been in her late 80s by that time. … Read more