Imperfect Passage
A Sailing Story of Vision, Terror, and Redemption
Michael Cosgrove
- Turning
- sixty
- isn’t
- the
- end;
- it’s
- only
- the
- beginning.Michael
- Cosgrove
- had
- a
- beautiful
- family,
- a
- successful
- career,
- and
- a
- lovely
- Southern
- California
- home
- overlooking
- the
- Pacific
- Ocean.
- At
- age
- sixty,
- he
- decided
- to
- leave
- all
- that
- behind
- to
- sail
- around
- the
- world.With
- the
- vision
- of
- rugged
- individualism
- and
- salty
- tales
- to
- share
- with
- his
- grandchildren,
- Cosgrove
- quickly
- realized
- that
- sailing
- around
- the
- world
- wasn’t
- as
- easy
- as
- he
- had
- imagined.
- From
- a
- psychotic
- crewmate,
- to
- sleep
- deprivation
- and
- mental
- breakdowns,
- to
- constant
- storms
- and
- hallucinations,
- Cosgrove
- rode
- the
- waves,
- trying
- to
- keep
- his
- idea
- of
-
- doing
- something
- grand”
- alive.
- Alone,
- and
- thousands
- of
- miles
- away
- from
- everyone
- he
- loved,
- he
- was
- forced
- to
- ask
- himself
- one
- question:
- What
- in
- God’s
- name
- am
- I
- doing
- here?In
- his
- attempt
- to
- avoid
- the
- inevitable
- (growing
- old,
- weak,
- frail),
- Cosgrove
- runs
- amok.
- He
- breaks
- his
- budget
- to
- outfit
- the
- boat
- and
- then
- refuses
- to
- read
- the
- manuals.
- He
- enters
- unfamiliar
- harbors
- in
- the
- dead
- of
- night,
- hires
- a
- violent
- first
- mate,
- and
- sails
- headlong
- into
- ferocious
- storms.
- At
- the
- same
- time,
- he
- longs
- for
- the
- simpler
- days
- when
- his
- four
- daughters
- were
- still
- children,
- when
- his
- first
- marriage
- was
- still
- intact,
- and
- when
- his
- dreams
- were
- still
- within
- reach.
- Though
- driven
- by
- scenes
- of
- sheer
- terror,
- absurd
- folly,
- and
- deep
- inner
- searching,
- the
- tone
- is
- always
- buoyant
- and
- laugh-out-loud
- funny.Imperfect
- Passage
- is
- the
- story
- of
- one
- man’s
- perseverance
- against
- Father
- Time
- and
- Mother
- Nature,
- proving
- that
- with
- enough
- will,
- one
- can
- indeed
- conquer
- the unconquerable.
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