Last month, Maldague was dramatically expelled from the Cayman Islands. Now, we have the full story.

After losing his mast and retreating to Grand Cayman, Maldague was considered to be continuing on his three-month visa. Considering his boat problems, the authorities decided to give him one extra month to leave the country. With a deadline of February 15 looming, Maldague set to work looking for a new mast. Unfortunately, there was nothing suitable on the island, and by February 10 he was no closer to finding a solution.

On February 11, he decided to extend his visa for another month. The immigration officials did not seem impressed. On February 15, they announced he would only get 10 extra days and to return after the weekend for confirmation. On Monday, he received even worse news: he needed to be gone by Friday. They even accused him of taking advantage of the system and delaying his boat repairs intentionally!

With just five days to find a solution to continue his quest, Maldague pivoted to finding a “new” boat to buy. Fortunately, he had already viewed one of the few sea-worthy ships for sale on the island. He returned to the sellers and was relieved when they agreed to a lightning-quick sale. He transferred his belongings, managed to arrange for the sale of his old boat and set off on his new boat (named Barefoot Two) for Jamaica.

The crossing took 36-hours and proved incredibly stressful in a brand new boat that he had no experience sailing. It was a rough journey in high winds, but he made it safely and will now take a few days to plan his onward route around the country’s coast.