Cocos Island Rumors Untrue

"We dropped our hook here at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno at San Cristobal Island in Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands on February 22, and a short time later Belvedere’s Tom Perkins pulled in with his 289-ft Maltese Falcon," reports Bruce Balan and Alene D. Rice of the California-based Cross 46 trimaran Migracion. "We later went to an internet cafe and read the ‘Lectronic posting by Perkins about Costa Rica’s Isla del Coco. He’s right about the diving, as it’s the best that Alene or I had ever experienced. However, he’s wrong when he says that Cocos is the ‘world’s largest uninhabited island.’ People often say this, so I’m not sure how the rumor got started, but it’s completely false. Anybody who has sailed the Sea of Cortez knows that two-mile by four-mile Isla de Coco can’t be the largest uninhabited island in the world."

Bruce and Alene are correct. According to www.worldislandinfo.com, although Costa Rica’s Isla del Coco is said by many to be the largest uninhabited island in the world, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, there are several hundred larger uninhabited islands, the largest being 21,000-square mile Devon Island in Nunavut, Canada.

The good news from Bruce and Alene is that they will be staying in the Galapagos another month, which means that the authorities aren’t yet cracking down on how long yachties can stay.