As a second-generation sailor, Captain Cory spent his childhood cruising the Gulf Coast of Florida, from the Panhandle to the Keys. After college and a brief stint in corporate America, he escaped to the open ocean and found his calling aboard traditional, oceangoing sailing ships—working his way up from deckhand to captain. Over those years he transited the Panama Canal, explored Central America, the West Coast of the United States and Canada, the East Coast of the United States, the entire Great Lakes system, and the Caribbean. He crossed the Atlantic from Puerto Rico to England using celestial navigation and traditional sailing techniques before continuing on to explore Western Europe. Drawn back to warmer waters, he focused on the Caribbean—delivering yachts from New England, sailing to Cuba several times, and eventually serving as a captain and sailing instructor for The Moorings yacht charter company out of Tortola, BVI. Over the following years he came to know every nook and cranny of the Virgin Islands, falling in love with their people, culture, and crystal-clear waters.