 By 1679 Cooke was back in the Caribbean hauling logwood when he was caught by Spanish warships off Aruba.He and his crew abandoned their ship to avoid capture, preferring “to sacrifice their ship rather than fall into the hands of the Spaniards, by whom they knew so many to have been ill treated and undone.” They waited ashore on Aruba until an 80-ton Spanish barque approached, which they boarded and captured.Cooke sailed the barque back to Jamaica, where he sold off its cargo and decided to take up privateering against the Spanish.