Throughout the world, every country and even individual states are handling the Coronavirus outbreak in different ways. Discover what life under lockdown on a boat is like. In some cases, it’s better and in others, it’s not so great.
Watch the video and then read more below for further details.
Life Under Lockdown On A Boat Video
One of my most popular articles is 13 Reasons Why Living On A Boat In A Marina Is Better Than Living In A House On Land. I toyed with the idea of writing 13 reasons why living on a boat during the coronavirus outbreak is better than being in a home on land.
Heck, I’m a sailor. My home is where the anchor drops and I cannot live life without Vitamin Sea. No matter which way I look at it, I’d rather be on my boat than anywhere else in the world.
That being said, there are downsides. Especially during a lockdown.
With life under lockdown on a boat, there’s a lack of space and that issue becomes extremely noticeable when you can’t get off the boat for a break. Another major factor is toleration levels become unbalanced. Most sailors tolerate being ‘stuck’ somewhere to wait for parts, fix something or hang out during bad weather. It’s simply a part of the lifestyle. Surely you’ve heard the phrase, ‘fixing things in exotic locations.’
Sailors know that after a finite period of being stuck, they’ll once again have the reward of freedom. The freedom to sail in the open ocean and head in any direction the wind will permit.
With this virus, however, it seems as if things are not so finite. Every headline seems to be stretching life after Corona starting in August or December or one report mentioned February.
No matter what, life has changed for all of us whether we’re on a boat or not. And the difficult thing is that no one knows how long it will last.
In Grenada, we’ve been under a curfew and lockdown for about six weeks now. Everything has closed except for medical services. Even the airport is shut. At first, we could only get groceries one day a week but now we can get them three days a week. And as I write this we’re just now being able to finally go to land (not the beaches) for exercise. Until now we haven’t been able to go for a walk!
I feel terrible for the dog owners. Especially the dog owners on a boat. They were told that the pet has to use the sugar scoop to do his/her business. Can you imagine life under lockdown on a boat with a dog!?
After all this isolation I wish I could report that Grenada was doing well. From the perspective of flattening the curve, things are very good. But we still have new cases appearing every couple of days.
I think we were all hoping that Grenada would at least come up clear and the country could go back to business.
No one was expecting the borders to open anytime soon but we were hoping for the ability to move about, go to boat shops and even enjoy a takeaway.
Going forward, I think the government is looking around and trying to model themselves after the countries that are doing better than others. It seems like the key is social distancing while keeping the economy going AND ensuring there’s enough medical care, equipment, and personnel to handle whatever havoc the virus is going to dish out.
Things are looking more hopeful lately. Perhaps this week we can walk around and next week more shops might open. Some restaurants are doing take-aways and there are some boat services shops saying they’re available. We managed to get someone to take our Bimini and sprayhood away for repair a couple of days ago.
On Britican, we’ll continue to focus on what we can. Simon is doing boat jobs, I’m getting our website/YouTube channel/Social media in order, we’re both working hard on homeschooling Sienna and doing family-based activities and life goes on 🙂
And A Note For Anyone Interested In Coming To Grenada This Hurricane Season
I have a lot of people higher up in the Caribbean contacting me that want to sail to Grenada. They’ve been emailing to ask me what my thoughts were. I have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen but it does seem that the Grenada government is slow to make changes. It would not surprise me if this country is still closed for many months to come. The entire staff at the airport were laid off and rumors state that flights won’t start up again until after August.
There are some boats anchored off Port Louis that entered Grenada before the lockdown but had to self-quarantine.
They have not been allowed to book in. Any boats that try to enter Grenada waters are being turned away. I’ve heard that you can enter St Vincent & The Grenadines but you have to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks at your expense. You could go to SVG and hope that Grenada eventually opens.
If we were in an area like Antigua or USVI, we’d be making plans to go to New England or as high up on the east coast of America as possible.
I wouldn’t stay in the Caribbean and we definitely wouldn’t return to Charleston, South Carolina. When we were there last three hurricanes hit us! If we were below Antigua we might consider staying in the Caribbean but our plan would be to sail south if there was any threat of a hurricane…and when I say sail south that means that we wouldn’t necessary sail anywhere specific.
We’d go into open water out of harm’s way, wait, and then return. I don’t think there are too many boaters that are very comfortable with that idea but it is an option. The key to the sailing south plan, however, is to have a place you can return to that will let you in.
Any questions or comments about life under lockdown on a boat?
Please leave them below.
Other Articles About Life Since COVID-19 Started
- Surviving Your First Virus Outbreak – How To
- Where Can We Sail To Avoid COVID-19?
- Life With The COVID-19 Pandemic – A Channel Update
- The COVID-19 Silver Lining For Cruisers?
Check out La Phare Bleu on NoForeignLand
When This Is Over Join Us For A Sail!
| THE BRITICAN EXPERIENCE - A WEEK-LONG BLUEWATER CRUISING EXPERIENCE | |
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   | "Sailing Britican was more than a vacation on the beach. For a week we tasted a new way of life we didn’t know possible. We couldn’t say it better than Margaret, our four-year-old “being on a boat is the life for me! Wind in my hair, not a care!” With the constant sound of crashing waves, a rocking boat, the sunsets, and translucent waters glistening it’s a challenge to pinpoint our favorite moments. Every moment of every day seemed to gel together helping us to forget our worries on land. Thank you to Kim and Simon for sharing their sailing expertise, introduced us to other sailing families, and a pace of life full of fresh and salty air! Their home is truly a dream, their sailing stories an unforgettable experience! They are generous people who want to share this life with all who dare to seek it. What a phenomenal experience for our family of five. Even our littlest member turned one on Britican, a memory we will cherish forever." Dorothy, Roger, Isla, Margaret & Patrick Check out our availability here: Click here for more information. |
The Browns On Britican
Hi guys,
Corona virus is settling down here in New Zealand with the. Urge flattening out very well. Sadly we have had 19 people die from the virus with one case reported yesterday. Our 4.5 million population plays a definite advantage oupled with a very effective Prime Minister at the helm. Every day she gives excellent reports in a manner that builds confidence within all Kiwi’s of supporting each other by following her suggestions and doing our bit to beat this very nasty bug.
I thank the Britican team for this weekly email and this one with the video especially. It had a real ness flavour to it not saying that previous vids are not but the casual and boring parts blended together gave me a sense of feeling the good with the not so good. It was simplicity and natural, a complete lack of flare, now there is nothing wrong with that but true life is a complete change to presenting preset shots for the camera. just showing cooking for what it really is makes for an interesting view of life for real on a boat and a simple kiss in appreciation for a coffee is just wonderful to view.
Anyway all my aroha to you all
From New Zealand Kiwi-ana
Nga Mihi
Brian s
Thanks so much for your thoughts Brian. I’ve been wondering why that video has been doing so well… When I published it I thought, ‘it’s so boring!’ As usual, this video proves to me that I have no clue what people want to know or see. When I think I make a really good valuable video, no one likes it. When I think I just did my best considering the circumstances…it does well. Hahahahah. It’s good to hear that things are settling down in NZ! Please stay healthy and be safe. Smiles, Kim
Hello Kim , I’ll address you as you’re the one organizing this blog/vlog .
Short intro , apparently we met ( this is what my wife told me anyway ) during the MDR winter season 2014 -2015 . We stayed there for 3 extra winters btw . Pontoon D15
We were never live-a boards so we have never been a serious part of a community in whatever marina But having said that , you guys drew my attention with the coppercoat story which was of some of interest to me because I’ve experimented with it also . To no avail I must say .
To the point now , in your last video ” Life under lockdown ……. ” you mentioned the fact that your husband Simon suffers from a sore ear after diving under the boat . Blaming it on contamination could be a wrong move .
I’ve been diving for over 40 years now and have experienced , most summer vacations in the Med . , a sore and swollen ear that lasted for several weeks after coming home .
It’s not until my grandson was hit by the same uncomfort during the 2017 vacation around Corfu that I got to realize what had been bugging me for all those years before ……. , ‘ otitis externa ‘ , a swimmer’s ear ! Not to be confused with a diver’s ear which is a punctured eardrum mind you !
The science behind it , is that the PH (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PH ) of seawater ( 8,1 ) is responsible for disturbing the acidity in the ( outer) ear ( PH around 6) and therefor causing the protective bacterial growth in the ear canal to disappear .
I’m sure you understand that pouring a solution of bicarbonate ( PH 10 ) in the ear will worsen the situation .
What you, what Simon needs to do , is to get the PH in the ear lower , not higher !
Some people are perceptive for the infection , others are not , ……as life is .
These days I ( occasionally ) use a solution of vinegar ( any soft acid will do ) , before and after a dive . Problem solved . Although by getting older , the condition has diminished drastically , in my case .
If you don’t mind playing along with the commercial games , there are ( rather expensive for what it is ) ear drops on the market
Google is you friend , an example :
https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/health/ears/eardrops
Please feel free to post this information on the blog/vlog as it might help a lot of – unaware – sailors divers & swimmers .
Good luck
Bob
PS :
how’s the evaluation on the new coppercoat so far ?
Bob – thank you so very much for this write-up! We will give a vinegar solution before and after the next time, he goes down to clean the hull. Our evaluation on CopperCoat is excellent. Ever since the last application, we haven’t had any barnacles. Simon just goes down with a rag to clear off the soft growth and that’s it. We want to do a video but the water we’re in isn’t clear – it wouldn’t do CopperCoat justice. As soon as we can move our boat to clearer waters we’ll do an update. Thanks again. Kim
Just viewed your vlog on copper coat. Love sailing. You wore a “Citadel” shirt; what’s the connection?
One of our Patreon Patrons went to the Citadel. While we were in Charleston he visited the Citidel and us often. He got all of us Citidel shirts 🙂 Smiles, Kim
Such a sweet video. It is full of you. Once again, I feel that it is you, the Britican family, that makes these videos so delicate and enjoyable, more than the sea and the sailing combined. The lock down will end eventually, and everything will return to normal.
Sweet Kim waking up!
Thanks so much Serban 🙂 As always I appreciate your comments. Big smiles, Kim
05.05.2020
We’re not out of the woods yet!
It seems that a few brilliant minds have stumbled across a covid-19 mutation ! Time will tell if that
version turns out to be friend or foe!
Here in the U.S. citizens are choosing to take back control of their lives moving forward as free
Americans!
Find the wind – fill your sails & fulfill your dreams! W.W.
I’m not sure if we’ll ever be out of the woods…we might just have to learn how to live in a new forest. Stay healthy and be safe! Kim