Where can we sail to avoid COVID-19 pandemic? We have the freedom to hoist our white flappy things, let them fill with air and head in any direction – don’t we? We can sail to an island/country that doesn’t have the virus yet. We can head for a deserted island. Yeah?!
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
Watch the video and then carry on reading below to find out what our plan A, B, C, D and E are.
Where Can We Sail To Avoid COVID-19 Video
Even if the virus hasn’t made it to a remote location it’s more than likely that the country will have already closed its borders. In the Caribbean, there are a small number of countries still open to sailors, several that are imposing a 2-week quarantine upon arrival and then there are those that have closed the country complete – if you enter the country by boat the officials will tell you to turn around and go away. Every island in the Caribbean has at least one reported case now.
Grenada is one of those countries that has completely closed up shop.
Imagine sailing down to Grenada and being told to turn around and go somewhere else? Fortunately, St Vincent and the Grenadines, the next country north of us, is still open.
Every day things are changing. At first, we all thought we’d be okay if we isolated ourselves on our boat and made minimal trips to the grocery store. Then the government issued a statement saying that liveaboard cruisers couldn’t come to shore at all. The statement has been rescinded since it’s release a couple of days ago but I do wonder for how long. The airport shut and all flights stopped. We then heard from the US and the UK that we need to come home.
Stories abound of boaters trying to get into one country or another and being turned away. Many are scrambling to get their boats hauled out only to discover that their flight home has canceled and nothing is lined up for the foreseeable future. Many boatyards have closed down. Some stranded people are reaching out to boat owners asking if they can hitch a ride to an ‘open’ island where planes are still flying.
What are our plans regarding where can we sail to avoid COVID-19?
As mentioned in the video we have a plan A, B, C, D and E. For the time being, we are going to stay where we are in Grenada. As it stands we are in a relatively safe spot, we have a good community around us and the Government seems to be okay with us being here.
If we are forced to move due to safety reasons or the Government asks us to leave we will head for America. It’s a 12 day non-stop sail. Fortunately for us, we’re okay with long passages and are happy to just head north. The longer we wait, however, the better the weather will be for the trip. On the flip side, it’s questionable as to how long food will be available?
Of course, we can’t wait too long as the hurricane season will soon be upon us. So we either need to stay where we are or head up to the Northeast of America by mid-July. If we can’t get into the US or it’s not a good place to go, we may just sail over to the UK.
Lots to think about.
And I’d be lying if I said our plans were solid. Every other hour we’re making considerations for a variety of options. At the end of the day, however, we keep deciding that staying put seems most logical for the time being.
But watch this space – it will change within the hour!
Any thoughts or comments, please leave them below. Stay healthy. Stay safe.
All,
I believe you are making the right decision to stay put. This is an event which has totally thrown the world into a tizzy. I live in Houston, TX and we just received word this morning that as of midnight tonight (3/24) they are instituting a mandatory stay home/work from home advisory. We can still go to the market, gas station and pharmacies but when in those environments to maintain a 6ft (1.8 meter) space between yourself and the other person. We will all get through this and be fine. Stay safe and Healthy!!!
Regards,
Tom
Thank you for commenting Tom! K.
You all are awesome!!
You too! K.
I’m a river cruiser owner in Ireland,……..don’t know how I can help you real Sailors…..but if I can,….get in touch.
Best to you all…
Jeff Littlewood.
Thank you Jeff. Stay healthy and be safe 🙂 Kim
Stay were you are. Enjoy life as it is. Thats what I would do if I was so fortunate to be in Grenada.
Here in Sweden everything is up side down. With people dying. And the rest of Europe is much worse. I would decently go to Grenada if I had the choice!!!
Stay safe. <3
Agreed. Thank you for commenting 🙂 Kim
My husband is anchored in Bequia and has been there for the last three weeks, he was headed to Grenada with our boat with plans to put the boat on the hard later in the summer returning to Atlanta GA in US where we have a home. I returned to US to care for my 84 yr old Mother. I was planning to meet him in Grenada but as you may have read in the news, it’s exploding with new cases. Georgia has a stay at home order going into effect tonight at 6pm for two weeks. He also has spoken about returning to the US with the boat but then we went up dealing with the hurricane season and right now he is safer than I am. Right now all we can do is keep faithful all will be well eventually. Thank you for your posts, I am updating him when we texts.
Dear Carol, It’s hard to hear of families and couples separated during these crazy times. I’m so sorry for you, your husband and your Mother. The only thing that brings me comfort is to keep thinking that we are where we’re supposed to be…even if we don’t understand it. Bequia is not a bad place to be…in the event that bad weather is coming it doesn’t take too long to sail south out of the way – even if your husband doesn’t sail to land. He could be in worse spots. We have friends literally stuck on every island going up and down the chain… Let’s hope that by hurricane season things are more relaxed. Stay healthy and be safe…and if you ever need an update on what’s going on here in Grenada, please email me on Kim@SailingBritican.com. Sending you a big hug, Kim
4.28.2020
Hi all !
Has Grenada been allowing you all to replenish FUEL & FOOD provisions ?
I noticed fellow boaters that evidently are coming from anchored boats to
docks to receive provisions – has anyone taken the Britican dingy from docks to go
out fishing?
How have you all been handling your waste pump outs in Grenada during these
challenging times?
Which monetary exchange are people anchored at Grenada using to pay for the provisions? or is it one of those pay for online schemes ?
Is Grenada asking new boat arrivals to leave OR just ANCHOR out for a couple of weeks
then check in ??
How far out does the Grenada WIFI signal reach to anchored boats?
When Grenadas WIFI service fails – by what other means do you have in place to reach
out which is not dependent on WIFI??
Back up every thing you want to save to an external storage device! When technology
fails & it will the panic will be just as devastating as anything else that has ever come down the pike!
in history! We are being sucked into all this techno babel which is not the human way it will destroy
the human species we are not synthetic machines!
When a germ warfare happens it creates a domino effect – governments make fake promises with no intention of holding up their end of the bargain – panic happens – self destruction happens – until nothing is left but this planet earth waiting to start over from scratch !
This earth the land we walk on is not owned we as humans have been given the
privilege of being stewards of this earth we walk on unfortunately we have not been doing very
well at it ! However we seem to be doing well as a self destructing species! It is in our nature!
The sea will grant each man new HOPE !
W.W.
Hey W.W. Let me see if I can answer your questions.
Q. Has Grenada been allowing you all to replenish FUEL & FOOD provisions?
A. We started off with a total lock down and the grocery stores were closed for a week. They then opened them for one day and then two. It was a disaster both times with long lines. Now, we have them open Mon, Wed and Fri. Those are ‘shopping days’ when we can go to the grocery store (within our Parish) and we can now also go to land and exercise for 1.5 hours.
Fuel docks are open on ‘shopping days’ too.
Q. I noticed fellow boaters that evidently are coming from anchored boats to
docks to receive provisions – has anyone taken the Britican dingy from docks to go
out fishing?
A. As cruisers, we are currently not allowed to take our dinghy anywhere other than to a dock to get provisions or go ashore to get provisions. Fishing is off-limits.
Q. How have you all been handling your waste pump-outs in Grenada during these
challenging times?
A. The entire island dumps its sewage into the sea. So do almost all the other Caribbean Islands. In some cases, the sewage is somewhat treated but nonetheless that’s a question that no one answers. There are no pump-out facilities on the island and considering that none of the boats are requesting permission to sail out to dump you can surmise the answer to that one. But…it’s no different than it ever has been. (That’s why I never swim in a bay where there are loads of boats!)
Q. Which monetary exchange are people anchored at Grenada using to pay for the provisions? or is it one of those pay for online schemes?
A. You can often pay for goods like groceries for delivery with a credit card. And getting money at the ATM has been easy on shopping days.
Q. Is Grenada asking new boat arrivals to leave OR just ANCHOR out for a couple of weeks
then check in ??
A. It’s currently asking people to leave if they try to enter Grenada waters. We’re hoping that will change soon.
Q. How far out does the Grenada WIFI signal reach to anchored boats? When Grenada’s WIFI service fails – by what other means do you have in place to reach out which is not dependent on WIFI??
A. There’s a thing called ‘Cruisers Net’ that cruisers can pay for in the bays. Many cruisers use local SIM cards or if they’re lucky they have a French Island SIM card – best bang for your buck. So far the Internet has been fairly reliable during this crisis.
I hope this answers your questions W.W. Let’s hope that perhaps this lockdown will help the Earth repair herself and get stronger…and that us humans figure out ways to treat her better.
Best wishes, Kim