“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”– Haruki Murakami
I love starting my blog posts with a quote. It helps succinctly illustrate my feelings by those much more eloquent than I. I have actually used this quote before. It was a literal interpretation of how I felt after sailing through and experiencing a powerful and terrifying storm. I feel it is as aptly appropriate in a figurative sense for this current storm we are traveling through. A world shut down by Covid 19.
We sold our home, bought a sailboat, and have a <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQyl_1Yk8AE&t=368s”>10-year plan to circumnavigate</a> the globe on our 43’ Taswell monohull. The first two years were fraught with growing pains and adversity, but we persevered. We ticked off each experience we overcame and thankfully added knowledge to our growing repertoire. Finally, we made the big leap across the Atlantic and successfully made our first 1,000-mile ocean voyage. We were exhausted and exhilarated when the southern shore of Ireland peaked through the mist signifying “WE MADE IT!”
Welcome to Bantry, Ireland
We checked into the country of Ireland at the port of Bantry. We loved the first tiny town where we made landfall in Europe. We loved Bantry so much, we tarried there for a week. We had only planned on staying there a day or two.
We finally moved on, in awe of the wonder and beauty of the Irish coastline. We were euphoric as we harbor hopped from one port to the other and worked our way up the coast. We knew we would only have a month to visit the Irish coast as we made our way up to Scotland where our boat would spend the winter. We thought this would be our only chance to see Ireland.
One of the lessons our sailing experiences have taught us is that no schedule is set in stone. In fact, thinking you can actually keep a sailing itinerary would be like leaving an important message written with a stick in the sand, on a beach, at low tide.
You usually get to your destination in whatever time frame “Mother Nature” and the “Lord of Boat Breaking” see fit. We have been thwarted by both of these deities to the point where we didn’t reach our intended destinations at all and had to change our course.
It’s bad enough the deck is stacked against sailors with changing weather and the extreme conditions one must endure while keeping a boat working. Those factors are known entities. We entered this mad sailing adventure prepared for them. What we were not prepared for, and something that halted us in our sailing tracks, was the Day the World Shut Down (aka Covid 19).
Our Sailboat Home in Bangor, Ireland
It has been almost a year to the day we entered the country of Ireland. Instead of following our plans to sail through the Baltic Sea all the way to St. Petersburg, we are still here.
We traveled up the coast of Ireland, took a quick sail over to Wales for a few weeks, with the plan to go to Scotland where our boat would spend the winter in the Clyde Marina. As we departed Wales, the foreboding forecast of several major storm systems in a row forced us back over to Ireland to take shelter.
The weeks passed; the weather didn’t let up. Our window to sail safely to Scotland was dwindling. Fortunately, Bangor Marina, where we were holed up, had a half-price winter docking special. We canceled our reservation at Clyde and made the decision to winter in Ireland and continue or voyage in the spring.
Little did we know, when spring arrived, Covid would be in full bloom. No countries were allowing foreign boats into their harbors. Of all the reasons for our sailing to be delayed, we had never considered a global pandemic would figure into the equation.
“A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities. An optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.” Harry S. Truman.
We took advantage of an opportunity to <a href=”https://sailmates.org/sailing-around-the-world/the-magic-of-ireland/”house-sit back in Bantry.</a> We spent two months there in total bliss. We loved the home, the property, and the animals. While the pandemic wreaked havoc on the world around us, we took shelter in paradise until we decided it was time to return to our boat and continue with maintenance and repair.
Traveling Back to the USA
Dan fixed the hot water heater, the water maker, and chipped away at our list. However, we had a big decision to make. The original, power-mongering refrigeration system on our boat has not been working. I’ve been able to deal without a refrigerator because it gets down into the 40s every night. My fridge box stays around 50 because the water temperature keeps the metal box cool. We can deal with this while we are at dock and can walk to the grocery store daily. It certainly won’t do when we need to pack food for voyages.
With all the recent unexpected expenses, spending 6 grand for a new Grunert system to replace our old one, was way out of budget. The CoolBlue brand we want to install is manufactured in the US. The problem we were having is that shipping it to Ireland would cost more in VAT taxes and freight than the unit itself.
The cost of two plane tickets to pick up the units and carry them back to Ireland would allow us to afford the new compressors. All we needed to do was have the units shipped to Philadelphia, get plane tickets back to Philly, visit our kids for a couple of days, then fly back to Ireland. It seemed like a good plan, at the time. As US citizens, we are allowed to return to the US at any time.
Our first obstacle appeared once we booked tickets from Dublin to Philadelphia. The Philly airport is conveniently 15 minutes away from our son Derek’s house. Because of Covid, the flights to Philly were canceled days before our departure. We had no choice but to fly into JFK in New York. This would mean 5 hours of driving for our son to pick us up and drive back home.
Day of departure back to the states, we donned our masks and took a train and then a bus to get to Dublin. When we arrived at the airport, it appeared to be deserted. No shops were open. We were only a handful of people going through the security line. Once at our terminal and gate, I counted 5 other people at the airport. It was eerie.
Once we boarded, there were maybe 12 other passengers spread out around the plane. It was basically empty. When we disembarked in JFK, our temperature was taken. They told us if we experienced any Covid symptoms to quarantine. That was it.
Relieved that our trip back to the US was so easy, we now had to focus on getting our compressors and flying back to Ireland. Fate was not in our favor.
When we were talking to the CoolBlue rep about shipping the units to us in NJ and that we were planning on taking them back to Ireland on an airplane, our plan was halted in its tracks. The rep informed us that airlines wouldn’t allow the compressors on board because they had oil inside that constituted as a hazardous material. And no, it couldn’t be drained.
We at least got a nice visit in with our kids and grandson Orion before we got back on the plane to return to Ireland. Once again, the plane to Ireland was less than half full. We wore masks on and off the plane but could take them off to eat or drink. So we did that the entire flight.
Arriving in Dublin, we were asked to fill out a form for our final destination. Since we are living in Northern Ireland, we were sent on our way with no questions. It was a simple and painless process.
We returned by bus and train to our boat and quarantined. That is the life we pretty much live anyway so it doesn’t really affect our lifestyle. The town of Bangor is back open in full swing. All the stores are open. There are no cases of Corona in this part of the UK. Life here seems very normal and peaceful. Dan brought our old fridge back to life, and we will make do with the power-consuming old unit until it can no longer be revived. Not an easy trick since our refrigerant type is banned in this country. It’s always something.
We only have until September before we go back to the USA for the winter. We have a family wedding and grandchild number two arriving at the end of December. Our middle son, Derek James, is going to be a daddy and we couldn’t be more thrilled at the prospect of a new crew member!
Scotland has opened up for visiting sailors with a few restrictions of course. We will take a few weeks and sail around the reportedly gorgeous Scottish Islands which are very remote and we will mostly be anchoring. Rumors have it that these islands are one of the most beautiful places on the planet to sail. We will take lots of pictures and let you know.
Sailors Coping with Covid
Our marina has fully opened up again. Local sailing is resuming, but the rest of the world is not open to sailors just yet. Just last night we had happy hour in the cockpit of an OCC member’s boat from Ireland. Another OCC family joined us from Switzerland that just happened to sail into the marina. It was almost like things were back to normal, except we didn’t shake hands and sat a few feet apart.
Yesterday, after Dan and I took our daily walk, we returned down the dock to our beloved Equus. We had just reached our boat when a man walking down the dock in the opposite direction stepped to the side to let us pass. He was kindly complying with the social distancing rules.
He smiled and said, “cheers” as we passed him. We waved and thanked him then headed down the t-intersection to our boat.
“Wait!” he yelled after us. We turned and looked curiously at this man we had never seen before.
“You’re those Americans. The ones that have been trapped here because of Covid. I’m from Cork but I’ve heard all about you. Everyone in our sailing community has. You are all over social media.”
Dan and I looked at each other with confused expressions. We have been delayed in Ireland for a year but we felt as innocuous as two grains of sand on a beach. We chatted with the man for a few minutes and he wished us great luck and went on his way.
While this post is about how we have been dealing with being in a foreign country in a time when we can’t continue with our sailing plans, there are hundreds of sailors finding themselves in similar situations. Friends and even family members have been stuck in countries, not able to sail, too far from home to get back without stopping for fuel and supplies, and without crew who abandoned ship at the first sign of a problem.
<a href=”https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/one-armed-sailor-forced-travel-18242064″>Irish sailor Garry Crothers lost his arm</a> due to a motorcycle accident. He had sailed to the Virgin Islands with a crew when Covid broke out. His crew flew back home. He waited for bans to be lifted and to get a crew to help him sail his boat back in time for his daughter’s wedding. Time ran out, there were no flights available. He had to solo sail his boat, with one arm, to return in time for the wedding.
Previously, the longest stretch he had sailed the boat alone was 4 days. His voyage would take him a month. Despite all the obstacles, he did prevail and he made it home safely. There were others that were not so lucky.
I recently wrote an article about sailor <a href=”https://www.sail-world.com/news/229321/Dan-Stroud-completes-circumnavigation–Part-1-and-2″>Dan Stroud. Dan was solo circumnavigating</a> when Covid began shutting countries down. After spending almost 50 days at sea, alone, not exposed to any virus, short on all supplies, he was turned away from Grenada and told to go find another country.
Hundreds of sailboats had to flee the Caribbean and other countries subject to hurricane season. They had to be clear of the hurricane zone. If their boat was damaged due to a hurricane, they would not be covered by insurance. The Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) helped facilitate and orchestrate a mass exodus of sailors who were in “do or die” sailing situations. Several of those boats encountered problems requiring their crew to be rescued.
Just this past week, two boats sank and their crew was not recovered. I pray each night for the safety of sailors around the world who have found themselves far from home, trapped in unexpected conditions, and risking their lives to sail home.
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Alison and Dan
S/V Equus