July 12, 2020
I know it is still July and we have been saying that by now we should definitely be more south. But guess what, we are still here. In fact, the official hurricane season starts on June 1st, most insurance will not cover anything on your boat if you are north of 10 or 12 degrees latitude, and if you keep reading the small letters the truth is most of all insurance will not cover any named storm. Although, it seems a bit risky to be around here this time of the year looking at the historical data most hurricanes happen in August and after. For the past 25 years there have been no hurricanes at this time of the year in this area, so statistically we are pretty safe here. In any case, we are ready to go at short notice and we continue to watch the forecast every day, even twice a day.
Where to go next? That is the main question. Grenada and Trinidad are supposed to be a very safe bet. However, Trinidad still has not opened its frontiers and Grenada is only accepting yachts with previous reservation and applies a 14 days of quarantine on arrival, plus a COVID test after the quarantine. Therefore, it doesn’t look that attractive to us. On top of that they are now in the rainy season which translates into a humid wet environment and very hot days without wind, not ideal for living aboard like us. Grenada is a lot further south so in order to go to Colombia later on the navigation will be longer and we would have to go north again to pass on top of Venezuela, far enough to avoid any dangerous zones (pirates and all).
The other option we have is Aruba, we were previously told that there was a strong possibility Aruba will receive us without quarantine after July 1st. We made a reservation at one of the marinas because without it it is not possible to arrive in the country. However, we just talked to the marina and they told us the quarantine is officially lifted for people arriving by flight but the law hasn’t been extended to boats. They are very optimistic that it will be in place by July 15. Also they will need to clarify for us the new rule they have in place now. All foreigners arriving to Aruba apart from having a negative COVID test before arrival (which can cost between $50 to $100) are obliged to buy medical insurance which costs $15/day per person.
It seems completely absurd, specially when we have a full medical insurance that cover COVID, but I guess in times of crisis a lot of decisions are taken without considering all scenarios.
And now we have an extra piece to the puzzle. Our oldest nephew who lives in France has just finished High School and has been admitted to the University he has chosen. Which is great news and as we were talking to him to congratulate him we thought it would be a really good idea if he could come for a few days and sail with us. His dad and brother were supposed to join us on the original plan in Antigua and he was supposed to be very busy studying for final exams. But as the pandemic has turned upside down all plans, we now plan for him to come.
With all the restrictions in Aruba, it is impossible for us to arrive and do the quarantine, we will be free by the time he has to go. Therefore, we have a new option. We are all french: us, the boat and him. It will be only one flight for him and for us two nights sailing and no restrictions on arrival in French territory.
So the decision has been made. We will be leaving Antigua on July 12 arriving in Martinique July 14 (Bastille Day). On July 15, we should make the entry papers and confirm for him to buy tickets and arrive in Fort-de-France by July 20. Let’s hope it all works out.
For now, time to enjoy the last couple of days in Antigua, small shopping for fresh fruits and veggies, prepare a couple of meals for the sailing nights, refill water and fuel tanks and ready to set sail more south!!!.
Happy Days 