The Adventures of SV MaiTai

On March 17th, St Martin closed their borders to incoming non-emergency vessels and recommended that people here already stay in their homes unless absolutely necessary. We’ve been on the boat since then, anchored in the lagoon, leaving only to obtain essential supplies.

In some ways, it’s not all that different from how we normally live our lives. We are working on boat projects and keeping in touch with loved ones through social media and WhatsApp phone calls. We picked up a local SIM card right before the phone companies were closed down so we’ve been able to use wifi on the boat (albeit very slow).

The main differences for us are that we aren’t able to exercise (the water where we are anchored is sheltered from weather but not the cleanest so we don’t like to swim here), and we aren’t exploring the island which was one of our primary objectives in moving onto a boat. We were supposed to be in Martinique by now, but instead we are still in St Martin wondering what direction we will head when hurricane season rolls around.

We initially had planned to head back to Grenada this summer where I can work at the University as a visiting veterinary professor. The University is completely closed now however, all staff and students have been sent home for an undetermined amount of time. Not to mention that Grenada has closed it’s borders to incoming sailing vessels, as have the majority of islands along our route to get there.

If we can’t go South for hurricane season, we will have to head North instead in order to clear “The Box” of where summer hurricanes usually hit. For us, that means heading to the NorthEast USA, more than 1500nm away from here. Most of the usual stops along the way (ie Bahamas) are also closed, as well as many marinas on the East Coast where we typically would stop to refuel or reprovision. It means as things stand now, we’d have to sail directly North, likely just the two of us taking shifts for 12days straight.

We try not to worry too much about what might happen. We discuss it often though, so we can be ready for any unexpected changes and move at a moment’s notice if need be. We consider ourselves lucky however, at least we have nearly 2 year’s worth of cruising under our belt. We have friends who just moved onto their boat in the last 3 months, and now have to stall their plans of cruising. Many of them have been saving for years, sold their homes, quit their jobs and left everything they knew back home to travel for a year or two (or the remainder of their lives). Now people who depended on rental income, or stock market dividends, or a remote job that no longer exists, are having to reconsider their plans. Others who only had enough to do this for one year are wondering what stroke of fate caused them to choose this as their year abroad. We are so lucky we went when we did, we didn’t wait. We wish we could be going longer.

As far as life on the island, the French side is still on limited travel outside the home for 1 hour maximum. You have to carry a pass that explains your intentions. The stores have run out of some items (eggs and butter last week although they may have restocked by now), but overall still have enough food for everyone. Every time I’ve gone the lines have been long to get in and about 50% of people are wearing masks. An equal share of others wear no masks and act like there is nothing out of the ordinary happening (I actually watched a man stick his head around the backside of the plexiglass guard in front of a cashier to ask her a question!) The Dutch side has completely closed down on 24hour quarantine. The grocery stores are closed, as are gas stations, laundry, etc. You can only leave your home with a special pass approved by the police commissioner. The border between the French and Dutch side is closed.

Rick and I remain in relatively good spirits, considering. We have our ups and downs as we imagine all of you do. We just try to take a moment each day to evaluate our situation, our plans, and to be grateful for what we still have here. We are still healthy and wish the best for all of you as well!