Lockdown Entertainment in Antigua

Cruisers are a social bunch, so this “stay on your boat” business is wearing thin. I am sure everyone can relate no matter where you are social distancing. Fortunately, we cruisers are pretty ingenious too, and we’ve created our own fun. Learn what we’re doing for lockdown entertainment in Antigua.

Antigua Status Update

First, an update on what is going on in our part of the world. Antigua is ramping up efforts to test their citizens, and to protect them from the virus.

As of midnight on April 1st, the country locked down for everything except essential businesses which are open for limited hours. Supermarkets and pharmacies are considered essential, and are open daily from 7a-12n, which means very long lines to provision. Not that we would know: our last trip to the store was 2 weeks ago yesterday and we’ve been sequestered in a remote anchorage for over a week filling the time with useful projects.

On Tuesday, Antigua announced its first death from Covid-19, followed quickly by a second. The island wide lockdown is extended another week, and Easter weekend means full closures this Friday, Sunday and Monday.

Lockdown on Sava

Brian, Domino and I are anchored in a big beautiful protected bay alongside about 20 other boats. Our anchorage is outside of the public eye, away from towns, marinas and even the main island, but we have our boat buddies. We moved to this anchorage with 5 other boats we knew, and have since met the occupants of a few others, either via VHF, electronically, or from our dinghies. Social distancing rules apply on the water too.

Great Bird Island anchorage
Moonrise in the anchorage in Antigua
Continue reading “Lockdown Entertainment in Antigua”

Social Distancing In Antigua On Board Sava

The spread of a worldwide pandemic has sent everyone scrambling, including we who live on sailboats. For cruisers who needed to be somewhere for hurricane season, Covid-19 has caused havoc. This is why we are social distancing in Antigua on board Sava.

Cruising Season

The Caribbean cruising season runs from late October to early July. The rest of the year is hurricane season, when we hunker down or leave our boats somewhere safe and hope for the best. For us, safe is below latitude 12.4, which is why we spent last hurricane season in Grenada.

As the pandemic occurred during cruising season, we are in a state of limbo, scared and trying to take the changes day by day. We have until late June to get our boat somewhere safe or on the hard.

Continue reading “Social Distancing In Antigua On Board Sava”

Top Quotes About the Sailing Life

Life aboard a boat sounds romantic and freeing, partly due to some famous quotes making it sound ideal. We cruisers know the difficulties of onboard living, and we have our share of sayings about the crazy parts of this lifestyle. Here are my top quotes about the sailing life and where they originate. These are quotes that resonate with me because they are so relatable.

Quotes about sailing

One of the first quotes that comes to mind is one cruisers say to each other often:

“May you Have Fair Winds and Following Seas”

Unknown

I don’t know who started saying this, but it’s obvious why we say it. Everyone wants good winds and the seas pushing us forward when we sail and so we wish each other the best.

Sailing is about taking risks, and seeing new places, so I like these quotes:

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

Andre Gide

“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Quotes about the sailing life FDR

Continue reading “Top Quotes About the Sailing Life”