July | 2020 | What Floats Our Boat

I get it! You’re all wondering what the global pandemic is like in “Paradise” 🌴 🏖️⛵ Well, since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, Grenada has had 23 lab-confirmed cases of Covid-19 and has experienced zero Covid-19 deaths.

The prime minister closed borders and implemented lockdowns early, in an effort to protect the residents of this tiny country which does not have a very robust health care system. Officially, borders are just now starting to open. Letting “yachties” into the country was sort of an exception – remember how we had to comply with strict protocols such as sailing directly from Antigua, 14+ days of Quarantine, and multiple Covid-19 tests?

It seems to have worked. Since the beginning of July, Grenada has been completely Covid-free. And they’ve started to relax restrictions such as curfew and prohibitions on gathering. Here are the current rules:

The curfew has expired
Beaches are open
Gatherings of up to 20 people are allowed
Some restaurants have reopened for dining in, with social distancing, temperature checks, and contact tracing
Masks are mandatory for indoor businesses and on public transportation

As guests in this country, Capt. Mike and I are very careful to follow the rules. We’re starting a collection of colorful cloth facemasks that cost between 5-10 Eastern Caribbean dollars each (between $1.85 and $3.70 US – (Hey! That’s pretty cheap! Maybe I need another cute one!) We avoid large gatherings, and we bump elbows or mime blowing kisses instead of shaking hands or hugging. That being said, we’ve also got a little sailing bubble of couples who arrived here and quarantined the same time that we did and all tested negative for the virus around the same time. We stay in the same southern bays off the coast of the island, and we trust each other’s precautions.

So…. In many of my photos, we aren’t wearing masks. It’s the topics! So almost everything takes place outdoors – with the high temps, high humidity, and sweat that goes along with it! Good thing this blog post isn’t Scratch ‘n’ Sniff! 🤣 And once we’ve entered a bar or restaurant (with the entry restrictions I described above) we can remove our masks at our table or within our group. Or, thank goodness, in the pool! I’ll try to take more pictures of the hand sanitation stations, and social distancing markets on the floor, AND my growing cute mask collection, just to even things out.

However, the airport is not yet open to international commercial flights. In August, the government plans to allow flights from “medium-risk” countries, such as Canada and the UK. Sometime after that, they’ll open to flights from “high-risk” countries, such as the United States. The entry protocols will require Covid tests and possible quarantine. That’s why we come up with a backup plan, to ensure we could spend the summer here in Grenada if necessary.

Like all of you, we’re playing it by ear this year, and adjusting plans as we go. I hope Grenada, and all of the small Caribbean countries, can continue to keep their citizens safe. And I also hope I can sail between Caribbean islands next winter instead of staying here indefinitely!

So we survived quarantine in St George’s Grenada, though not without a bit of drama. On Day #15, we headed to shore with great anticipation to take our COVID-19 tests. Once we passed, we’d be free to officially clear into the country and to have our freedom of movement back! But… Capt. Mike’s rapid antigen test came back inconclusive, which was treated the same as a positive. So he had to undergo the nasal swab PCR test, and we both had to return to Sanitas to wait three more days for the result. Oh my gosh, I could have divorced him! Those were the hardest three days of the entire quarantine. Of course, he didn’t actually have coronavirus and the test eventually came back negative, but those extra three days of confinement were emotionally very difficult to take.

That’s all behind us now, thank goodness! Now we are free to move Sanitas between Grenada anchorages, and to go ashore at will – with masks and social distancing, of course. Several of you have reached out to ask what’s next for Sanitas and her crew. What are our plans for hurricane season? Keeping in mind that plans are really hard to make in a global pandemic, with things constantly changing….

We are probably going to spend all of hurricane season here in Grenada.

Our original plan was to haul Sanitas and store her in a boatyard while we flew back to the US for the summer. In fact, on Plan A we’d be at a family reunion in Boston right now. Sadly, that got cancelled. (Sound familiar?) In 2020 reality, the international airport in Grenada is still closed, and there are no commercial flights scheduled to or from the United States. Grenada clamped down hard on the virus back in March and as a result, this small island country is currently COVID-free. The government is easing restrictions and gradually reopening the economy, but they’re serious about protecting their citizens and residents, so it’s happening slowly. They will be opening to Carribean regional flights first, then commercial flights from low-risk countries such as Canada, and eventually (hopefully) to high-risk countries such as the United States.

I put quite a bit of effort into renegotiating with our marine insurance company. I wrote a new hurricane plan and begged and pleaded and sweet talked our insurance agent, and finally got permission to keep Sanitas in the water for July and August while still keeping our hurricane insurance coverage. That’s good news, because it means we still have a place to live for those months. In July, we’re living at anchor, exploring Grenada’s southern harbors and bays. For August, we have a reservation for a slip in Port Louis Marina in St George’s. Hurricane season is low season, so an entire month will cost us about $600 plus water and electricity. And speaking of electricity, the J-Dock at Port Louis is the only spot in Grenada with 110 power for American boats. You know what that means – air conditioning! Also, access to marina showers, and a laundry room, and a pool. 😲 It’s just a short bus ride away from beautiful Grand Anse beach, and from the hustle and bustle of downtown St George’s.

For insurance reasons, we still have to store Sanitas on the hard for September and October; the months that are historically more likely for hurricanes to impact this part of the Caribbean. We’ll look for a small apartment to rent during that time, and we’ll do some work on Sanitas in the boat yard. If the Coronavirus situation improves by then and flights resume, we’d love to have the chance to fly home and visit family and friends during that time. But it’s too soon to count on it. Plus, what happens if we successfully make it back to upstate New York and then a fall second wave hits and Grenada closes borders again? We wouldn’t want to be stuck thousands of miles away from our home and all of our belongings, with no place to live and no health insurance for Covid. That feels like it would be a pretty precarious situation, and not one that our retirement savings could handle.

None of this is ideal and we really, really miss our friends and families. Keep posting all those Colorado summer mountain pictures and Florida running group pictures and crazy New York State weather pictures please! But we’ve got everything we need (if not everything we want) and we think we can make it work this summer if we can’t make it home. I hope you all are hanging in there on your Plan B or Plan C or Plan D and are staying safe and healthy and sane through these crazy times! Sending virtual hugs!