Strange Times

Ruby sailing Trinka in Dakity anchorage 

One of the regular ways to meet someone anchored near you is simply to dinghy over to their boat and strike up a conversation. Typically, as the occupants of that boat see you coming, they gather on the rail.  Sometimes they invite you up, but often in this time of social distancing we just have conversations from dinghy to boat.  I can easily spend an hour talking to someone in this way and have met some interesting people and good friends.

So when our neighbor motored over in his dinghy it seemed like a regular visit until he began with, “We have a problem.”  He proceeded to demand “Why are you here” and wanted details—where we had been, how long we had been in Culebra, etc.  He had heard, from another elderly cruiser who had dinghied over to us, that we were expecting a friend from Grenada.  At this point we had been here for over two weeks, so we were already in, presumably safe. But if we were going to tell our friends to come to Culebra, it was “going to be war.”

In a way we have to sympathize with these two men.  They’re both in the elderly group most at risk and they are far from medical care.  There are no cases on this island which has been their oasis for half a lifetime.  Someone told me the hospital here is really good and has one bed.

Their sentiment has been adopted by the governor who seems to have ordered a complete closure of Puerto Rico.  No boats, foreign or US, can enter.  This order flies in the face of what customs has been telling us, that a US flagged vessel with US citizens aboard will always be allowed to come home.  Facebook is abuzz with concerns. 

Local authority however is getting its way.  As our friend sailed in the mouth of the bay our neighbor intercepted him and alerted the police. We then got a text that he was being forced to leave.  Interestingly, police posted a picture of him on Facebook and said he left voluntarily.  The next day another boat came in, was also intercepted by our neighbor in his dinghy, but this boat was able to check in with customs (those of us who are registered can do this online)  before the police caught up with him.  That bought him one night’s stay.  The next day I saw him leaving and was told he was forced to leave.  

We are still in a beautiful spot.  We can swim and sail the dinghy.  It’s an easy trip to the grocery store and we can find other supplies, most essentially water.  Our cell phones work here which might have been a bad thing when things were ok, but it is helpful during this time. We would love to visit the rest of the island, but the rule is that we cannot move our boat.  It’s tempting to go to the USVI where boats are allowed to move and where our friend ended up.  But word is that USVI leadership is under pressure to enact similar restrictions as here.  Our three weeks here gives us credibility that we are virus free.  Relocation could subject us to quarantine in a new jurisdiction.  There’s also the advantage that boats arriving in the US from Puerto Rico do not have to clear customs in the US, but boats arriving from the USVI do.  Normally that would not be much a consideration. But these are strange times.  Any way to tip the odds in our favor could be important.  Furthermore, leaving here would likely be irreversible—they would not let us back.

At this point we are waiting for late spring which will bring milder ocean weather for our trip home. We are connecting with other boaters as well as with two organizations, the Salty Dawg Sailing Association and the Ocean Cruising Club, who can connect us with each other and with the US authorities. One unknown is where we will put the boat when we arrive. Will marinas and boat yards even be open? It may be better to arrive after April 30, after the currently proposed shutdown. We are still looking at uncertainty. Maybe it’s better to stay where we are rather than introduce more variables.