Hi Family and Friends! Sonrisa and her crew safely arrived in the Maldives on March 12 and the Maldivian authorities placed all incoming sailors in a ten day quarantine. Then, we gained internet and discovered all of the major changes across the world happening with regard to Covid19. We saw photos of all the shops in the US devoid of toilet paper and, reasonably, I think, employed the Sea Lion to guard our stash!
All humor aside, we are grateful to the Maldivian authorities for being good hosts, welcoming us rather than closing their port and turning us away, implementing wise but measured action ordering us to remain isolated in the anchorage and doing what they must to protect their own people. We are fine and happy aboard Sonrisa, even though we feel uncertainty about the viability of our sailing routes this year given border closures. Sonrisa is her own little quarantine pod as all blue water sailboats should be. When sailing thousands of miles offshore it's already necessary to carry water, food and supplies for survival, so we will be just fine as long as the Maldives remains willing to allow us safe port.
For what it's worth:
We are thinking about everyone on land, and hoping that our country (indeed, the world) as a whole can find away through the obvious anger and fear I see circulating on Facebook to take wise actions to minimize harm, but also breathe and find solace in the beautiful things of life. I've learned a few things over the last four years about surviving through my fear when Andrew, Sonrisa, (now, Kitty!) and I are alone at sea, thousands of miles away from anyone who can help us. From those experiences, I know we can only sit in fear and panic for so long before our hearts and eyes shut to anything good. And that's no way to survive something that scares us. That is when we alienate the members of our team, increase negativity, and fail to look for and see all the strengths we have to put to use in fighting whatever problems face us. I have to ask myself the most basic questions: Am I warm and dry right now? Is Sonrisa afloat? Am I safe right now? When those three questions are "yes" then I can ask "is there anything else I can be doing differently to ensure that remains the case?" And then if it makes sense, we do that. Once that answer is "no" then it is my job to keep and wait for conditions to change that require my response again. I must do my best to enjoy the moon glistening over the rolling ocean, and keep my watch as I promised to do.
Our teams need us to keep our heads, now. We need to stay aware and to move wisely with changing realities. I know all of us are doing our best. And we are all grappling those ever important questions of the safety of our loved ones versus protection of our freedom and livelihoods. Both of these concerns are important, but as I look at all the news and photos and Facebook posts I see the risk that either panic or condescension for others' fear runs as great a risk of sinking humanity's ship as the virus itself. Be wise, be strong, and help in the ways you can. This too shall pass.