Antigua and Barbuda have been on a 24 curfew since the 2nd. It was set to expire in one week, but with more cases popping up, it will most likely be extended. There are currently 15 confirmed infected. Before the curfew began there was a surge at the store with a line over 200 people waiting to shop without any distancing so we decided to make do with what we had for a week. You are allowed to go to the store for what they call emergencies which we will assume includes purchasing food and supplies when needed. Boats are also not allowed to change anchorages without coast guard approval. Next week we will attempt to get some provisions ashore and refill a propane bottle. Our average day has been researching the closure status and rules in nearby islands, figuring out options of next ports, working on boat projects, and the normal chores. The only island(s) we could possibly sail to that are open are the USVI’s. The USVI is packed with boats and has 40 cases and growing so it might not be a good option. Unlike the US, all these islands have very limited resources and we predict the closures to now remain into hurricane season. The stars are therefore aligning for Renegade to return to the US sometime in the next few months. We have been researching our options on US destinations because most marinas are closed as non-essential businesses and many of the marinas open in the southeast have little dock space because their winter visitors are not yet leaving due to the virus. Flotillas are organized back to the US starting next week. Our plan is to wait for the infection curve to trend down in the US before departing. Arriving in the US with minimal provisions and fuel with no facilities open after a 10 day passage does not sound to good. The journey itself will be a little tougher than normal because the Bahamas are currently not allowing overnight rest stops (not going ashore) at their islands and will not even allow boats in transit into their territorial waters. This among other safety conveniences currently means you cannot use the Santaren Channel which puts unnecessary miles on the trip. There are a lot of double handed crews down here much older than us with no way to fly in crew to help them get back to the US. We hope rules like the Bahamas that do not have much relation to virus mitigation change before we depart. We will keep our ears to the ground and hope you stay safe.
