{"id":43950,"date":"2020-11-03T17:36:45","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T22:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=43950"},"modified":"2023-05-06T17:43:20","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T21:43:20","slug":"sailing-totem-where-border-crossing-is-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/story\/people\/sailing-totem-where-border-crossing-is-easy\/","title":{"rendered":"Sailing Totem: Where Border Crossing is Easy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Ready <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The road trip begins!<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

The tyranny of the sock has returned to our crew. We have road tripped from Mexico back to the Pacific Northwest, and it is cold! Family pulled us back; we\u2019ll spend most of the month of November back on Bainbridge Island with my father. Our travels were unfettered, and border crossing easy. We had over a thousand road miles to contemplate this freedom, as border crossing is complicated by COVID in so much of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Getting into the USA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

During October, we drove north to Phoenix twice from where Totem is hauled at the Cabrales Boatyard in Puerto Pe\u00f1asco. Clearance (for US passport holders) is a breeze; never more than a few minutes wait at the Sonoyta\/Lukeville border. CPB checks passports, has a couple of questions about our home and our plans, then waves us through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

What about boats: can they get in as easily? Not a single boat we know of has been turned away. Officially, boats arriving from specific COVID hotspots and Schengen (most EU) countries are barred from arrival. But that\u2019s arriving from those countries, vs vessel flagged \/ crew being nationals of those countries. But homework is required for non-US-flagged boats, because some ports (e.g., Miami) have reportedly not issued cruising permits. US border restrictions are not uniformly applied on land or sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Lukeville, <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Looking at the US wall for the border crossing at Lukeville, AZ<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Getting back to Mexico<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

Driving over the border is even simpler. This corner of Sonora where Totem is parked is a tourist zone, so unless we get the unlucky red light at the border\u2014meaning, pull over for a customs inspection\u2014we drive right through with a wave to the official. No passport checks. No questions. Nothing. \u00a1Bienvenido a M\u00e9xico! Will it be as easy later in November, when we return? One hopes. As a precaution, we have the port captain\u2019s clearance and Totem\u2019s vessel documentation; I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

For boats, Mexico has never closed to cruising arrivals at any time during the pandemic. Repeat: Mexico has never closed to arriving boats during the pandemic. For some reason, there is misconception swirling around this\u2014at least three people in the last few weeks expressed their perception that boats could not enter Mexico. WRONG, and not just now, but at any time so far this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

On the road<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

The road trip was a rush north in some ways: the raisons d’\u00eatre for our visit is to be with my dad for surgery, and spend time with him. When the date was moved up, so was our travel timeline. The procedure is minor, but what\u2019s minor when you\u2019re 85? The time with him is because we can: in the current pandemic environment, I don\u2019t feel comfortable flying. Not for my father (who would love to return to visit us in La Cruz again), not for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Dia <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n I\u2019m sorry to be missing Dia de Muertos this year.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

For our teen daughters, it\u2019s first time they\u2019ve traveled to spend time in the States since\u2026 I have to think about it, for a minute. While Jamie and I have had a few trips, it\u2019s been about two years for them. Culture shock is real. \u201cEveryone is going so fast!\u201d Well, our life is definitely one of slow travel and slow mode. Our reverse culture shock sinks in, tempered by rolling landscape, spiked with occasional hostility\u2014like the gas station attendant in Oregon telling a coworker who upset a customer she \u201cshould have coughed on them.\u201d We found another gas station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

COVID-era road tripping<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

Safety: check.<\/i> My dad\u2019s age and health mean we have to be careful not to bring a virus to his doorstep. Forced by our return to civilization in Pe\u00f1asco to think through precautions and risk mitigation, we had a good warmup for traveling. In the car with a duffle of clothes and tote bags of gear was a trug for tools of the COVID trip: gloves, KN95 masks, hand sanitizer, alcohol spray, wipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Food: check.<\/i> We anticipated avoiding restaurants. Just enough snacks (trail mix in bulk, wasabi peas). Water bottles. A bag of apples and loaves of sliced bread with jars of jam and peanut butter would make meals on the go. Except\u2026 I forgot a utensil for the spreads. FAIL! Lunch on day one was Cheetos and apples instead, but the kind of in appropriate treat to appreciate? And then there was the irresistible (for me) lure of In-n-Out burger\u2019s drive-thru\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Entertainment: check<\/i>. Mairen and Siobhan were in charge of the mixtape and podcasts. We sank into the gory history of royals in Noble Blood<\/a>, paired that with a musical about Henry VIII\u2019s wives, and listened to a bare minimum of news while the scenery rolled by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Nature\u2019s call: check<\/i>. This is a tad more complicated for our women passengers, so to the horror (but function) of our daughters I bought a \u201curinary device for women\u201d called pStyle<\/a> for easy, standing relief. Recommended by a friend\u2026 and a winner. I\u2019m entirely uninterested in braving public restrooms right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Friends and touring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

As soon as plans to road trip north were made, Jamie and I saw this as an opportunity to visit our mentor. Jim Jessie lives aboard in Alameda, CA, and we haven\u2019t seen Jimmy since he and his late wife Diana visited Totem in Zihuatenejo\u2026more than TEN years ago. Much too long! Jamie first met them aboard their Lapworth 48 Nalu IV<\/i> on the docks of Dubrovnik, then Yugoslavia, in 1986\u2026the beginning of a long friendship. Their invaluable support and guidance inspire the coaching work we do today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"James <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n James and James; masks ripped off for a quick snap at the end of our visit.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Delta\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n On the back of Nalu<\/em> in the Delta; summer 2006.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

I grew up in a few localities, but San Francisco and the northern California landscape are cemented as my homeplace. The girls don\u2019t remember much from when we passed through on Totem<\/i> in 2008; this was a priceless opportunity to share some history. After bidding farewell to Jim, we came over the Bay Bridge (whoa, it\u2019s DIFFERENT now!) into the city. Admiring the skyline and bay views on our way to Yerba Buena island, I began my family brainwashing program: \u201cthis is the most beautiful city in the world!\u201d Winding through neighborhoods, down Lombard\u2019s hairpin curves, around the corner at the bottom to drive by my childhood home on Chestnut Street. I wanted to ring the doorbell, but it wasn\u2019t the time, and not just because of the tears in my eyes! I had countless flashes of nostalgia: where I went to my first movie, a childhood friend\u2019s home, streets and neighborhoods that color the quilt of my early life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"San <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n SUCH A TOURIST! Irony: I used to give tourists directions daily when walking the dog here.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"San <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Home sweet former home.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

My only regret was that we couldn\u2019t spend more time, to check in and find a way to connect with old friends. Fortunate to intersect with a few. Possibly on the way south? Our plans are indefinite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Marin <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Marin headlands in a late afternoon glow, they acknowledged that Yes, It Is Beautiful.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Such are COVID era plans: indefinite. Our border crossings were simple, and this seems likely to continue between the USA and Mexico. Our goal to return to the South Pacific remains, but for 2021\u2026 it\u2019s indefinite. French Polynesia remains accessible to boats, and Fiji has opened, but\u2026 then what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"covid <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n French Polynesia cases<\/span>\n Source: Worldometers.info<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Australia and New Zealand shut their doors hard. Heading to Hawaii for hurricane season is an option, but an unattractive one to us. Plenty can change between now and the optimal window to depart next spring, but with cases in French Poly taking off again and winter virus trends more likely to be worse instead of better (this from your resident optimist), we think the South Pac is off the menu for next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

NEXT WEEKEND<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

Join us for TOTEM TALKS: the Shipyard Checklist. Next Saturday\u2019s livestream talks about what we\u2019re doing… and not, and how to avoid hardstand heartache! 10am Pacific \/ 1pm Eastern; Register here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"toy <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Shipyard Checklist<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

NOVEMBER 15<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Behan presents the Women\u2019s Sailing Seminar keynote, on the last of three days of classes and interactive sessions; there\u2019s something for every level of sailing experience. Join the full event (Nov 13-15)!  Details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Totem<\/em> crew reflects on life and travel in a time of COVID during an epic road trip north.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Cruising World Staff","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20201103","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"165","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The Totem crew heads north to visit family in the US and has time to think about life, travel and future plans.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"1","arc_story_id":"BJBLXDAXWJADHACF4SPY2I2F7E","arc_website_url":"story\/people\/sailing-totem-where-border-crossing-is-easy\/","custom_permalink":"story\/people\/sailing-totem-where-border-crossing-is-easy\/","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":true,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[800,1472,283,197,182],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43950"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}