{"id":44103,"date":"2020-09-23T20:34:43","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T00:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=44103"},"modified":"2023-05-06T17:44:55","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T21:44:55","slug":"cruising-in-quarantine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/story\/destinations\/cruising-in-quarantine\/","title":{"rendered":"Cruising in Quarantine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Bahia <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n While not large, the area around Bahia Chamela turned out to have plenty to offer as a quarantine home.<\/span>\n Andy Cross <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

As Yahtzee<\/i>\u2019s anchor bounces up into the roller, the bow slides to leeward with the gentle push of a warm 10-knot breeze blowing off a small beach town. When the wind is abeam, I unfurl the genoa with a snap and trim for a reach. Taking a seat at the helm, I steer for our destination, which is visible over a blue pane of water just 3 miles south. Down below, the boys, Porter, 7, and Magnus, 5, read books, and my wife, Jill, soon joins me to relax in the cockpit for the lazy sail to our next anchorage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

With COVID-19<\/a> restrictions now the norm, we\u2019re entering week number eight of \u201cCruising in Place\u201d and have once again completed our weekly provisioning run. When the uncertainty of coronavirus regulations swept through Mexico<\/a> in March and April, cruisers scrambled to put their boats on the hard or find places to quarantine. We joined good friends on another kid boat in Bahia Chamela on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and Punta Perula\u2014the small beach town at the north end of the bay\u2014has become our haven to get the essentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Being aware of the delicate situation and our good fortune to be here, though, we try not to be a burden on the town or its residents. Our typical stop includes an overnight or two in the anchorage near town, and then a quick jaunt in for food. Topped up, we then sail south into the bay\u2019s secluded islands and drop the hook in one of several anchorages available to us. Rinse and repeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Off <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Secluded anchorages close to a small town and coastline to explore, all just a quick sail away.<\/span>\n Andy Cross <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

After consistently being on the move while sailing south from Alaska over the past year, we\u2019ve rarely stayed in one place for long\u2026until now. And our hunch that Bahia Chamela would be a suitable place to hit the brakes has fortunately come to fruition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Going on month number three of calling this 8-by-5-mile section of sparsely populated coast our cruising quarantine home, our life has slowed considerably. Week after week, we\u2019ve fallen into simple routines: cooking, baking, reading, writing, playing games, surfing, fishing, swimming and helping the boys with their schoolwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Like many people who are adjusting to these new circumstances, cruisers included, taking an extended pause has been an abrupt change for us. Albeit, not necessarily a bad one. Sailing far fewer miles than we\u2019re used to has allowed us to gain a new perspective on cruising, and life in general, and has been a welcome respite at times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

To be sure, the precariousness here and around the world has caused a level of anxiety that is hard to shake. But we continually remind ourselves how grateful we are to have found this place. In a way, free of hustle and bustle, it\u2019s how life should be. Now more than ever, the two months we\u2019ve spent in the bay have taught us not to take this time together, or our spot in the world, for granted. We\u2019re just thankful to be here safe with each other.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a young family takes a break from long voyages and finds joy staying put in a small bay in Mexico.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Andy Cross","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20200923","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"162","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Due to pandemic restrictions, a voyaging family slows down and learns to love \"cruising in place\" in a small area in Mexico.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"LEEB67UDUJB6DNMVALMBLNRGZI","arc_website_url":"story\/destinations\/cruising-in-quarantine\/","custom_permalink":"story\/destinations\/cruising-in-quarantine\/","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"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":[162],"tags":[1335,252,205,283,272],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44103"}],"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=44103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}