{"id":44691,"date":"2020-04-08T20:56:51","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T00:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=44691"},"modified":"2023-05-06T17:51:22","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T21:51:22","slug":"sailing-totem-cruising-the-ultimate-pandemic-prep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/story\/destinations\/sailing-totem-cruising-the-ultimate-pandemic-prep\/","title":{"rendered":"Sailing Totem: Cruising, the Ultimate Pandemic Prep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Totem\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Totem<\/em> is a floating island of self-isolation, swaying gently at anchor in Matanchen Bay\u2026the SUP is stowed, Siobhan\u2019s longboard rests on the side deck, the dinghy is hoisted; gear languishing in the face of our Coronavirus-era retreat.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

This afternoon Jamie and I tried to remember how many days since we\u2019d been ashore; without consulting a calendar or receipt, we couldn\u2019t. Not a single crewmember is phased by this. During a time of uncertainty and upheaval, gratitude provides solace, that the way we\u2019ve been living for over a decade means that some restrictive societal shifts brought by the virus are softer when experienced by a boat crew living in the margins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Delayed gratification is the norm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

In a culture conditioned to instant gratification and fast shipping to meet any need, suddenly being without that certainty must be unsettling. It\u2019s a practical reality that we often cannot source something that we would like to have. Our location may be too remote, the country we\u2019re in may not have that particular item, we may simply be away from developed world distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"fishing\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Boys fishing off a village in Madagascar; no Amazon, no supermarkets, not much of anything really.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Cruisers are accustomed to making creative substitutions, waiting the weeks or months necessary, and simply going without.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Staying at home is not a big deal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re used to being out and about, commuting, at work, dashing out for a forgotten ingredient \u2013 the sudden imposition of stay-at-home directives is surely jarring. But for cruisers, life within our tiny footprint in remote places has prepared us well to live comfortably with restricted movement. Confined to the boat for days at sea condition us well, too: confinement is wholly non-negotiable on passages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile: photo-dating determined this last gasp of socially-distant socializing, 19 days ago. Funny how even our carefully spaced cocktail hour with a friend looks tone-deaf now that stay at home direction is the norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re accustomed to stretches of restricted socializing. Breaking up a passage with celebrations (halfway cake, Equator party, mystery gifts) helps; being respectful of the needs and sensitives of others while sharing a small space does, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Accustomed to keeping connected from afar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

One of the hardest parts of cruising, especially in the beginning, is being far from loved ones we\u2019ve left behind. Tech tools to maintain contact help: my mother learned how to use email in 2008 so that we could stay in touch more easily. A few days ago, we had an extended family Zoom meet-up for my father\u2019s 85th birthday \u2013 a larger, if virtual, gathering of relatives for his birthday than any in some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"family <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Brady Bunch style gallery of family members catching up.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Uncertainty is unexceptional<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

The vague future coronavirus has forced on the planet \u2013 our uncertain timeline until Normal resumes \u2013 is hard to accept. Cruisers face uncertainty like this routinely. It may be wondering what the welcome will be like upon landfall at a remote island, where the language is unknown to our ears. It is the uncertainty of a weather forecast, always capricious beyond a near-term window and yet a very real impact to our immediate comfort and safety. If this encompassing uncertainty left us feeling unmoored, we wouldn\u2019t be cruising. Instead, it has surely inured us to an element of the stress around today\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Stocking up is a fact of life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve had to stock up the boat knowing it will literally be months until we can go to a store, and no, we don\u2019t catch fish that much. Our deepest provisioning has been not just for passages, but remote areas: if you forget something\u2026 too bad! Make do, or go without. I was able to do our provisioning on the fly with minimal planning thanks to my meal-list method (see Provisioning for a Pandemic<\/a>) \u2013 but had I done my expected, detailed-spreadsheet version it wouldn\u2019t have looked terribly different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Namibia\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Provisioning in Namibia: not a lot of options from South Africa (January) to Connecticut (June) in 2016.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t just stock up on food \u2013 we have to, well, disinfect it too. I was yanked from complacency about soaking a stalk with dozens of bananas after having a stowaway scorpion bite me in Papua New Guinea! But the bleach-water dip, the shedding of packaging, is also part of our habits to stay pest free aboard \u2013 and it works well for virus risk mitigation, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

No schedule? No problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

Our lives have no routine except that which we impose. Cruisers rarely wear watches for that reason: it just doesn\u2019t matter. But for the unaccustomed, the lack of a schedule risks sliding into boredom. Families are hit the hardest as parents are suddenly faced with remote working AND homeschooling AND childcare \u2013 an impossible task in good times. It must be especially disconcerting for kids who typically have highly structured days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

One of the great gifts cruising provides families is that kids, by necessity, learn how to deal with being bored on their own. Sure, we help with tactics as parents \u2013 but largely, kids learned to entertain themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Playing <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Deeply engaged in imaginative play, somewhere in the Pacific ocean.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Everyday life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

Quite a few other habits align well with shifts in the time of coronavirus; this is just a smattering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n