Scrabble to beat border closures

It was not just organised events that were hit by border restrictions being imposed around the world in March. Unknown but sizeable numbers of independent cruisers were at sea and suddenly found themselves in danger of becoming refugees.

Among them were the 30 crews taking part in the World ARC rally, who were on passage on the rally’s longest leg, 3,000 miles between the Galapagos Islands and the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. (See Dan Bower’s account, above.) But before they could arrive French Polynesia had sealed its borders and organisers in Cowes were faced with the task of persuading the French Polynesia High Commission to allow the rally entry.

Some yachts made landfall on the island of Nuka Hiva, Marquesas, while others continued onwards for 700 miles to Pape’ete, Tahiti, or to other destinations which were still accepting yachts, inclu 0ding Fiji and Hawaii.

Crews sailing in the Caribbean were also sent scrambling for a port of entry and diminishing options for flights home.

“There are few if any yacht movements in the Eastern Caribbean now,” comments Sally Erdle, editor of Caribbean Compass. “After an initial flurry of confusion cruisers are by now either sheltering in place or have found a place to leave the boat and flown home. Things vary from island to island. In Carriacou, for example, currently nobody is allowed to leave their boats to go ashore at all. Here in St Vincent and the Grenadines yachties are free as birds – unless they’ve recently been in the US, UK or EU, and then it’s a 14-day self-quarantine on the boat.”