Well, I was as surprised as anyone. My brother, his friend Ricardo, and I cast off from Fort Lauderdale, FL on March 11, 2020. We flew into Ft Lauderdale the day before using what was then the appropriate precautions. A few people wore masks on the plane. Social distancing had not yet been called for. I was planning on flying home from Charleston, SC in a few days following our 500 mile offshore passage. When we pulled out of Port Everglades we immediately set our course to get us out into the middle of the Gulfstream. Celtic Cross cruises very comfortably at about 6-7 knots. That became 10-11 knots when the Gulfstream current kicked us in the rear. We were flying! Or at least relatively so if you allow that a fast runner can leave Celtic Cross in his/her rearview mirror.
We pulled in for a quick overnight in Brunswick, GA to fill our diesel tank and prove to the Florida tax authority that we actually left Florida. The next morning we were on our way north again. Our only serious incident came when I was filming from the foredeck and I had a disagreement with the windlass. The windlass won. My iPhone went overboard and I came away with a 2 inch gash on my forehead. Location services, by the way, just do not work all that well in 250 fathoms of water. My old iPhone currently resides about 40 miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral and will remain there for eternity.
We were ghosting in to Charleston, SC around o500 hours Sunday morning in a heavy fog when my (now new) iPhone pinged with an email download after a couple of days of receiving nothing. It was obvious that things had really changed while we were at sea. Once onshore, and after talking to a few folks we began to understand that we were done sailing for a while. I had planned on leaving Celtic Cross in Charleston until early April and then making another long offshore passage north to Annapolis. However, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York are Covid-19 hotbeds and not some place we want to sail to willingly. The decision is to park Celtic Cross in Charleston indefinitely until such time as the virus threat subsides and we can once again travel safely.
If I had to hazard a guess, it will be late May before I can safely travel to South Carolina and even think about sailing once again. the voyage may turn into a summer vacation or two in the best of circumstances. Or… perhaps Celtic Cross remains in Charleston for the next year. The sailing in the area is outstanding and it is certainly not the worst place to berth a boat. Now, if anyone reading this happens to be in Charleston, SC over the next several months, let me know! I will always be looking for opportunities to sail..