Forced to change plans - where to go now?

[smj]

Originally Posted by dwedeking2

pfffff what florida is doing. more money comes from outside of florida to the keys. if they're scared keys are dead.

Yes, the Keys at this point is economically dead

[masonc]

Please, US cruisers, stay in the US, don't come near the Caribbean. There Governments here are very nervous about boaters and want them to leave, with no where to go. It's going to get nasty when the virus hits. A hurricane will throw everything into chaos.
The Government of Anguilla has hired a plane to hunt down boats going to and from St. Maarten, I'm afraid to use my own boat and I'm local.
My advice is to park your boat on the hard and find a quiet place to weather the storm. It's going to be a rough year for everyone, don't get caught out.

[HuR]

Maryland just closed to any form of sailing, and others are surely soon behind. This is not going away quickly. My own boat is stuck in Panama, I just got out before they closed the airport in mid-March. My cruising dreams, just starting having bought the boat recently, are on hold for the foreseeable future.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, HuR.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by smj

Yes, the Keys at this point is economically dead

The Keys now have cases of Coronavirus. Like most of Florida.

[smj]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

The Keys now have cases of Coronavirus. Like most of Florida.

Yes, 27 cases

[Augi]

Originally Posted by apirate

This is our first year cruising. We left Texas with a loose plan to go to the Bahamas first and then spend the summer in luperon DR. We made it to Boot Key Harbor in the Florida keys and, until COVID-19 sprang up, have been waiting for a weather window to cross.

We’re now cruising the out islands of the keys and starting to discuss where we go from here. Our preference would be to be in a hurricane hole or outside of the box for summer. Places we can anchor and stay out of marinas. With countries closing borders it seems traveling north along the the US east coast would be prudent rather than going south.

My question is for recommendations where to go. We’ve never considered going north before. Any ideas?

Checkout Rio Dulce, Guatemala. Excellent Hurricane Hole(25 miles inland). Good marinas and boat yards, good prices. Even has a West Marine outlet. Lots of cruisers like you. Some good hotels and restaurants(when not closed due to COVID-19).

The new President(inaugurated in Jan is an MD) and has caught COVID-19 early. So far only 47 reported cases and 1 death. However, the country is on a very strict lock down and the borders are closed. Not sure if you can enter the country by boat at Rio Dulce/Livingston at the moment. If they let you enter you may have to stay on the boat for 14 days and pass two tests at least 24 hours apart before going ashore.

If if there are 5-10 times unreported cases of COVID-19 as reported cases in Guatemala which apparently is what is being estimated as the situation around the World it looks like Guatemala will avoid the worst of COVID-19. The President is saying he is going to have enough tests soon to test the entire population on intervals. Having testing on intervals for the entire population ultimately is the way to defeat the virus before there is an effective treatment or vaccine.

Entering the mouth of the Rio Dulce River is tricky with more than 5'-6' draft. The sand bars are always changing. You need the help of a local to guide you. But is easy to arrange.

If they let you in the country Rio Dulce would be a good place to ride out COVID-19 and hurricane season even if you had to quarantine on board for 14 days. You could probably arrange for locals to bring you provisions, etc. while in quarantine on board.

[Sailmonkey]

[QUOTE=Augi;3108268]Checkout Rio Dulce, Guatemala. Excellent Hurricane Hole(25 miles inland). Good marinas and boat yards, good prices. Even has a West Marine outlet. Lots of cruisers like you. Some good hotels and restaurants(when not closed due to COVID-19).


Except the whole country is currently closed to vessels entering.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Augi

Checkout Rio Dulce, Guatemala. Excellent Hurricane Hole(25 miles inland). Good marinas and boat yards, good prices. Even has a West Marine outlet. Lots of cruisers like you. Some good hotels and restaurants(when not closed due to COVID-19).

The new President(inaugurated in Jan is an MD) and has caught COVID-19 early. So far only 47 reported cases and 1 death. However, the country is on a very strict lock down and the borders are closed. Not sure if you can enter the country by boat at Rio Dulce/Livingston at the moment. If they let you enter you may have to stay on the boat for 14 days and pass two tests at least 24 hours apart before going ashore.

If if there are 5-10 times unreported cases of COVID-19 as reported cases in Guatemala which apparently is what is being estimated as the situation around the World it looks like Guatemala will avoid the worst of COVID-19. The President is saying he is going to have enough tests soon to test the entire population on intervals. Having testing on intervals for the entire population ultimately is the way to defeat the virus before there is an effective treatment or vaccine.

Entering the mouth of the Rio Dulce River is tricky with more than 5'-6' draft. The sand bars are always changing. You need the help of a local to guide you. But is easy to arrange.

If they let you in the country Rio Dulce would be a good place to ride out COVID-19 and hurricane season even if you had to quarantine on board for 14 days. You could probably arrange for locals to bring you provisions, etc. while in quarantine on board.

My understanding is that Guate is closed to receational vessels now, so how would they get in (regardless of draft)?

[carlwk3c]

Originally Posted by chuckr

Why not north along the EC of the USA any idea how long it is? See something that you would not otherwise experience .. but what is your mast height ..
There is really a lot to see and do and your insurance company will appreciate it .. and what insurance co would let you stay in the DR for hurricane without a huge premium

We stayed in Luperón for 2 hurricane seasons. It’s probably the best hurricane hole in the Caribbean as far as a well protected harbor.
BUT, the DR is CLOSED and having huge problems with CV, and will almost certainly get worse.
If I was in the OP’s position, I’d look for a secure place along the gulf coast or perhaps up a river in GA or the Carolinas I saw something yesterday that the Chesapeake Bay is closed to all.non commercial boat traffic, and NY and NJ are major virus hotspots.
This is not the time for cruising, but for finding a secure place to hunker down and isolate.
(We are in Grenada, under 24 hr curfew. The country is CLOSED to new entries, and nobody is allowed to leave their homes/boats except for medical emergencies and limited ESSENTIAL food shopping M, W, F between 8am-12 noon. All of the other islands have similar restrictions, and the authorities are arresting those who violate the emergency curfews.)

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

My understanding is that Guate is closed to receational vessels now, so how would they get in (regardless of draft)?

They are very closed as in totally shut down and they will likely stay that way for quite a while yet. Remove that idea from your list

[Happ]

Originally Posted by chuckr

Why not north along the EC of the USA any idea how long it is? See something that you would not otherwise experience .. but what is your mast height ..
There is really a lot to see and do and your insurance company will appreciate it .. and what insurance co would let you stay in the DR for hurricane without a huge premium

The East Coast is getting more difficult to go up and down. Marinas and even some harbors are closed. I heard Oriental NC free dock is open I think for only 48 hours at a time but the new regulation is you can’t leave the dock. Beaufort NC has closed their docks to transients unless you will stay 60 days.

[PTeinert02]

If you haven"t cruised and explored the West, Gulf Coast of Mexico you should. There are some beautiful and exciting locations from Brownsville, Texas to Alabama. Being near your home port and the ICW, you will also have more options during hurricane season.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by HuR

Maryland just closed to any form of sailing, and others are surely soon behind. This is not going away quickly. My own boat is stuck in Panama, I just got out before they closed the airport in mid-March. My cruising dreams, just starting having bought the boat recently, are on hold for the foreseeable future.

Correct. Gov. Hogan's executive order last week prohibited recreational boating. MD DNR regulation followed immediately with announcement of strong enforcement. As so often the case Gov Northam followed suit a couple of days later. Both MD and VA waters of the Chesapeake are effectively closed to recreational boating.

[RoseLoper48]

Going north is a great option. We spent the last two years cruising the US Easy Coast from Florida to Maine. We anchor out 99 o/o of the time. Maine was our favorite. Rockland was a good base for provisioning.