Every summer, Simon Currin and his wife, Sally, spend six or seven weeks cruising. In 2015, they left Scotland in their Swedish-built CR 480DS and in the summers since they have sailed to the Faeroes, north-east Greenland, Labrador, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
When they hauled their boat out in Canada at the end of last year, they thought they’d be back for a leisurely cruise along the eastern seaboard of the US this summer. It never happened, and they’re not sure when they will next be able to get on board their yacht, let alone make longer sailing plans.
“Until the provincial travel restrictions in Nova Scotia are lifted we can’t set foot on our boat,” Currin says.
“We are hoping to get back next June, but with a new six-month semi-official lockdown in the UK I’m becoming more sceptical. Even if we did launch, foreign boats are treated as in transit so we can only sail if we are coming back to the UK.”
Robert Walston’s boat lies closer to home in the UK, but his plan – some two years in the making – to take the winter off and cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean has also had to be shelved.
“I could have gone anyway, but I think our scope to sail round the islands will be too restricted, and it’s all too uncertain. Anyway, my business needs my attention. I’ll think again next year,” he ponders.
Currin and Walston are among many boat owners across the world whose plans are in limbo. Spending holidays on board, or longer, is the whole point of having a yacht. Without that option, what now? Can you really make plans for next year, and what could they be?
‘Can you really make plans for next year?’
Denne historien er fra December 2020-utgaven av Yachting World.
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Denne historien er fra December 2020-utgaven av Yachting World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
5 EXPERT TIPS BOB BEGGS ON SAILING IN COLD WEATHER
As temperatures drop, Andy Rice gets tips on how to handle the cold from self-confessed Arctic weather fan and winning Clipper Round the World Race skipper Bob Beggs
SPECIAL REPORT EXTENDED CRUISING IN THE BALTIC
Sweden offers cruisers a warm welcome for winter - Janneke Kuysters has advice on how to boost your sailing time in the region
NIKKI HENDERSON
SEARCHING FOR MORE SPEED? BEFORE TINKERING WITH TINY ADJUSTMENTS, MAKE SURE YOU'VE GOT THE BASICS RIGHT THE POWER DRIVING THE BOAT
MATTHEW SHEAHAN
WHAT WILL THE BOATS OF THE 38TH AMERICA'S CUP LOOK LIKE? THAT'S THE $20 MILLION QUESTION IF BRITAIN OR NEW ZEALAND DECIDE TO DEPART FROM THE AC75
60-knot squalls hit Middle Sea Race
The 45th running of the Mediterranean offshore, the Rolex Middle Sea Race, saw a spectacularly random mix of conditions - even for a race which is famed for its variable weather patterns.
Italy win first Women's Cup
The first ever Women's America's Cup was won by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli after a single, twoboat shoot-out final on 12 October.
'Three-peat' for ETNZ
As Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand came into this year's 37th America's Cup as clear favourites. But the Kiwi camp has far more than just the structural advantage of being the ones that wrote the Protocol for the competition, and the originators of the AC75 concept.
ROOM WITH A VIEW
SWEDISH DESIGNER GABRIEL HEYMAN POURED A LIFETIME OF IDEAS INTO THIS PILOT SALOON CRUISER, WHICH INCLUDES ARGUABLY THE LARGEST COCKPIT AVAILABLE AT THIS SIZE
LIVING HISTORY
THE ICONIC SEASON-CLOSING REGATTA LES VOILES DE SAINT TROPEZ WAS AN IMMERSIVE HISTORY LESSON FOR CROSBIE LORIMER
CHANGE OF PLAN
LEAVING AUSTRALIA, MARIANNE URTH NEVER PLANNED TO MAKE LANDFALL IN THE ISLANDS OF VANUATU, BUT THE EXPERIENCE WAS MAGICAL
