Up until now, we seem to have been staying one step ahead of the wave of closures. Each county we pass through has been putting new ordinances in place such as as closing marinas and beaches to lessen the threat of spreading the virus, particularly aimed at spring breakers and non-compliant party-boaters.
Our SCUBA outing at John Pennekamp State Park was canceled due to the Corona Virus, which was fine by us. Breathing into rented regulators didn’t seem all that appealing anyway. Instead, we took Sea C out to the reef and did some snorkeling.
When we left the keys we had an inkling things were a-changin’ but had no idea to what extent. We have made a big effort to do our part in social distancing. Over the past 11 days we have only been in 2 marinas – both of which have had reduced or no staff, increased disinfecting rules, have limited # of people in laundry room to 1, and provided very little if any face to face contact with people. The other nights we spent in different ways, on a free wall at the ends of the earth at Boca Chita : maximum exposure = a dozen people, alone on a ball in a mooring field, and 7 nights at anchor. Having provisioned for the Bahamas, we’ve had more than enough food, snacks and water, making this an easy choice for now.
There are still those random groups of boat party people occupying the inviting sandbars off the ICW. Many of the groups are young adults (off of school!) cruising in dad’s boat.
When we arrive at a destination we still go ashore to see the town. All the bars are closed, most shops are closed, and only a few restaurants are offering take out. There is no live music, festivals nor events. We see a random tourist wandering, the police out in force on bike, squad car or segway or even horses (Ft Lauderdale). The towns are typically eerily quiet and we are able to bike through normally busy tourist areas unhindered. The small business owners that are open are super courteous and following healthy protocol & they are very thankful for our business.
As far as our coming plans for our loop – not much has changed other than timing. We hoped to still continue north & get out to see the towns but much of the experience is lost when everything is closed. With all the rich east coast American history in front of us, we don’t want to hurry past it all. Many previous Loopers say that if there is one thing they would change about their loop it would be to slow down and do it in 2 years. We are now beginning to feel like we are racing past things we would take an extra day to enjoy if they were open. Since there is so much uncertainty, and for the sake of our and others health, we’ve decided to dock the dock boat in Jacksonville, FL for now. Each day seems to bring new news, our future plans will be determined by the coming days new news.
Loopin' with Mike n Pam 