Passage Planning in the Time of Covid

While we are enjoying our mid-summer cruising time and vacations on our boats, plans for the fall for those heading south for the winter are rapidly taking shape. The big question looming for all of us is where will we be with the pandemic and how will that affect our plans? The new surge in delta virus infections is causing a total rethink on policies in every aspect of public life and requirements for masking, social distancing and vaccines are in flux. Looking at what’s going on in Mexico and the Caribbean, many nations are reporting high infection rates and high ICU occupancy and this is going to affect their regulations for visiting cruisers, although as of this week not a lot has been declared on national travel advisory websites. The U.S. State Department is warning that the surge of the delta virus is a high risk throughout the region. In my book, it is a safe bet that many nations will require visitors to be vaccinated. So, here’s our take, as of this week, of what to do. Plan to sail south and plan to protect yourself and crew with a full course of vaccines. If you are already vaccinated, then check on the availability of a booster. If you have children over 12, get them vaccinated. If you have children under 12, check to see if they will be able to get vaccinated before a fall departure since the CDC is hinting that this might be the case. If not, it’s probably not worth the risk of them getting covid in a third world country. For those who can’t or won’t get vaccinated, this probably is not the year to sail south to countries where the virus is surging. Cruising south in the time of covid is complicated, but getting vaccinated is the best option for you and for the host countries you want to visit.