Covid trapped

IN early February 2020, after spending a couple of years cruising around South East Asia, Frank and I sailed from Phuket in Thailand to Kochi in India on board our Freedom 39ft schooner Stars End 2. We hoped to spend at least a year in the country, soaking up the culture and enjoying some land travel, with the idea of later continuing on to Africa.

Kochi is a bustling city where the sights and sounds pervade your senses. The disorganised chaos on the roads is mind boggling. It is total pandemonium as trucks, buses, cars, bikes and local tuk-tuks, all with horns blaring, compete in a death-defying total disregard for personal safety to gain mere inches of headway in the never-ending traffic jams.

Nevertheless, we loved our first few weeks in India and were entranced by the vibrant colours of the architecture, the temples, the delicious aromatic food, the bustling markets and the friendly smiling faces of the people. I was entranced by the Indian women, resplendent in their embellished saris that transformed from young to old into the stunning embodiment of femininity.

We managed a couple of sightseeing trips as far as Goa, 750 miles to the north, but by early March we were becoming concerned at the news of the coronavirus, which was rapidly spreading throughout the world. Especially when Kochi confirmed its first few cases of Covid-19 and residents were advised to stay home.

We had already booked to fly back to Brisbane in late April in time for the birth of a new grandchild, but on March 16th the call came for all overseas Australians to make their way home by whatever means possible.

We realised things were moving fast and, if we wanted to leave, we would need to fly back sooner than our booked flights, but we were also worried that returning to Stars End 2later on could be fraught with unknown problems.

There were obvious ramifications if the virulent Covid-19 hit such an overpopulated third world country like India where they would not have the infrastructure or hospitals to deal with a pandemic. If we stayed, we could end up in lockdown on our yacht throughout the oppressive monsoon season with heavy rain and stifling humidity.

Frank and I concluded that our safest option was to stay with Stars End 2, remaining isolated and self-sufficient as much as possible. We felt a strong pull to head home to Australia and our family and this became the overriding factor in our decision to abandon our previous plans and to leave India.

With news of depleting supermarket shelves overseas, I had already taken the precaution to optimise our provisioning on board Stars End 2, so we were well stocked with tins and dry goods enough for several months.

We could not easily sail back to SE Asia, as the winds were against us. However the Maldives, 260 miles southwest of India, was still open and an easy run. We could stay there until the north west trade winds arrived in May and then continue eastwards.

We spent days procrastinating, but once the decision was made, we moved fast.

On Sunday night we filled out the visa applications, cruising permits and paperwork and emailed them to our agent in the Maldives. We then spent a hectic 24 hours putting Stars End 2 back into working order and, on Tuesday 17th March 2020, we cleared out of India.

It was with mixed feelings and not without some trepidation that we sailed out of Kochi harbour. We felt we had made the best choice for us, but we were sad to leave and knew we could be facing quite a few challenges over the coming weeks.

The run to Uligan, the northernmost island in the Maldives was an uneventful, though slow run. The wind died within a few hours and we had to motor sail the entire way.

It did not help that our progress was slowed due to a blockage in the fuel line, which caused the engine to keep stopping. Each time, Frank had to disconnect the fuel lines, clear the blockage and then reconnect before we could continue.

We were unable to use our satellite phone within 200 miles of India, a stringent regulation that had already landed us in deep trouble when we first cleared into Kochi. So, we were relieved to hear back from our