Hey guys, Andy here writing from quarantine in Sweden. In our effort to be as transparent as possible in everything we do at 59º North, we’re keeping up that philosophy in how we plan for the COVID-19 crisis. I’ve been following this closely since I got home from Colorado two weeks ago, where I was skiing with friends at Telluride. Turns out I made it just in time…seemingly overnight, the world turned upside down.
I’ve noticed that many of our friends and competitors in sailing have not taken this as seriously as I’d have expected, or at least haven’t been acknowledging it publicly. It’s foolish to think that anything ‘normal’ will happen in the sailing world over the next few months at least, and as hard as that is to admit, it’s reality and we have to deal with it now. Finally yesterday the Clipper Race announced it was postponing the rest of the current race, which will also force the delay of the NEXT race. Hopefully other sailing companies will start to face reality and do the same.
We’ve already been in direct communication with all the crew set to sail with us in 2020, and so far, it’s been an overwhelmingly supportive response, despite the fact that we basically just told them we have no idea what the eff is going to happen! Fun fact - neither does anybody else!
“You have a great business. You have a loyal customer base. We will stick with you!”
So, what follows here is that first email that we sent out to 2020 crew with our thoughts on contingency plans. This was sent just three days ago on Sunday March 15 and sadly already feels outdated…just today I’ve developed a few more contingency plans, which we’ll publish on here publicly once they’ve been shared with our staff and crew.
Until the next update, HOLD FAST!
// Andy Schell
March 15, 2020 // Sunday
TO ALL 59º NORTH 2020 CREW:
Thanks to those of you who responded to the last email with questions & comments. I have some more information to share, though unfortunately not a lot of conclusions. We want to remain as open and transparent as possible through this, given that all of us have enough to be anxious about right now, and I really don't want 59º North to add to that anxiety!
We had a Skype meeting today with our skippers to work on a few contingency plans, which I will outline below. To be clear, we have not implemented any of these plans yet, but wanted to share them with you so you know what we're thinking about and what our options are as this evolves.
Rest assured that one way or another, eventually we will resolve all this and appreciate your flexibility and support.
Here's our contingency plans:
Plan A: The 'Stick to the Schedule' Plan
This is where nothing changes and we run the schedule as planned. This is almost certainly not going to happen, but given that the first big trips don't start until end of April, we have time on our side. This is the default for now, but we are also acknowledging that it's not very realistic at this point.
Plan B: The 'Get North' Plan
This plan involves us getting both boats out of the Caribbean before hurricane season in June starts so that we at least have options to run trips up north this summer and even across the Atlantic to Europe, so that our 2021 calendar is not also impacted. The current thinking is that we aim to get both boats to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia via Bermuda, as we feel it might be difficult or impossible to enter the US with a foreign-flagged yacht by then. Lunenburg is a familiar port, has facilities and we know people there. I'm already in touch with Paul who ran the boatyard we used last year to get a few carpentry projects done on ICEBEAR.
Under this plan we'd basically have to alter the 2020 schedule routes an dates, and then in the case that anyone needs to drop out, we open it up to the public.
Ideally we stick to the same initial dates - April 28 in BVI. That would still give ISBJORN the option to continue to the Azores if things change enough by then. If we get delayed, we can still cross the Atlantic with both boats via Newfoundland and Ireland in July/August as is the current plan on ICEBEAR.
Worst-case scenario for this plan is we simply 'deliver' the boats north without paying crew, just to relocate them. All of this depends of course on border openings/closures in the various ports of entry.
Plan C: The 'Pause & Re-Start' Plan
This is the most drastic, and would basically involve doing nothing at all - we leave ISBJORN and ICEBEAR where they are currently and hit the pause button on the whole thing, picking up again either in the fall, or as late as one year from now in 2021 and continuing the schedule as planned, just a year later.
ISBJORN is already safely hauled out in Tortola, and I'm making a contingency with the boatyard in Nanny Cay to have the rig pulled and the boat strapped down for hurricane season if it came to that, just making sure to reserve space right now.
Sean is on ICEBEAR in Grenada and is working on the same kind of plan to keep ICEBEAR there. Grenada is safer too, since it's south of the hurricane belt.
This also gives us the option to continue with new Caribbean sailing next fall, if this whole thing blows over by then.
Challenges
The biggest challenge when it comes to continuing the sailing, whenever that happens, is the safety-at-sea risk management now that we have a new disease to contend with. How do we handle it if someone gets a fever offshore? This is new territory and there are no official guidelines, and likely won't be for a long time now, but know that this is top of mind for us before we go offshore again.
Opportunities
Finally, to end on a high note, despite all the stress, there are opportunities here. 59º North needs to take the lead on how we're handling this and share it with others. We are still a media business as well, and that doesn't have to stop at all. Quite the contrary.
August is looking into way to do online seminars and even potentially online simulations of offshore passages, and I'm starting up the On the Wind podcast new season on Tuesday.
And we're going to be writing about this experience from the perspective of all our skippers, mates and staff who are spread out around the world right now. Stay tuned to the blog and website for these updates in the coming days and weeks.
If you'd like to contribute your own story and how this is affecting your life as it relates to sailing, we'd be happy to publish it!
Send holdfast@59-north.com text and a photo or two for the blog, then Ben or myself will upload to the website over the next two weeks.
Finally, we've created a page online at 59-north.com/corona with some interesting links to news sources we're reading, guidance from cruising sailors out in the field now, and where we'll post any updates on our plans as this whole thing evolves.
Again, keep your questions coming to andy@59-north.com and let me know your thoughts!
HOLD FAST!
-Andy
