Here’s the latest email that was sent out today, March 19 to ALL 59º North crew, past, present & future on how we’re planning around the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. We think this will affect not only 59º North, but the entire offshore sailing industry in general, regarding safety-at-sea issues once borders re-open. I have some thoughts on all of this below. Thanks, and HOLD FAST!

// Andy, Mia & the 59ª North Team

*Gnarly sea en route across the Atlantic on ISBJORN, Feb. 2019.*

Greetings Crew!

This email is now going out to anyone who HAS sailed with 59º North in the past, anyone who had enquired to sail with us, and anyone who is SIGNED UP to sail with us in the future. Previous detailed COVID-19 updates had only been sent to 2020 crew - if you missed them, click here to read it on the website at 59-north.com/corona.

We want to be as transparent as possible in our contingency planning, as it's becoming increasingly clear that the COVID-19 crisis is going to seriously affect our 2020 plans, and now potentially our 2021 passage calendar.

Our main goals are to remain flexible as the situation evolves, accommodate ALL crew who are signed up to sail with us and provide detailed information so crew know what to expect as the situation develops over time.

We're going to need your support to get through this, and I have *bolded & starred a few lines I need your responses to in each section below.* Read on to see how we're thinking about it.

Current Challenges

As we see it, we have several challenges facing not only 59º North, but also the greater offshore sailing community.

Stemming the immediate spread of the virus and getting through however long this lockdown will last. Pay attention and follow the advice of the CDC and your local leaders!
Maintaining the boats during this interim 'pause'.
Creating a modified schedule of routes & dates to accommodate all crew once we can actually sail again.
And perhaps the biggest challenge of all, the reality of safety at sea in this new world - How do you screen people prior to a trip? What if someone gets sick offshore...Will the new country even let us enter? Will we have to quarantine on arrival? I think this might have even greater repercussions for offshore sailing in the medium-term, once the acute crisis is over.

Based on these challenges, here's how we are planning for the short, medium & long-term future:

Short-Term

The April 8-15 Grenada-BVI trip on ICEBEAR is officially POSTPONED. Thankfully this trip was booked by a group of 6 friends, whom we've already been in touch with. They are, obviously, in agreement!
The late-April BVI-Bermuda passages on both boats are in serious jeopardy now, and I can't imagine there is any way we can safely do these as planned. But, to remain flexible, given the timeframe, we're still leaving this up in the air. If you're booked on these trips and don't like the uncertainty, read on below...
If we can't get the boat's north in that late-April/early May timeslot, then the dominos start falling and the rest of the summer trips become affected. See below how we're thinking about that...
Maintenance - we need to maintain the boats during this pause, especially in the hot Caribbean sun. Sean is on ICEBEAR and I have agreed to pay him to stay onboard and care for the boat as long as this takes. He's looking into hiring a local cruiser to make sun covers for the foredeck and over the boom. Sean is also available to skipper should August or Susie not be able to travel if we get the opportunity to move the boats. Sean will put a 10% deposit down (~$500) to hold a spot at a local boatyard in Grenada should we need to haul out for the whole summer. I look at that as insurance, with the hope we won't need to haul out, but with a deposit, we will have the option.
ISBJORN: She's currently hauled out in Nanny Cay, Tortola. My friend Ted who runs the boatyard has assured me he can move her into a hurricane pit and have the mast pulled should we need to leave her there all summer. We still need to hire someone, OR send Liz, ISBJORN's mate, down to maintain the boat, if they re-open the border to foreigners.

*If any crew is uncomfortable with the uncertainty of the April/May trips, please let us know - we are offering the option for you to 'opt out' of the spring 2020 trips if you know for sure you don't want to travel, no matter what the circumstances are by then. We'll hold any payments you have with us and apply them to a future passage, once we know what kind of schedule we'll be able to keep. Email crew@59-north.com with any questions on this.*

Medium-Term

Big question is, when can we move the boats, and to where? This is obviously a waiting game at this point...
Also, who of our skippers and crew will be willing to travel under the current conditions, IF the borders open up? August, Liz, Emma & Susie - would you guys be willing to move the boats north if it meant a 14-day quarantine on arrival in the Carib, 14-days on anchor in Bermuda, perhaps again in Canada and perhaps AGAIN when you went back home? Be honest - I will not expect any of you to do something you're not comfortable doing.
One thought was to put together a skeleton crew for ICEBEAR with whomever wants to take the risk and go for it, so at least we can start on her refit in Lunenburg. Put it out there first to all paying crew from 2020 and see who bites.
If we can get the boats north before hurricane season, that gives us more summer options.

*Anybody who is interested in being a part of this SKELETON DELIVERY CREW, should it come to that, please email andy@59-north.com and we'll add you to the list. If you've paid to sail with us in 2020 and make it on this delivery trip, then that's your trip for the year. If you simply want to volunteer, we can work something out there too.*

Long-Term

Can we get the boats back to Europe in 2020? If not, this will then affect 2021 calendar.
If it DOES affect 2021, it might affect each boat differently...if we can get ICEBEAR to Canada in 2020, then we can still sail to Svalbard via Newfoundland, Greenland & Iceland. The dates and routes will change, but we can still do Svalbard. ISBJORN's 2021 calendar will end up being in reverse - still two trans-Atlantic passages, but in different directions. We don't need to think too hard about this now!
ICEBEAR is in need of a bigger refit than ISBJORN, which is pretty much ready to go. If we could somehow get only ICEBEAR to Lunenburg, we can do the refit there (bulkheads included) with Paul at Old Town Boatworks, whom I trust very much. They have a large enough haulout slip and big tent, they built the freakin' BLUENOSE there!

Our Financial Situation

As you know, we've expanded now to two boats and several staff - they were counting on 59º North for their income in 2020. The reality is, if we're not sailing, we're not making any income as a business. But all is not lost (yet) - both Sweden and the USA have announced preliminary relief packages for small businesses, so we will need to research if that can possibly apply to us. I have some ideas on how we might be able to continue paying some of our staff through media production and boat maintenance, see below.
Refunds: So far nobody has breached the cancellation/refund subject, which we appreciate. The reality is, if everyone cancels and we need to issue refunds, we're bankrupt. We've tried to assure everyone that we're going to create a fair solution to this, with re-booking and re-scheduling everyone affected, no matter how long it takes. But we'd greatly appreciate you leave your deposit and/or balance payments with us to help us weather this storm.
Lastly, if ANYONE thinks they want to sail with us again in the future, now would be a very convenient time to book with us and pay a deposit ;)

Pivots // Brainstorms

If 59º North cannot sail in 2020, don't think we're going away. I'm very passionate about the podcast and magazine articles I've written, and suddenly we have a group of wonderful & talented staff spread out around the world, quarantined & with nothing to do. So expect some more media content to come from us. We're looking the following ideas:

More podcasts with different hosts - August, ISBJORN skipper already has two interviews scheduled in Norway that will appear on ON THE WIND.
More blogs from all our staff on 59-north.com/blog - the first few will publish today, March 19.
Technical content - instructive videos, live weather routing sessions, etc. What do you want to see as a former/future crew?
Online simulations of REAL passages - don't laugh, August is seriously looking into this, it's a thing ;)

Conclusions

I'm a naturally-optimistic person in general, and while it's sometimes hard to continue to think positive right now, I find myself looking at these challenges as ways we can make 59º North even stronger, and more connected with our sailing crew and the folks around the world who follow our media. By default I'm an 'ideas guy', and I just can't help but brainstorm ways to get through all this. We're going to need your help though to do this - read closely what I've written above and write back with your thoughts. I really hope we'll continue to have your support during this crisis, and know that you'll be a big part of our success going forward.

Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts with you! Stay safe, enjoy the downtime & HOLD FAST!

// Andy, Mia & the 59º North Team