Still Stuck

Just a brief update. The Bahamas continue to prohibit any visitors to the country, although some citizens and permanent residents have finally been allowed to return home if they agree to be quarantined for two weeks. The current order will expire at the end of May unless it is extended again. There have been a total of 96 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Bahamas and you can see the breakdown of status and location on the government dashboard here.

Bimini, where Division Belle is located, has become something of a hotspot for the virus. There have been 13 cases reported there among the roughly 2,000 residents, so the island is under a total lockdown. Bimini is very densely populated and it is difficult to maintain social distancing there.

Being optimistic, it might be possible for me to return to my boat by June 1, but if either of these two current orders are extended, the wait will be longer, and extend into the early part of hurricane season. I have a couple of possible ways to fly into Bimini directly from home by private plane whenever it is permitted, and my thinking is that I should go as quickly as possible to retrieve the boat in case travel restrictions are reimposed. We could distance ourselves when we arrive and go straight into self-quarantine on the boat until weather permits a departure to Florida.