Coronavirus is hammering the travel industry. Flights all over the world are half empty as people cancel their holiday plans to try to avoid getting the bug. Here at Onboard Space however we don’t think that coronavirus should stop your yachting holiday. Why? With a little good sense you will effectively be in a capsule away from the crowds and as long as everyone is sensible, a yachting holiday could be a means of getting away from the virus.
Yachting holidays keep you away from crowds
On the 12th March, Boat International reported, “Private charter ensures guests can stay safeguarded in smaller, immaculately-clean environments, while minimising the need to frequent public areas where risks naturally increase.”
Yes, this refers to super yachts that have tenders the size of most of the yachts sailed on Onboard Space, but the idea is the same. If a boat is kept clean and in good condition, and of course the skipper and crew aren’t carrying the bug in the first place, then everyone will get to spend a week or two in greater safety from coronavirus than you would perhaps getting sneezed or coughed on in the shopping street.
Sailing at the end of the day is about going into the wilderness and escaping the bonds of life ashore. You can drop anchor in a secluded bay, have a barbecue on the beach and never really run into contact with others even while enjoying a reasonably normal activity of life afloat.
If you’ve a passage, perhaps across the North Sea from Eastern England, Biscay or from point to point on the Med, you are in a germ free capsule for that week or two afloat. As such the yachting holiday is one of the best ways of avoiding the bug as it seems set to infect millions of people around the globe.
Some biosecurity measures for a yachting holiday
If you are a skipper looking to take on crew through Onboard Space you can ask the crew not to come on the trip should they have a high temperature and a cough. In most cases we must remember those symptoms are just the flu and in those instances they wouldn’t be in a fit state to sail anyway!
Hand hygiene isn’t easy when everyone is holding the same wet lines and the wheel in their different roles on the boat! Fresh water is at a premium at sea, so obsessively hand washing isn’t going to be possible. These are risks you need to consider. How scared are you?
Could you take crew on who are close to the boat in the first place? That would minimise their risks of picking up the bug during travel to and from the vessel.
Sign up at Onboard Space today!
Judging by how the pandemic has peaked and petered out in China, the odds are that we in Europe are in for a bit of a rough patch for a few weeks to come. That doesn’t stop skippers and crew from making plans for later in the year after coronavirus has passed. That can mean you sign up to Onboard Space and look for skippers and crew during the coming weeks and plan for your time afloat in months to come. Sign up today!