Well, that didn’t take long. 

Our plan to spend the summer cruising the Salish Sea up to Canada may have to be modified now, thanks to the ever-growing threat of coronavirus. 

This pandemic is changing all of our lives. As I write this, the Oregon governor has issued an executive order that all Oregonians need to stay at home unless conducting essential activities, more than 100 people have died in Washington state, more than 1,000 in Italy and chances are high that our kids extended spring break from school will turn into the beginning of a very early summer vacation. 

So, we’re not surprised that we likely won’t be able to sail up to Vancouver Island and beyond as we planned. And while it is disappointing, it is incredibly necessary and understandable. 

For now, too, there is still plenty we CAN do, like explore the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas a little more, sail up to the San Juans, and even cruise down to the South Sound, near Olympia. 

We are still so lucky we get to do this, and traveling by sailboat seems like the perfect way to socially distance and still get around. We wave at passerby from afar—very afar by sidewalk standards—and anchor in relatively secluded places where our only neighbors in many cases are the harbor seals, jellyfish and cormorants who call Puget Sound home. 

That’s the new plan, for now.