A lot has happened in the last three weeks. We have put our plans on hold for this summer, and are staying at our home in Charlottesville, Virginia until the virus situation gets worse and then better. Fortunately, we are both naturally socially distant.
Ireland and Scotland
Because Olive Oyl is on-the-hard in Plymouth, UK, our logistics are a bit easier this year. Our plan is to get to the boat toward the end of March, do some painting and light maintenance, possibly building a pair of legs, and around the beginning of April, sail to the Republic of Ireland, probably Cork, and commence traveling around Ireland in a clockwise direction toward Northern Ireland. Next, we plan to cross over to Scotland and work our way up to the Caledonian Canal, through Loch Ness to the East coast of Scotland, with the intention of leaving our boat somewhere in Scotland for the Winter of 2020-2021. Complicating the plan, somewhat, is the European travel ban announced last night by our president, Donald Trump. It seems that this ban shouldn’t affect us, since we are US citizens flying to Ireland and the UK, and we are functioning as “sea crew”, but it is possible we will suffer from some unintended consequences. Who knows,? Time will tell.