Sure, cruising is all about flexibility. Best laid plans and all that. Weather dictates more than a schedule, or should if you’re trying to stay comfortable. Cruising plans are written in sand at low tide. Blah blah blah.

I know all of this. It’s not particularly chafing or even problematic in our usual way of cruising. We set general parameters (Bahamas for the winter) and work out the in between details out as they come. The idea of being flexible is part of the massive appeal of cruising to us.

But 2020 and this pandemic has the “only workable plan is no real plan” approach taken to a brand new level. And I can’t say I care for it that much.

One of the first questions people ask when they hear about our plans to move onto the boat and go sailing is “Where are you going?” And while we’ve always joked that the real answer is “off the dock”, it’s also true that generally we’ve been able to answer. Even a year ago our response would have been straightforward. Heading to Bermuda, and then the Caribbean. No, the ICW isn’t something we’d like to do again. Done that a couple of times and we don’t love it.

While doing one of our regular commutes between Vermont and Virginia in 2019, we started thinking that a cruise of the St Lawrence River, out to the remote islands of St. Pierre et Miquelon, and down to Maine could be really fabulous, before an offshore passage to the warmer climes we adore so much. Yes, we need a heater. Fine. We’re in the middle of a massive refit anyway!

What these plans have in common, as divergent as they are, is the desire to travel outside of the US. What this pandemic is showing us, in no uncertain terms, is that that’s a hard sell right now. Many countries, Canada included, have closed their borders to Americans; some are closed to everyone except their own citizens. Many others are understandably strict about regulations and hoops to jump through, from health applications to multiple negative test results to limiting numbers. Though there is some cautious reopening going on, who knows if it will stay that way. The last thing we want to do is be sailing on a multi-day passage and have rules change while we’re mid-ocean, something that happened to many cruisers earlier in 2020. At least as Americans, we have the right to hang out in our own country.

Having a bail out plan, a backup anchorage if weather turns ugly, is not new thinking. Carolyn, over at The Boat Galley (and my podcast partner) wrote a great piece about their backup plan routine. We aren’t quite as methodical about it as she and Dave are, but we do regularly scan the charts around any anchorage and identify a number of places we can move to if the weather turns bad. Even on passage, watching the weather and making contingency plans is a part of life.

I just wish we could make plans that allow for minor contingencies. It feels right now like it all starts as a contingency. When the boat is ready (or when it’s ready enough, anyway), we’ll go wherever we can. Maybe that will be Bermuda. Maybe it will be Canada. Maybe it will be Maine, or North Carolina, or an offshore passage direct to the USVI.

Maybe what I need to focus on is that we’ll be cruising. Why does that feel so very hard right now?