Social Distancing? Yeah. We got that.

Sort of; kind of. A boat can be a small piece of real estate, but people certainly don’t have to be in each other’s laps. And, you can drive to us and avoid public transit. Which, we’re hearing, is often pretty empty. That alleviates the concern that it’s supposed to be a big petri-dish whirling cesspool of infectious spread. If we’re few and far between, we’re further from infectious.

Social distance: one knee and done! We had this beach side restaurant to ourselves that night (rare occurrence, as it’s popular and excellent). The ‘runway’ is a fixed pier for larger vessels and also dinghies. Our yacht is out there somewehre! Jost Van Dyke, BVI, from our March 2020 trip.

At least out on a boat with us, or on your own if you already know how to sail, you’re doing a relatively safe, healthy, outdoor activity in the scheme of all this. Brooklyn bier gardens and rave parties: they be gone. My GF and I pretty much closed down a kewl bar we discovered on Sunday night… Bier Wax. No one’s going in no time soon now. But you should check it out when things are stable. NY Sailing Center post-virus celebration? Yup.

The exterior of Bier Wax in Brooklyn. New York brews from Brooklyn to Upstate, all surrounded by shelves of vinyl that they play. First link on their front page? “Featured DJ’s”. Turntable spinning and taps spilling. Miguel Rivas, photo, with link on their site on the gallery page.

So, what to do with the spare time? Sailing does start soon. We hope it will start on Friday, with temps at or above 70! But the updated forecast spoke of rain, wind, and maybe some thunder. We’ll have to see.

The author is a fiend for snowboarding. All the mountains closed for coronavirus. So? He sold one his boards on eBay that had proven a little too large for him. It took three auctions, including one where the buyer basically blew off the purchase. But, on the third, people being home seemed to increase viewing, bidding, and in the end, the sale price. So, there’s that!

From the eye of the Orca! Lib Tech T.Rice Orca snowboard. Super popular board that can do almost “it all.” It’s an alternative freeride board that’s excellent in powder, but it also has magnetraction edges (wavy) for solid grip on hard pack and icy snow. Short/wide/surfy style board.

Right from home, people can learn navigation. We prefer to teach that as a classroom course with practice plots in between sessions as homework. But, we have one class in progress that might switch from classroom to video conference, and we will be doing that going forward on a super flexible schedule. Let us know if you want to discuss getting in on that stay-in option!

Plot the distance… recent Start NavigatingSM course (ASA 105, Coastal Nav). Two men. Current course? Two women. We always have low class density; helps with social distancing now in the age of coronavirus. And now, we’re going remote!

Most of us are at least a little concerned about the COVID-19 coronavirus thing. Some are very stressed and panicked. We’ll get through it as a communities and countries. Some thoughts to share on prevention efforts:

  • Put straight isopropyl alcohol into a simple spray bottle. Boom. You have a very efficient surface and object sanitizer. The broad mist spray gets a little of it all over. In my (not so often) humble opinion, that’s all that’s needed. No need to wipe down and rub around. My GF and I came up with that; no doubt others did as well.
  • Re-think all brick and mortar and in-person transactions, especially paying with cash in person. I love a coffee n bagel break in my hood, but had decided to cut this out of my routine. Today, I was sorely tempted in the late afternoon. I walked over, and there was only one other customer. The staff were using gloves. I paid with singles and said to keep the change. I disinfected. I felt safe.
  • Be prepared to walk away from any environment when you see careless behavior or lack of adherence to suggested safe practices. See someone touching their face in the store when they’re ahead of you, or the hired help doing that (especially without gloves)? Walk away. Leave. And disinfect.
  • Don’t just wash your hands “for 20 seconds” and use sanitizer. Consider how thoroughly your’re actually doing it, and the order in which you’ve touched things. We wash our hands to get rid of stuff on them. So, once we’ve touched a faucet or container of liquid soap, it’s contaminated! Wash those as well. Then, wash your hands with more soap. THEN turn off the faucet. Apply that “last touch” mentality to every relevant scenario.
  • Exercise, eat well, and take some supplements. It can’t possibly hurt. It will boost your immune system and may well be the deciding factor as to whether you get this virus, and if so, how severely. For example, I’m taking vitamin C, zinc, and echinacea. I’ve been advised that the echinacea ought to be one week on and one off so I’m putting that into play. I’ve also ordered some bio-active silver hydrosol by Sovereign Silver based on a recco from a trusted health care professional. The list could go on as far as reccos; do what you’re comfortable with. No point in stressing over it and defeating the purpose.
Keep your social distance – stroll alone on a deserted beach. Two other people you don’t see: me, the fotog, and Kalindi. We had a very bowl of a beach to our selves for the price of a fun bike ride. From our March 2020 BVI trip. This is on the north shore of Anegada in the late afternoon.

So… about that sailing. We got back from our March BVI trip (Virgin Islands) on the 7th as we previously wrote about. Advanced courses start in late April, and learn-to-sail in early May. Sailing Club sessions could start as early as… Friday? We shall see. But it’s coming soon!

If you join the Club, and you haven’t yet learned how to sail, we’ll find ways to get you out with us or other Club members. If you can sail, then you know how it goes.

The author, our Director and HBIC (Head Bozo in Charge) often drives out from the Upper West Side, and sometimes from Park Slope, Brooklyn. If that sounds better than public transit, he might be able to give you a ride. Of course, you’ll be asymptomatic and will have taken your temperature regularly for a few days leading up to that (and again that morning). Fever is by far the most common symptom, in the upper 80’s percentile wise. That’s why the White House had started taking temps of reporters and turning away those with spiked numbers. The second most common, in the 60’s, is a dry cough. Duane Reade was due to get more thermometers in. Find or order where you can.

Social distancing: boats spread out (except for the harmless dinghy). People spread out. Plenty of room to breathe and roam. Quick lunch/snorkel/swim stop, first day of our March 2020 Virgin Islands (BVI) trip.

We’re all put out by this as well as freaked out. I’m a silver-lining kind of guy. I deal with the harsh reality of some things. I accept what I can’t influence or change. And, I look on the bright side. What can I do with the time I have, in the place that I am, that’s productive and maybe even makes me happy? What can I appreciate that’s different about my surroundings or microcosm of existence? There’s usually something.

Welcome to the Irish Riviera! Dog took a walk with its human apparently. Back side of Breezy Point, Queens – the exact opposite of Montauk: The End. This is the Beginning. Great place to walk off the beaten path. The ocean side beaches had a fair amount of peeps that day, but social distancing was superb. This beach ends in a long jetty. If you go there, only walk on the dry parts. Once you see any sign of slime, DO NOT GO FURTHER. Unless you’re wearing cleats you’ll go down. Author used to rock hop out to the end wearing cleats and sporting his fly rod to catch striped bass and false albacore. It’s not for the casual caster.

If you’re not finding enough of that… come out sailing! We’ll be open soon. And we’ll keep our distance.

More on navigation courses, from your own private isolation situation, or in small groups: https://newyorksailing.club/start-navigating-asa-105/

More on all that we do, including private and small group sailing courses and club experiences: https://newyorksailing.club/what-we-do/

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