An adventurous couple who’s been sailing around the world on their yacht has opened up about their trip and revealed they had no idea just how bad the pandemic has gotten.
Ryan Osbourne and Elena Manighetti bought their yacht and decided to go on a trip around the world after quitting their jobs in 2017.
While the couple knew about the coronavirus outbreak in China when they departed from the Canary Islands back in February, they had no idea COVID-19 became a pandemic affecting millions of people from all around the world.
As the couple claimed, they were about to dock at their destination, a Caribbean island, when they were told most borders have been closed.
“In February we’d heard there was a virus in China, but with the limited information we had, we figured by the time we got to the Caribbean in 25 days it would all be over,” Manighetti said in an interview with BBC.
“We told our shore contacts we didn’t want to hear any bad news, which was a difficult job as it was pretty bad news.”
After being refused docking at several ports, the couple realized just how serious the pandemic has gotten.
“We first attempted to land in one of the French territories in the Caribbean but when we arrived we found all the borders were closed and the islands were closing down,” Osbourne explained.
“Even at that point we assumed it was a preventative measure due to the high season. We thought the islands didn’t want to run the risk of a few tourists infecting the locals.”
It wasn’t until the authorities reviewed the couple’s journey, which was documented thanks to GPS, that they realized the pair was self-isolated on the boat for nearly a month.
Now, the pair has been stationed at Bequia, Saint Vincent, and left unable to keep on sailing.
“We’re sandwiched between the hurricane season and the virus,” Manighetti said.
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