A young Dudley sailor who set off on an adventure in Central America has instead found himself on a voyage navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic for more than two months.
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Colin Fuge was travelling in Guatemala in March, when he managed to find a berth on a sailboat, working as a volunteer crew member.
It was the 24-year-old's first sailing experience, and what an experience it would turn into, journeying to eight countries and repeatedly being turned away from ports.
Colin Fuge was one of 11 crew members sailing two boats to the Caribbean island group of Guadeloupe, as the coronavirus threat grew.
"Restrictions were beginning to be imposed with lockdown in Guatemala, so we figured being at sea was not a bad place but didn't realise how intense the border situations were to be," Mr Fuge wrote in an email on Tuesday, his time.
"It was in our first port stop in Roatan [a Caribbean island off the coast of Honduras] that we first got wifi after departing and saw how fast borders were closing and saw how urgently the port wanted us out of their water that we realised that the task was a bit greater than we imagined."
At each port, the sailors received a similar reaction, according to Mr Fuge.
"They would tell us we had zero chance of checking in and we had to leave immediately, often not even permitting a 24-hour 'yellow flag' stopover period," he wrote.
At one point, there were concerns about supplies, when the boats were promptly turned away from Cuba, after six days' sailing. Then in Jamaica, "we were not allowed to buy food or water and had Red Cross donations thrown to the boat by the marine police and had to leave". They sailed onto Haiti, where they received supplies.
The uncertainty of resupplying the boats was compounded by the moods of Mother Nature, as they set sail from one port for the next, often confronting no wind and even drifting backwards due to the currents. At times, it felt like a voyage with no end in sight. A loved one of a crew member contacted the authorities in Honduras, fearing the flotilla was missing. In all, Colin Fuge and his crewmates spent 73 days at sea.
"Twice we managed to touch land at uninhabited islands or remote beaches just to get the chance," he wrote. "Mentally it could be very challenging, especially without [a] motor and when we were subject to light winds."
The crews also experienced acts of human kindness. In Roatan, other mariners donated food and a VHF radio, and in the Cayman Islands, a port official gave them two bottles of cooking gas. And at each anchorage, the boating community would rally, providing information and helping the sailors with wifi connections to contact family back home.
"Everybody understood the craziness of the situation and the need to lean on each other," Colin Fuge wrote.
Back in Dudley, his family were waiting for updates, as the crews sent out posts via WhatsApp.
"Communications have been the issue," Noel Fuge, Colin's father, said. "But he's reassured us that each time they've had food and water.
"We're all supportive of him, as long as he stays safe and let's us know what's going on."
The father's biggest concern during this time has been if Colin did contract COVID-19 and became sick, where would he access medical facilities.
However, Noel Fuge reasoned that with his son not being allowed off the boat in ports, he was probably safer than most on land.
The two boats have arrived in Guadeloupe. At the time of him writing, Colin Fuge said there were only 160 coronavirus cases locally and restrictions were being eased, "so we're very grateful for that". He is allowed on shore each day and sleeps on the boat.
He has been in contact with his family, including a Skype conversation with his grandmother, Gwen, in New Lambton. His Nan, he wrote "can get this [newspaper] clipping on her fridge".
The University of Newcastle engineering graduate has no intention of heading home yet.
He is going to keep sailing, having found a place on an Australian skippered-boat heading south to Grenada.
"It is an adventurous lifestyle and is, in a way, self-quarantine, away from the madness of the world as it is now," Colin Fuge wrote. "So that is my current plan."
From his father, who saw the world as a backpacker when he was a younger man, there was this piece of advice to his son in the Caribbean.
"Stay safe and have fun. Make smart decisions," Noel Fuge said, adding, "And that's what he's done."
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