The Guardian – May 2020
Like many living aboard their sailing boats, Garry Crothers, a 64-year-old Irishman has been stranded at sea for two months by Covid-19. He’s anchored off Sint Maarten in the Caribbean. Hurricane season officially starts on 1 June and the island, as Crothers is acutely aware, is “bang in the middle of the hurricane belt” – hit hard by Dorian last year, and Irma in 2017. Neighbouring countries and islands that might afford protection are shut. Crothers’ only safe option is a solo sail home to Ireland.
With a 3,600-mile non-stop solo sail across the Atlantic ahead of him, Garry Crothers is a little anxious. But he has to get moving before the hurricane season.