First and foremost, I’m hoping that all the Rolling with Yahtzee readers out there are healthy and trying to remain positive in light of COVID-19 and its ripple affects across the world. Our thoughts are with you all while we collectively navigate this unprecedented challenge.

I know folks are wondering what’s going on with us and how we’re handling the situation, so here’s a bit of an update on what’s happening in our world. After a trip to visit family in Florida and for me to work in the British Virgin Islands, our crew flew back into Mexico as the realities of the Coronavirus were ramping up in the U.S.

Once safely back on Yahtzee in Mazatlán, we would’ve loved to cast off the lines and bug out to a secluded anchorage to isolate and wait out the storm, but alas we had some things that needed attending to first. Mazatlán has an excellent boatyard with a host of marine services and our beloved adventure-mobile was due for some maintenance items before we could get back to our regularly scheduled program.

On Tuesday, we pulled Yahtzee out of the water and at the time of this writing her bottom has had a thorough sanding, the prop has been brought back to new condition, and the first coat of bottom paint has been applied. Along with that, she’s getting a much needed power upgrade in the form of five Group 31 AGM house batteries, the sail drive will get an oil change and the topsides a good waxing. We’re also getting a full valuation survey for when we want to renew our insurance.

What this all means is that once she’s back in the water next week, we can fill her with food and let the winds of change blow us towards our next adventure. In many ways we feel like we’ve been training for this moment since we bought Yahtzee nearly 8-years-ago. Our family is quite used to living in tight quarters together for long periods of time, often without many other people around. We’re on our second year of homeschooling, so that part of life is staying fairly consistent. Yahtzee is setup to be almost completely self-sufficient and off-the-grid, including running on solar and wind power, using a watermaker to turn seawater into fresh, and carrying a large stock of spare parts and enough diesel fuel and propane to last several months. Aside from fresh produce, we also have a generous stock of food stores that we could live on for weeks if necessary, especially when supplemented with fresh fish that we catch.

Overall, Jill and I feel exceedingly fortunate to be in the position we’re in at this time. And though we’re keeping the boys informed about what’s going on in the world, their day-to-day routines have mostly gone uninterrupted. Aside from social distancing recommendations (which we’re following), canceled flights, and a major downturn in tourists and snowbirds, Mazatlán is not in lock-down mode as of yet and has had one confirmed case of COVID-19. For us, besides taking the typical precautions, it’s kind of a business-as-usual approach right now—which reminds me, I need to get back to the boatyard!

Stay healthy out there, friends! Love to all.