Covid gets the Captain. Crew is spared.

Wednesday 29-Dec, Marathon Key, cruising day 32: Captain tests positive for Covid, putting all plans on hold.

So after what seems like years of ducking and diving, isolating and avoiding, vaccinations and media hype, the BIG-C finally catches up with me 🙁

During the night I start to feel achy limbs and wake up on the alarm with a cracking headache. At first, I curse the huge plastic cocktails I drank last evening, but quickly realise a hangover isn’t normally accompanied by a sore throat. On board we have 4 precious self-test kits. Oana administers one and it instantly shows positive. Damn … it got me. And more than likely got both of us. Surely it’s just a matter of time before Oana shows symptoms too?

Right now, my symptoms are no worse than a mild cold. Oana is convinced I have a temperature but try as she might, the thermometer refuses to show anything other than normal. Odd isn’t it, how different countries measure body temperature? In Romania practice is with the thermometer in the arm pit which Oana insists this is the only way. Yet in UK it’s always thermometer under the tongue. I guess I should be glad I didn’t marry into a culture where other orifices are commonly used!

I announce to the family, and as expected my daughter in Australia, a doctor, comes back with a load of advice, but not in very technical terms: “just keep taking paracetamol like they are sweeties till you are better”! Then advice from my son in UK who also has Covid right now. Funny, years ago, when you contracted a common cold, nobody was bothered to tell you what to do. Now it’s sympathy on steroids!

Anyhow, once the first paracetamol is downed and taken effect, I really feel perfectly fine. Now the question is, are these symptoms mild because the Omicron strain is mild, or is it the effect of having had 3 x Pfizer vaccines? Who knows? Right now it just feels like a lot of fuss about nothing. The main annoyance is that we officially now have to isolate which means we cannot go into CBP to check out and get on our way to Mexico. On the other hand, it would be wise to make sure Oana’s symptoms (if she gets it) are mild too. We really don’t want to be ½ way to Mexico trying to find a hospital. Or maybe worse, being in Mexico looking for a hospital!

At least we are in a tranquil anchorage where we will be safe for the coming days. So we settle into the realization we will be here for a while. I catch up on blog writing and reading my various boating forums that I have neglected these last days and the day passes quickly.

As soon as the sun sets, we start to see lots of no-see-ums (tiny flies that bite!). With not even the slightest breeze this evening, they are obviously out on the rampage from the nearby Boot Key. We barricade ourselves inside and plug in vapour generators by Raid. While the vapour doesn’t seem to kill them, it does stop them biting. Well, for me at least. Oana says they are still nibbling at her. Maybe this is a benefit of having Covid. I mean, what sensible creature would want the blood of a Covid patient?
So our evening is inside just relaxing. At least inside we can hardly hear the very noisy generator which our jalopy neighbour seems to run non-stop on his aft deck. Maybe tomorrow I’ll tell him we are a Covid infected boat and advise he should move elsewhere 😊