It is day 521 38 4 of our Covid/Ommadawn* isolation. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and (best case scenario) I could be out on the water making headway through the Irish Sea with a pod of dolphins keeping pace with the boat, as we silently glide through the water. Or (2nd-best case scenario) I could be working on the boat in the marina, finishing off the outstanding jobs prior to experiencing the best case scenario.
I figured out that I could maintain Covid isolation restrictions by not coming into contact with anyone. I can get from here to Deganwy and back on a tank of fuel with plenty left (and the tank in the car is full). I wouldn’t need to come into contract with anyone in the marina. And I would certainly not come into contact with anyone whilst either working on the boat, or while out sailing her.
So, given the fact that I have no Covid symptoms (none at all, I just have a positive test result) and given that I feel in my normal good health status, why the heck aren’t I doing either of those things? Why am I sitting at home, tapping away on this keyboard, and not out on the water on my boat?
Because although I could avoid all contact with anyone else in the normal world, what if something happened to change the normal world parameters? What if I broke down on the motorway and needed assistance? Well that’s not likely, but it could conceivably happen. What if I was out on the water and something happened, and I needed maritime help? Also extremely unlikely, but these things do occur (to lesser prepared people, admittedly). But failures of equipment do happen, no matter how well maintained. What if…?
Anyway, that’s why I’m here, tapping away on this keyboard, on this glorious day.
*Omicron BA2** (not Mike Oldfield’s second album)
**BA.2 virus (not the Corston/Englishcombe/Freshford postcode areas of Bath)
Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to do all those things in the three months between BA2 and BA3.
I used to live in BA3.