John Stolz and Gretchen Heinz dont have any room to maintain the recommended 6-foot social distancing aboard their sailboat.

Stuck in Green Turtle Cay, even looking at the vast horizon of a turquoise sea isnt enough to assuage the anxiety of confinement for the couple.

For about two weeks, the couple have been confined to their 36-foot boat, said Stolz, a former Bend financial planner.

The couple can go out each weekday for 90 minutes to exercise or pick up groceries at the only market. But for the rest of the 1,350 minutes of a day, they are confined to the deck of their boat. And from sundown Friday to dawn Monday they cant go out at all.

The couple recognize that there are worse things, but theyd like to be back home in Bend and see their kids.

Since news of the COVID-19 pandemic began surfacing in February, stories of Central Oregon travelers being stuck have surfaced. One couple was in Uganda and another in Morocco.

Weve learned to occupy our time, said Stolz, who retired from financial planning. We fish off the boat. Weve cleaned and varnished. Weve cooked. Weve made bread. Weve read a lot.

They play board games with the six other couples stranded at the pier, yelling out their scores across the pier.

Stolz arrived in the Bahamas in early February, after having spent five weeks there from November to Dec. 20, he said. While they were there for those five weeks, they helped residents who had suffered damage from Hurricane Dorian in September. His boat also suffered minor damage from the hurricane.

It was nice. We fished, we snorkeled and helped people, Stolz said. My goal was to be here for a week and then travel around the islands, but we decided to stay on the boat, thinking wed ride out the virus.

At first they had access to long beach walks, fishing and shopping. But four weeks ago, the government in the Bahamas closed the beaches and confined everyone to their homes, or boats.

Theyre anxious to return home, but have to wait for the boatyard to open up to store the boat on land. Then theyll sail with another couple to North Carolina and figure out how to make the trek home to Bend.

They think it might take a month of boats and rental cars to get across the country.

Wherever we go, we wear a mask, said 65-year-old Stolz. If the virus comes here, it would be devastating for the 300 to 400 people here. There are no medical facilities here. Theres no doctor. No hospital.

The nearest one is in Nassau, and thats an hour flight away. If someone gets sick here, theyll have to boat them to the next island and then fly them over to Nassau.

Its critical to keep as healthy as we can here.

Just yesterday there was a big improvement, Stolz said. The hardware store opened. But theres a new problem. Used to his pick of the best that craft beer brewers can offer, the Bend resident drank his last beer.

It was from a six pack of Corona that he spent $36 on at the only store on the island.

Were hoping that the prime minister (of the Bahamas) will reopen the boat harbor on May 1, he said.

Then they can pull my boat from the water and we can sail to North Carolina.

It certainly has been a different year than we anticipated.

The rest is here:

Bend couple confined to boat in the Bahamas - Bend Bulletin