OnBoard Magazine - Issue XII - 2020 Season

THREADING THE NEEDLE It is hard to overstate the influence that the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought on our everyday lives. As in many facets of our society, boating industry leaders have been forced to make a series of agonizing judgement calls—attempting to forge a path that balances public safety with staying in business. For many small businesses, and even larger ones, it’s been no small feat trying to keep sales from grinding to a halt and team members employed while also staying within responsible health protocols and enduring the scrutiny of public perception. FROM THE BEGINNING Marine travel has been in the news since the very beginning of the coronavirus news cycle. Some of the very first stories to capture our attention were that of Americans trapped at sea aboard cruise ships while Asian ports-of-call refused their entry. Closer to home, one of the first dominoes to fall was the announcement that the 2020 Palm Beach International Boat Showwould be indefinitely postponed. Simply a victim of poor timing, they were one of the first major boating events to announce a change of plans. Not to diminish the importance of other trade and boat shows that postponed in early March, but this was the signal that was heard around the boating world. Shutting down the Palm Beach Show is what jarred things loose for the new reality to sink in. This coronavirus thing was going to be more than a bad beer joke—it was going to be real, and it was going to hurt. Virtually every moment since then has been a somewhat surreal reminder of how quickly our world can change. “FLOATING RESORTS” Overall, boating has received quite a bit of coverage throughout the crisis and stands to come out the other side healthier than many other travel sectors and discretionary expenditures. Savvy marketers and sales departments were quick to point out that outdoor pastimes like fishing and hunting were the original social distancing. Thankfully, most state governments have agreed with that sentiment, going so far as to include those activities in their lists of “essential activities” allowed during stay-in-place measures. It’s easy to reason that private boating should fare far better than most travel sectors due to being far more suited to solitude and familiarity with fellow travelers—certainly a less risky proposition than a busy airplane, bus or ship and their respective terminals. Of course, the crisis has also surfaced its fair share of less positive boating related stories. As more and more leisure and entertainment activities were shut down this Spring, boating naturally became a “sanctuary” activity in many coastal communities. Beaches and sand bars from North Carolina to Florida were packed in mid-March as spring breakers flocked to the coast to soak in the sun and salt. The large crowds that gathered on South Florida Examining the Impacts of Coronavirus on the Boating Industry Idling through Uncertainty If you have ever had to stop in a dense fog to fish, or just wait it out, you’ve probably come to an important realization. No matter how experienced, responsible, and prepared you are… sound signals, lights, and radios… radar or no radar… you have literally no control over the other folks who may come whizzing by you on the water. “Hey, can you hear those voices over the hum of their engines? Wish I could see past our nose… think they can see us?…” It’s as white knuckle of an experience as a becalmed morning can be. This is the best boating example I can think of to rationalize social distancing— if you’re uncomfortable having your personal safety depend on the “common sense” of strangers, you might be wise to avoid the situation. A sea fog is also a decent analogy for how our businesses have been practicing patience through a rather opaque period of commerce. We find ourselves weathering an unprecedented event with frequently shifting forecasts. by Jason Pim 12 BLUEWATER