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 They left a Croatian port in
late June 2020 and have since sailed around
Italy and Spain, then stopped for some time on
Cape Verde before crossing the Atlantic.
After having spent Christmas on Martinique, they
are now anchored in Marigot, on the Caribbean
island of St. Martin, waiting to sail towards
the Panama canal.
They are in no rush, though, as life on the boat
-- just as for many people quarantined in their
homes -- has slowed down.
"For me it is a fantastic experience that I can
spend a lot more time with my kids, instead of
getting home late from work totally exhausted,"
said 48-year-old Domonkos Bosze, who set up a
home office on the boat. He works in the IT
business.
"Our route is fairly flexible: basically the
weather defines which way we go, as the
hurricane and cyclones seasons set the limits
for sailing each region."
He and his wife Anna, who have been sailing for
more than a decade, had planned the adventure
long before the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the pandemic presented them with the
dilemma of whether this was the right time to
go, in the end their determination overruled all
worries and risks.
TEATIME ON SEA
So far the biggest challenge has been a six-hour
storm during the Atlantic crossing which they
managed well, losing only a toaster and the
satellite phone which broke.
They follow the changes in coronavirus rules in
each country and take a test or go into
quarantine as required.
"When we arrived in Martinique ... we told
authorities that we just spent 16 days on the
open seas and they accepted that as quarantine,"
Bosze said.
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 Nonetheless, the boat is filled
with enough foodstuff for a month. And they
catch their own tuna or mahi mahi (dorado), much
to the joy of their 6- and 8-year-old daughters.
The two girls do remote learning, and will be
enrolled in local schools if possible to get
familiar with different cultures.
Domonkos said a discussion with Jimmy Cornell,
the legendary Romanian-born British yachtsman,
had a great influence on their thinking when
they planned the trip.
While being together all the time in a confined
space posed some difficulties in the beginning,
now everything goes like clockwork on "Teatime",
named after the family's habit of sitting down
for tea and chatter.
Anna said the trip has given her huge freedom
even though she cooks regularly besides handling
the sails if needed.
"We saw dolphins jumping at the bow of the boat
and swimming with us, with the sea totally calm
... so we could see them clearly under water,"
she said, smiling.
Depending on COVID restrictions, they plan to
sail on this year or next year towards the
Pacific, and now they say their trip could last
another 5-6 years, stopping for extended periods
in the southern Pacific and on the Indian ocean.
To follow their journey see https://sailingteatime.com
(Reporting and writing by Krisztina Than;
editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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