As pandemic raged, Petaluma man set sail on quest to circumnavigate the globe

Warren Holybee had nearly completed his quest to circumnavigate the globe when the world, effectively, shut down.

Holybee, a Petaluma resident and former San Francisco IT worker with a regular commute, boarded the Eliana, a 38-foot sailboat, almost two years before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Traveling west with his crew, he crossed the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, making a host of memorable stops along the way. As the timeline ticked on, coronavirus crept in, scuttling Holybee’s plans to reach the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal. Instead, he spent a year in Portsmouth, Virginia, working to save money for the remainder of the trip, including the $800 fee to utilize the Panama Canal.

While the Eliana traversed the 50-mile canal late last week, Holybee gained access to his marine email, answering a series of questions about traveling the globe while the world was shut down.

The following Q&A has been lightly edited for style and clarity.

Question: This trip started some time ago – even before the pandemic started. How much of an impact did COVID-19 have on your plans?

Answer: I was very lucky regarding the pandemic. I was in Salvador, Brazil, for Carnival, Brazil's superspreader event. I left a few days after, before anyone knew. On my way to Trinidad I heard that the world was shutting down. The entire Caribbean effectively closed before i got there. Fortunately as a U.S. citizen I was able to divert to St. Thomas USVI.

The plan had been to go through the Panama Canal, but it was closed too. Instead I found my way to Portsmouth, Virginia. I stayed there for a year and worked to save money. Most of my friends were not so lucky. Some were stranded at sea unable to go anywhere. Some stranded in a foreign country not allowed to leave. And a few still are. I have friends that are still stuck in Turkey.

Q: What are your top three favorite moments from the trip?

A: That's tough. Perhaps when I was in Indonesia and was invited to a school to meet and talk with students learning English, or the next day when I was invited to the local Christian church. The pastor repeated everything in English so I could understand it. The community was very inviting and excited I was there. They got very few tourists, and fewer still from America.

Or, the rainforests and waterfalls in Fiji. I would like to retire there. So peaceful and lush with nature, and few people to spoil it.

Or Carnival. Nothing really can describe that party and give it justice.

Q: Were there any scares during the trip?

A: The first time I was in gale conditions. I didn't sleep for two days. But I also didn't do much. Eliana is very capable and sailed through it with no problem.

Conditions like that are very rare if voyages are planned well, though. And the world is surprisingly friendly and safe. Of course there are places I won't go out at night, and I keep aware of my surroundings. But I never felt threatened.

Q: What does one eat when circumnavigating the globe?

A: Food? On the boat I can cook anything I can cook at home. I cook from scratch mostly. Even bake my own bread. I stock up on non-perishables, and replenish fruits and vegetables from local markets as I travel. I try to eat local cuisine because the ingredients are cheaper. Fried rice with whatever veggies are available and whatever protein I have on hand is a typical meal. Curries are easy and I have a huge supply of curry powder. I also catch fish and will make anything from sushi to fish tacos, or bread and fry it for fish and chips.

Q: How did you ensure a strong water supply?

A: The water supply for almost the whole world is very high quality. Many Americans might not know that. In Indonesia, the ground water is very contaminated, but the government has built high quality filters with UV sterilizers in even the smallest towns. So, like the local residents, I brought jugs to the water facility and fill them up.

Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, does not have clean water. Locals drink out of mud puddle, contaminated with animal waste. I found the cleanest water I could, filtered it, and sanitized the filtered water with more than the recommended amount of chlorine.

Q: What are some perhaps lesser known, mundane even, challenges to this kind of adventure?

A: I would say dealing with authorities to clear in and out of foreign ports, but there is so much information available to make it easy to work through. My biggest challenges involved crew. Even with people you would otherwise like, spending a long time in close quarters causes conflict.

Q: Were you able to stay in touch pretty well throughout?

A: Mostly. I don't have internet, but can send and receive email via satellite phone.

Q: Would you do it again?

A: I will, yes.

Q: Anything else you want to add about the trip?

A: Other sailors ask my about places I missed. My answer is that I’ll see them the next time around.

Tyler Silvy is editor of the Petaluma Argus-Courier. Reach him at tyler.silvy@arguscourier.com, 707-776-8458, or @tylersilvy on Twitter.