A 3,700-mile sailing trip shows why strict quarantine is falling flat

Nearly two years into the crisis, tens of thousands of frustrated citizens of nations such as Australia and New Zealand remain stranded overseas, unable to secure flights back to their homelands

Stuck in Tahiti with no available flights, Paul Stratfold was running out of time to get back home to Australia and renew his residency visa. The Briton decided his best option was to sail 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) across the southern Pacific Ocean, a solo voyage that took almost a month. 

A professional sailor, the 41-year-old had done nothing of this magnitude before. Stratfold’s 50-foot yacht was battered by a storm for two days and he slept no more than 40 minutes at a time to reduce the risk of collisions. “It was the only way I could get home,”