188 Days in the Middle of the Ocean / The story of the woman whom the pandemic forced to live at sea

Giulia Bachosi, an Italian chef, set out on a three-month sea voyage, but the pandemic left her stranded at sea for 188 days, facing extreme challenges and without contact with loved ones. Five years later, she continues to live at sea, transformed by the experience but still in love with the ocean.

On New Year’s Eve 2019, 31-year-old Giulia Bachosi received a phone call that would change her life.

Instead of starting a new job in Sicily, she accepted an offer to work as a chef on a cargo ship transporting rum and olive oil from Europe to Central America.

The trip was planned to last three months, but the global Covid-19 pandemic extended it unpredictably.

After a stop in the Canary Islands, where the crew rescued 16 migrants in life-threatening conditions at sea, the ship Avontuur continued its journey toward the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, the world began to shut down due to the pandemic. Ports and airports closed, leaving the crew isolated at sea for months, with no possibility to disembark or return home.

“I knew nothing about my family,” Giulia recalls. “I wanted to talk to my mom, my grandmother, my boyfriend, but I was in the middle of the ocean and even the phone didn’t work.”

They could communicate only once a day via satellite email with the headquarters in Germany.

Conditions on board worsened over time: supplies dwindled, and energy and fuel became limited. Nevertheless, Giulia and the rest of the crew found ways to maintain mental and emotional balance through art, music, and solidarity.

After 188 days at sea, in July 2020, Avontuur finally arrived at the port of Hamburg, Germany.

Despite the hardships, the experience was transformative for Giulia.

Today, five years later, she continues to live and work at sea, currently on a ship near the coast of Greenland.

“KORÇA BOOM”