When the Lockdown Began, This Man Traveled 85 Days Alone in a Boat to See His Father. Here's the Story

Across the Atlantic in a small boat, and the big story is why. Also, 7 other things worth your time.

Probably almost everyone on this list has close friends or family members that they haven’t been able to see for months. That feels strange, sad, and odd.

My family is in the same boat. To use a technical term, it’s a bummer.

This is why I was sucked right into the story of Juan Manuel Ballestero, a sailor from Argentina who was caught in Europe after the pandemic began, and who desperately wanted to make it to Argentina to see his 90-year-old dad and 82-year-old mother.

There are no flights — at least, there were none when he first got the idea. So Ballestero, who lives in Spain, decided instead to cross the Atlantic Ocean, alone, in a 30-foot sailboat.

The trip took 85 days, from the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira to Mar del Plata in Argentina.

“I did it! I did it! I did it!” Ballestero exclaimed when he reached the dock last week.

He was tested for Covid-19 (negative, which is unsurprising given he’d been almost totally quarantined for three months), and was given permission to set f…