OK, we are back in Florida, boat pulled out for repairs, me on antibiotics, Cynthia applying ice to her twinging back, and generally dealing with a bit of a downpour of issues. Details? Well...
1) Cynthia had her best lionfish day EVER, spearing 42 of the buggers and making a large improvement to the health of the reefs near Rock Sound in southern Eleuthera. I mostly assisted by sitting in the dinghy, taking the spear she handed to me, shucking the fish into a bucket, and handing the spear back. On this day, the bucket became so full that a fish flipped out and struck my leg, sticking me with three of the venomous spines. After about eight hours of agony, the pain decreased... but my leg became hugely swollen the next day and infected in the following days. Fortunately, Cynthia had antibiotics on board and I am mostly recovered after about three weeks of treatment.
2) In my damaged state, I backed the boat into a reef and cracked the rudder. Fortunately, the propeller still worked OK and steering worked enough that we were able to steer into Man-O-War Cay. Some steering adjustments let us limp back to FL despite the bent rudder and the rudder is now being repaired. I am SO tempted to create a better rudder (I've already designed the airfoil shape), but realize that I have a tendency to imagine jobs going far more smoothly that they will in reality, so will probably just allow the experts to handle it... and save this for a future job.... probably when I bring the boat out for work again in a couple years. Here is the interior of the existing rudder as well as some of the cracks:
3) Anchored in Fort Pierce, we weathered a day with winds gusting over 50mph, by far our worst storm aboard. Winds blew so hard that the boat heeled ten degrees and, once, started dragging anchors. Fortunately I had Cynthia on board and together we secured the boat.
I find it amusing that my response is gratitude. I'm thankful that through luck, an over-built boat, and some effort and partnership, we were able to handle the rudder issue safely. I'm thankful for Cynthia's skill and preparation that helped me get through this lionfish venom and infection. I'm thankful for good contractors at the boat yard who, I believe, are working to get us repaired and launched asap. And I am thankful to have our friends, Georgia and David, here in Vero Beach, providing us a home in their house while the repairs are underway. I am thankful for ice and good yoga videos and a comfortable bed to help with Cynthia's back.... and mine, for that matter. And there is SO much more that it would get boring to list it all.
Cynthia has been stripping off the horrible peeling finish from all the teak around the toerail.... and finding it terribly tedious, but very satisfying.
I've been making lots of repairs and improvements, like rebuilding a rotten beam in the galley that has been leaking and nasty since before we bought the boat: also very satisfying. Here I am fitting old paneling over all the structural wood I've added.
So.... Cynthia goes back to MI about March 8. I hope to launch the boat by March 26 and leave it on a mooring in Vero or Fort Pierce. Maybe Cynthia and I can sail in April...or maybe July.... either in Bahamas or here or NC.... we shall see. I look forward to seeing sunrises and sunsets again.
