Migration

Finally!  This is the year we will begin cruising on our sailboat.  After 15 years of working towards this goal, it is nearly here.  It won’t be until next fall, but at least we are in the same calendar year.  In the mean time we watch our neighbors test their systems, check their sails, load up their boats then head out to the Bahamas or points south. 

This is the time of year sailboats travel south and there seems to be two groups of sailors.  One group leaves their boats down here on the hard over the summer and the other group sail their boats down and up the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) each year.  The ones that leave their boats have them put back into the water before their arrival then just clean them up and get ready to sail when they fly in from up north.  We have seen some people in and out of the marina in under a week, while others take their time, catch up with friends and wait for the perfect weather.  The ones who move there boats from their home ports have to take the time to sail/motor their boats down and back each year which takes a month or two of their time, but then they have their boat to cruise on over the summer and they are cruising during the time they are moving the boat.  So, benefits either way.  I guess it just depends on how much free time people have.

The ones who sail down mostly use the ICW to get down to the Florida Keys or get to a point where they can easily jump over to the Bahamas.  Most come from the US east coast, but some come from as far north as Canada.  As our marina is just off the ICW we often see boats sailing or motoring south.  Occasionally, they'll stop in the marina; maybe fill up on diesel, buy some ice and re-stock their pantries.  Mostly they just pass on by.  Yesterday was a beautiful day and coming back from PT, I saw eleven sailboats heading south through the ICW.  That was during 15 minutes of driving along the ICW!  There was a nearly constant stream of boats heading south in search of blue water and warm weather.  We look forward to joining that group next fall.

Sailboats head south along the ICW

 

 

Several of our neighbors have packed up and headed that way, too.  Here in the marina we’ll meet someone and start to get to know them only to have them load up and leave us behind.  Later in the spring we’ll probably see them again as they return to store their boats for the summer.  They’ll head back up north to live on land once the temperatures are fit for human habitation and return again next fall as the temps begin to drop once more.

 

While we are getting left behind this winter, next winter we will be among those heading out.  In the second half of Oct we will start looking for a “weather window” - several days of nice weather with the wind out of the south will ensure that we have no trouble with crossing the Gulf Stream. We’ll move the boat south to Lake Worth (just north of Palm Beach) then jump across the Stream to West End, Grand Bahama.  From there we'll sail over to visit the Abacos then start heading south towards the Caribbean.

 

We're really looking forward to that day and we're glad that it is finally within sight.  Until then, we have plenty to keep us busy.  Our repair/update list is as long as my computer monitor is high.  We'll keep working on it until it comes time to cast off and complete as much as we can.  We'll take care of the most important items first then after that what gets done, gets done, but the list won't prevent us from starting cruising nine months from now.

 

 

Finally back to writing

We had a lot of fun going back to Texas for the holidays.  It was cold, but fun.  The day we left FL it was 80 degrees and sunny.  When we arrived in Austin it was 45 degrees and cloudy.  We lived through that kind of weather for years, but it was always a gradual change from the fall into the winter.  Making the change in a matter of hours was a shock to our systems that we did not enjoy.  Not only did we survive the cold, we also survived being around my sick brother.  He had the flu, but we managed to spend a full week with him without either of us catching his illness. Whew.

Anyway, we survived.  Wendy did manage to catch a cold on the flight back.  Somehow, I did not get sick even after spending two weeks on a boat with a sick person coughing all over.  That was a good thing because I had shoulder surgery just after we returned to FL.

From looking at the MRI the surgeon suggested he would shave off a bone that was rubbing on my bicep tendon, trim a tear from my labrum and stick a screw through the bicep tendon to hold it in place because the tendon looked like it was damaged.  It turned out once he got in there the bicep tendon looked ok and he was able to skip drilling a hole in my arm and sticking a screw through the tendon.  So, in the end, he only ground down a bone and trimmed the torn labrum.  Relatively minor.  Relatively.

For the surgery they used a nerve block.  The anesthesiologist stuck a big nettle in my neck and shot me up.  My left side went numb; mainly my left arm, but also the left side of my face and even a little bit in my left leg. Three weeks later my left ear is still numb.  The doctor was surprised; he had never heard of that before, but said it should return to normal eventually.  That did not give me a warm fuzzy feeling.

 My physical therapy started 40 hours after my surgery.  The session was pretty mild.  She just checked my range of motion and taught me a few exercises.  Over the weekend the shoulder continued to feel better and I thought I might not even need the drugs my doctor prescribed.  My second PT appointment I figured out why I was prescribed the oxycodone.  It turns out that the drugs aren’t for the surgery; they are for the physical therapy.

I showed up for my second appointment and was assigned to a tiny, little PT Assistant.  She weighs maybe 100 pounds and looked more like a Barbie Doll than a therapist.  Therapy started with me going through my warm-up exercises and some stretches.  No big deal.  Then she had me lie down on a table so she could stretch my shoulder while I “relaxed”.  I won’t mention her name; I’ll just call her Attila the Hun.  So, Attila starts moving my arm around and pushing it waaaay part where it feels comfortable.  She never says anything like “Let me know if it hurts” or “Tell me is this is uncomfortable”, she just starts pushing my arm to its limits and then beyond.   I’m not crying or whining, but my eyes are starting to sweat.  I don’t like Attila, but I know she is doing what needs to be done and next year when we’re sailing in the Bahamas I’ll thank her - maybe.  As she is doing the stretching she keeps saying, “Relax your arm.  You’re fighting me.”  I’m thinking, “Of course I’m fighting you.  You’re trying to tear my arm off.”  What I say through my clinched teeth is, “OK.”

Over the next couple of weeks I continued to be a big baby while Wendy, even though she was sick, took care of me. I would go to PT and let Attila torture me and I showed some improvement.  Slowly, my range of motion increased and after two weeks I reached full range of motion, with Attila pushing on my arm.  I still couldn’t get there on my own, but it is just a matter of time at this point.  It still hurts nearly as bad because each time she pushes it farther than the time before.  I’m sure one day I’ll thank her, but it won’t be one day soon.  When the stitches came out the nurse said the incisions looked great and that I probably wouldn't even have any scars.  I was thinking that was too bad since I wanted something to show for all the pain.

My brother had the same little bone defect I did and had the same surgery I did at about the time I went to my first PT appointment.  Since then we have been comparing pain and recovery.  While our recovery and physical therapy is not a competition, I’m pretty sure I’m winning.

 At this point I am back to normal activity which means working on the boat and doing my job.  Wendy has completely recovered from her cold and is back to taking care of the “home”.  She has worked her way up to preparing meals using two burners and the oven.  South Florida has mostly nice weather in the winter, though we had one night it got down to 32 degrees.  We had some ice form on the cabin top and Wendy fell on her butt while walking across in the morning.  Nothing injured, but her pride.

This Friday the mast finally goes back on our boat and we will be a sailboat again.  The whole time we’ve been here we have had no mast.  We’ve been like a car up on blocks with no wheels.  All we needed was an old sofa to put on the front deck to complete the look.  I’ll tell that story is coming soon, but the mast needs to be up for the story to have an ending.