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Larry's LogOnce that was done, we went back to the boat as I had promised to help Jack and Joyce setup their computer. It seems that the hard drive had died and Dell refused to honor the warranty in Trinidad. Jack had shipped the PC to Joyce in the States but she could only change the hard drive since Dell also refused to setup the entire machine again. It was a simple matter for me to get it working again since they had all the software and so while Diane and Joyce went swimming, Jack and I got the PC working. Jack said he would be back Saturday at 10 to help me to remount the wind generator and they left around 7PM. We had a light dinner and then just relaxed. Saturday morning was very rainy but I wanted to get everything ready so Jack wouldn't have to wait around when he got here. It didn't work out. Diane cleaned the pole with NevrDull, our favorite stainless steel cleaner, but I didn't have a chance to put on all the attachments. At about 10, they came by, via dinghy this time. It was a pretty long dinghy ride, about 3 miles, particularly since it started getting a bit rough after they left. It wasn't raining when they arrived but it started again shortly afterward and we all went below. Joyce was going to use the Internet and so she left while Jack and I waited for the rain to let up a little. It finally did and we started to mount the generator on the pole and then get the pole up. Naturally, it started to pour again so we waited some more. Finally, it let up enough so we could work without getting rain in our eyes as we looked up and finished the job. By that time it was noon so Diane made some lunch for us. Joyce called on the radio and said she had walked back to TTSA and gotten a ride back to their boat so she was fine. It continued to rain so Jack stayed a bit but he finally got up to leave saying he had to get gas for the dinghy and do some things back at his boat. OK, thanks again. The rest of the day was pretty lazy since the weather stayed bad. We had been so busy recently that it felt pretty good being "cooped" up for a change. I did talk a bit with Ralph and Barbara on Black Cat, our neighbor on the finger slip. Their cat, Misha (a black cat, of course) had not been eating and a veterinarian had come by the day before. Since they worked for the government, there had been no charge the visit and Ralph and Barbara felt that he really knew his business. He had taken a blood sample and thought it was a kidney problem, but after they forced a bit of the food the vet brought with him on Misha, he started to eat again. Hopefully, he would be OK. Later in the afternoon, I called Stephanie to see how Tom was doing. He had gotten a nasty cut in his leg from a hose clamp while helping another cruiser on their engine a few days earlier and it got infected. They had gone to the hospital that morning since the night before he had started running a fever and the leg had gotten very red and hot. It had seemed OK at first but they got very worried after these new symptoms. Dawn, an ex-nurse from another boat, looked at it and said he definitely needed a doctor so they rented a car and went to the local hospital. Stephanie said they got very good care at a very reasonable cost. They had done a blood test, taken 2 x-rays and written 2 prescriptions for about $100 US. The diagnosis was a cellulitis and they had a prescription for some antibiotics. Tom was to remain off his feet and let the leg heal. They both felt better after going although it would probably delay any departure plans. Fortunately they had to wait for their new stove anyway. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent being lazy - it was still raining anyway. Next morning was clear so I finished hooking up the wind generator pole. I put in the rubber grommets on the strut clamps and mounted the brackets to hold the hoisting arm. Now I just had to remove the propane locker and hook up the wires again. But since it started to rain again, that would have to wait. Besides, it was Sunday, starting to rain and Barbara on Black Cat said it was supposed to be a day of rest. I commented that I agreed in principle but the practice was sometimes different. I thought I would be able to just relax the rest of the day and maybe read. But it was not to be. First, Bridget from Gabrielle came by to say hello and then Geri from Freestyle came by to get some help with their laptop. Unfortunately, I think their hard drive may be shot but we'll try a low-level format and reloading the operating system and see what happens. Anyway, by the time everyone left, it was too late to do any work and I wasn't really interested in reading. By then, Diane decided to go to the gym and then take a shower so I worked on the logs for a bit and then went to take a shower too. I saw Paul from Autumn Wind who said Diane was going to Mima with Stephanie, Mike and Dawn (the ex-nurse) from Just Dessert. Dawn wanted to check on Tom's leg. Diane was going to provide my brother's phone number if needed since he is a doctor. As I got back to Destiny, they were just about to leave so I went along. Tom's leg wasn't pretty but evidently had gotten a little better and Dawn didn't think it was necessary to call my brother. We just visited a bit and Mike brought us back to the boat. Tom and Steph were going back to the doctor tomorrow anyway. Monday was a busy day. During the morning we started cleaning the boat and we finally finished washing the boat down in the late afternoon. The morning was taken up with cleaning the bimini and stern rail stainless so we could put the bimini up again. I also went over to see Geri and Bob on Freestyle to help with their computer again. Unfortunately, the hard drive really was dead and they would need to get a new one, or try to get IBM to replace it. I also checked on the status of our shirts, but they wouldn't be ready until later in the week. After I got back to the boat, Jack and Joyce stopped by to say hi and chatted for a bit. That afternoon, Stephanie came by and told us that Tom was doing better. They had gone back to the hospital in the morning but after waiting 2 hours and being told it would be another 3 hours until they saw someone, they decided to leave. The nurse was only going to change the dressing and they could do that. His leg looked better but he was going crazy just lying down in the cabin so we lent them some videos and magazines. All we did that evening was watch a video ourselves. Tuesday was also very busy. I started to fit the new coaming box moldings. I had these made from fiberglass after the original plastic ones cracked. I had priced ones made from stainless steel or teak, but these materials were too expensive. The fiberglass ones needed a little sanding before they would fit correctly and also some sanding of the gelcoat. It took some time and careful work so I wouldn't sand through the gelcoat but they finally fit well and I drilled the screw holes and bolted them in - another project finished. Diane and I put up the cleaned bimini earlier so that we would have some shade in the cockpit while I worked; it was amazing how hot the deck could get from the sun, actually too hot to walk on. Diane worked below on sewing up the fender and jerry jug covers we wanted and finished one of them. Several people stopped by the say hello, like Paul from Autumn Wind and Steph, but in general we worked the entire day. |