April 26 - May 8 -- Three Compounding and Waxing Days and a Speed Bump

The first day of the three, my friend, Bob, came along to help. For me it was the first day after several days of rest, and enthused by his presence,  helpfulness and strength -- he is a former gymnast -- we compounded and waxed ILENE's whole starboard side. The next two days, working alone and being more tired, I only did two thirds of the port side, so only 1/6 of this job remains to be done. But I did some other things too. I discovered that the Colinite compounding fluid used on the gelcoat of the hull also does a great job removing the surface rust on the stainless steel bowsprit and bow pulpit structure. Also, in prior years I had used acetone on the rubber rub rail that surrounds the boat, where the hull joins the deck, a sord of mini-fender of white rubber that soaks up dirt. But Colinite cleans it better than acetone and faster and safer, and then Colinite paste wax seals out the dirt and prevents the rust, sorta.

The last of the three workdays was Saturday and Lene and I took another sailing friend, Sheila, to the home of Bennett and Harriet for a delicious dinner. I agreed to help Bennett launch Ohana on Wednesday, a promise that later events precluded me from keeping. We all ate the same great food though I ate more of it, and I was the only one to get sick, so the food was not the cause. By Sunday night at midnight I had had enough and intensifying stomach swelling and pain that I went to the hospital where a CAT scan revealed an obstruction of the small intestine. By placing a tube up through my nostril and down into my stomach and connecting the other end to a vacuum, over the next sixteen hours they were able to suck out half a liter of fluid from my stomach, in much the way we take waste oil out of the boat's engine, through the dip stick hole  --  except my nostril is a bit more tender than a dip stick hole. I have a selfie of myself with that Gastro-Nasal tube in me but I'll spare you, trust me, it's not pretty. I got rid of a lot more fluids via nausea, micturation and diarrhea.

Tuesday I felt great and they let me out but within four hours I was back with relapse. This second time I persuaded them to not use the nose tube and the pain went down, but they kept me for observation. By Friday they gave up the waiting game and did lapooscopic surgery which determined that it was "only" gastroenteritis ("worst case I have ever seen" said the surgeon), rather than some potentially worse causes. The inflammation caused everything in there to swell so much that the pipe got blocked off. Sort of like a hose clamp tightened too much. They sent me home on Saturday afternoon with orders to rest. No lifting more than ten pounds for a while. I scoffed but they were right. The incisions, though small, were deep, right through the abdominal muscles which are used for every type of pushing or pulling. But by Sunday night, things eased a bit and I will be able to do more than I could on Saturday,  but I'm still going to need help to get ILENE launched.

Early in my hospital stay I got a call from Walt of the Harlem YC. He walked past ILENE, recognized her, heard the AM-FM radio blaring and saw that (apparently in my eager anticipation of Harriet's food) I had not shut the radio or closed up the companionway. Walt yelled for me and realizing I was not there, he closed things up properly. You have to love sailors for their willingness, indeed eagerness, to help each other. Thanks Walt!

Speed bumps slow you but don't stop you!