View of Marsh Harbor looking Southeast. Marsh Harbor Marina is at the shoreline a half-mile away.
My outdoor "office", napping sofa and BBQ grill.
View of Marsh Harbor from the flybridge, looking Southwest.
Lots of boats in this harbor, mostly sailboats. At the moment, KINGDOM is the largest powerboat at anchor here. There are a few larger boats tied up to some of the Marina piers, though.
We didn’t really intend to be in Marsh Harbor more than a few days. But Susan’s internist called and insisted that she needed to run some tests right away. Not to be too graphic, but some blood had appeared in her last urine sample, which was of concern because Susan’s father has a history of bladder cancer. This is a highly treatable condition if it is found early. So Susan flew into West Palm Beach for an appointment with a urologist.
Since she was going anyway, she decided to have her knee examined. It has been giving her pain on and off for some time, and it has been getting worse. Some days, she could barely walk.
Claire and Don Jones once again came to our rescue. Claire made appointments for Sue with doctors and labs, picked her up at the airport, saw to it that she was provided with bed and board, and drove her to the appointments. I don’t know how we would have coped without their help and kindness.
X-rays and MRI scans of Susan’s knee turned up a torn meniscus (sp?) tendon, which needed arthroscopic surgery to repair. She scheduled the procedure between visits to labs and other doctor visits last week. Her stitches will be removed next Wednesday. In the meantime, she is doing physical therapy, treating the knee with ice packs, and walking on crutches.
She is scheduled for more tests next week for the urinary tract, so we don’t yet have a diagnosis on that issue.
Our hope is that Susan will fly back to Marsh Harbor on Friday of next week. We’ll just have to see how it goes.
Life aboard KINGDOM is very quiet, without my Susie.
The weather has been extremely changeable, with alternating cold and warm fronts sweeping across the Bahamas with great regularity. For example; today started calm, sunny, and warm, with light breezes out of the southeast. By noon, the wind had shifted around and blowing out of the north 20 mph. By sundown, it was calm again out of the northwest. Forecast calls for more of the same pattern tomorrow. I don’t like to leave the boat to go ashore when the wind is blowing hard and shifting directions. There is always a chance that one of our neighboring boats will drag an anchor, so I prefer to be on deck under these conditions.
When the boat is swinging around on the anchor chain, in windy conditions, we constantly lose connectivity to the internet and satellite, so it gets frustrating trying to do email, update our blog, or even watch TV. I don’t like to be belowdecks working in the engine room under these conditions, either, since I cannot see what is going on around us. About the only thing I can do is try to read, and even then I can’t sit still very long.
While Susan is on the mainland, she took the opportunity to do some needed shopping at US prices. She was able to get some of her scuba gear; a wet suit and BCD (Buoyancy Control Device – basically an inflatable vest). I negotiated with a local dive shop here in Marsh Harbor for two reconditioned air tanks, and a reconditioned regulator and octopus. You divers know what this stuff is.
We also ordered additional charts from Bluewater Books in Ft. Lauderdale, which she will bring back with her. We expected to buy them along the way, but we are finding local sources are virtually non-existent for anything other than the Bahamian waters, which we already have aboard. She will bring back a complete chart set that will take us all the way to Venezuela, another investment of about $1000. I think subconsciously, we wanted to see if we could actually do this before buying them. We are now sure that we can, and that we will, proceed on southward.
When we have more test results, or further news to report, I will post another blog entry.
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