An even more promising departure date, don’t you think (see previous post)? Only 11.11.11.11 would be better, but early November is not a good time to start on this passage – the weather would not be suitable.
Our departure from Phuket to the Mediterranean has been delayed several times now. Interesting how these last minute problems (and misfortunes in general) happen in clusters.
We’ve had both medical and mechanical incidents.
First I got this inter vertebral disk injury; a terrific pain in the small of my back combined with severe electric-shock-like pain running down my leg, which lasted for maybe 10 days although I ate 2000mg of ibuprofen a day. Then I fell over on a slippery concrete dock (with a big bag of groceries in each hand) and hurt my elbow. A week later thick, yellow, sticky fluid started to drip from the wound. Some kind of cell fluid I guess, didn’t look like abscess. I decided to start an antibiotic cure to be on the safe side anyway. Next, I flew out of the dinghy in the surf at a beach and landed on my back on the hard sand (not the same side of the back as the previous back injury). Moving around is very painful, but I hope it’s only an impact on a muscle. Luckily the dingy and outboard didn’t submerge, as they did last year in the same spot.
A severe touch of lip herpes didn’t help making my mood much better.
One of our mechanical problems worth mentioning is the break down of the engine control. Again a prime example what corrosion between two dissimilar metals (aluminium and stainless as usual) can cause. What always amazes me, however, is how skillful machinists you can find almost everywhere. Pretty much anything can be fabricated in a machine shop with basic tools.
Look at the photos. To the left is the original lever (or what is left of it) of my Morse-control. To the right is the new piece a Chinese machinist made me in a couple of hours for €35! The photos below show a close-up of the stainless set-screw which broke the cast aluminium handle, and our temporary control-arrangement.
Click here for larger view of left photo.
Click here for larger view of right photo.
Back to the heading of this post: Our latest take-off date is now 11th of January 2011 at 11:00, the day after tomorrow.
Insha’Allah.