Setback

The week had started very well, with all the work on the sails and the rigging completed, most of the work on the genset and electric wiring done, the transponder installed and working and almost half of the electronic done.

What is left is to change the "bird" up the mast, as the wind direction sensor was bent in July in the storm we went through with more than 60 knots of wind. I also want them to check thoroughly the SSB.

The list being well shorted , together with Eric, I took time to help Stew take his boat out of the water which was done on Friday. Meanwhile, Stew and Diana moved most of tthe stuff that they will need for the next two years on Papy Jovial.

Saturday morning, while I was cleaning car and boat, I was told that Stew had broken his leg. I went to his boat, and there he was, lying on the ground, with a right leg that looked that it was broken very close beneath the knee. While the medics took him to the hospital, and thereafter, all we could do was wait until we could find out how serious it was.

This morning, the truth is plain and painful. Stew is out of commission for 6 to 9 months, if not more, and their coming along with me is no longer possible.

All that will take some time to digest and for everyone, but mostly Stew and Diana, to readjust to the new reality. Having their boat on the dry, and Stew being unable to go up or down stairs, they are for all practical purposes, homeless, with Stew having quit his job two days ago. Not a very happy situation. Hopefully, the situation will sort itself out, somehow also with the help of the brotherhood.

As for the trip, I will have now to scramble to find a crew to go with me. I could probably do it alone, but there is not much fun that way. I have done it before, on much shorter trips, and it feels like making a delivery, not like cruising for fun. So, I have made a few phone calls, and now I can only wait and hope. . . .