by Judy Handley | May 12, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 203, Year 9: Productive Day
Date: Monday, May 12, 2014
Weather: Another GORGEOUS DAY—High Near 80 degrees F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
What a productive day we had aboard Windbird. Mark and I were both at home and we started our day by getting the headsail and staysail up. The sails were in storage for the winter, so we hauled them out of the car and down to boat this morning. And even with a little wind, the process of getting them up went more smoothly than usual. We got off to a rocky start when, after using tremendous energy to get the head sail up, Mark realized that he had forgotten to attach the sail to a very important piece of equipment before having me wench the heavy sail up and up. So we had to bring it all the way back down and do it all over again. But things went smoothly despite the extra energy expended. Putting up the staysail was easy, so now we are ready to go sailing.
Next Mark helped me get my hanging planter, now known as my Mother’s Day Garden, hung from the arch on the back deck. And then we started on our next job—calling doctors. We now have our yearly appointments with the dentist, the dermatologist, the primary care physician, and the gynecologist for me. And more importantly, Mark was able to reach both his oncologist at Mass General to get the recommendations of the team that met last Thursday and his primary care physician here on the Cape to get the results of the recent pulmonary function test. The latter, the pulmonary function test, showed no issues, but the doctor is ordering another chest x-ray to follow up on the one done the end of April. The hope is that Mark’s lungs will look considerably clearer now than they did a couple of weeks ago. He is certainly feeling better and the cough is all but gone, so hopefully the lungs will reflect that. The news from Dr. Kwak, his oncologist at Mass General, offered a new approach that we weren’t expecting. A team met on Thursday without the surgeon as she was still not available. The team does not think surgery is possible but they are recommending cancer ablation, a minimally invasive surgical method used to treat solid cancer tumors. Special probes are used to “burn” or “freeze” cancers without the usual surgery. Computed Tomography (CT), Ultrasound (US) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is used to guide and position the needle probe into the tumor. This requires only a tiny hole, usually less than 3 mm via which the probe is introduced. When the probe is within the cancer it is attached to a generator which “burns” or “freezes” the cancer. If the tumor is not too large and is accessible to the probes, this procedure can completely kill the cancer cells. And evidently the team thinks this is the case for Mark. You go in one day and are out the next. So IF the oncologists can ever get together with Dr. Sylla, the surgeon, a final decision will be made. Hopefully we will hear back with a decision by the end of this week. But this new approach sounds hopeful to us. We’ll certainly pass on the decision once we hear. As Mark says, he is doing well and doesn’t find the waiting game to be an issue. He says he has too much interesting stuff to do to spend time wondering when the doctors will contact him. His very positive approach tells him they will call and that we’ll soon know what comes next. So he is more concerned with just enjoying each day and making plans for heading south this winter!
We ended the day with a trip to storage to take the framing that supports our winter cover and then we went to the supermarket for a massive shopping trip. I am slowly trying to change our diet to the vegetarian side. I recently ordered the ‘Forks Over Knives’ Cookbook and I had a list a mile long of ingredients that I needed to try out some of the recipes. We started tonight by having Chana Saag (chickpeas cooked with spinach in Indian spices). This is one of our favorite Indian dishes and the new recipe was great. Since it called for two pounds of spinach, I had to fix it tonight as I have absolutely no way of storing that much spinach in the refrigerator. Tomorrow night we’re going Mexican, the next night North African, and then on to Thai. Cooking vegetarian always takes more time because of the preparation of all the veggies, so we’ll not go totally vegetarian. But after my initial try-outs of some of the recipes that interest us most, we’ll try to do vegetarian five nights a week with fish and chicken-based meals on the other two nights. At least that’s the plan at this point.
by Judy Handley | May 11, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 202, Year 9: Happy Mother’s Day
Date: Sunday, May 11, 2014
Weather: GORGEOUS DAY—A Warm and Sunny Surprise
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Happy Mother’s Day to all the special mothers I know, especially to the two mothers nearest and dearest to me, my daughter Heather and my daughter-in-law Jo. In addition to being the mothers of our five adorable grandchildren, these two women are both going through exciting times in their lives. Heather has been invited to visit Aquarius Reef Base in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary near Key Largo, Florida, in late June. This is an underwater laboratory and Heather is so excited she can hardly breathe when she talks about going. She will be gone for five days, the longest she has ever been away from her boys, but ‘momma’ deserves this trip. Jo’s excitement is about the new living experiment she and Justin are carrying out. Jo is learning a whole new way of life by living outside and basically off the grid. On May 1st, she and Justin, along with Ziggy and Coco, moved into a tent and are experiencing life on a whole new level. So Happy Mother’s Day, Heather and Jo. Keep living life to the fullest while being the best mothers on the planet. (I’m just a little biased.)
I spent a lovely day with my daughter and got to talk to my son via Skype video late this afternoon. So I am a very happy mother on this day. After taking Mark to work this morning, I went to Heather and Jed’s and hung out with the boys in the backyard for a while before launching into the planting of my Mother’s Day garden. Justin and Jo sent me a three-tiered hanging planter for my birthday and today I filled it with herbs—basil, cilantro, thyme, mint, and sage. I waited until today to do the planting because one of my favorite Mother’s Day gifts of all time was a perennial flower garden that Justin planted for me one year. I thought it fitting that I should fill the planter given to me by J & J on Mother’s Day as well. Justin laughed when he heard what I had done as he had planted a Mother’s Day garden for Jo this year. But the story behind that is the funny part. Her planter started out as a boat. If you are interested in reading about the transformation from boat to planter, you can go to Jo’s latest post at: http://ourpiratelife.com/2014/05/11/grand-aspirations-boat-named-planter/.
After planting, Heather and I took off with Sam and Jonah to visit Spohr Gardens while Jed stayed home with napping Ollie. Since I had never been to the gardens before, Sam and Jonah were excited to take me on a tour of the six acres. This was once the estate of the Spohr family and is situated on Oyster Pond in Falmouth. Their home was modest but the woodland and pond-side gardens they developed are spectacular. When they died the property was put in trust to the public with the stipulation that the gardens be open to visitors every day of the year. What a wonderful gift to people of Falmouth. We then traveled on to Woods Hole to see the Penguins to Polar Bears art exhibit. There were paintings and photographs and both were beautiful. Jed and Ollie joined us while we were having a yogurt on the back deck of the Woods Hole Market. Looking out over Eel Pond made me a little sad to think that we won’t be there this year. But I’m sure our new home will be just as much fun. We just need to get there and find out. I left the gang in the Woods Hole thinking I wouldn’t see them again today, but after picking Mark up from work, we headed to Heather and Jed’s to pick up my Mother’s Day garden. While we were there, Heather came home and somehow we ended up going out to dinner together. There’s nothing greater than not having to cook on Mother’s Day! While at Heather’s we connected with Justin and Jo via Skype and got a visual tour of Camp Pirate. It was a wonderful day.
by Judy Handley | May 10, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 201, Year 9: Windbird’s Nest
Date: Saturday, May 10, 2014
Weather: Mostly Cloudy with a Threat of Rain, High Temp in the 50’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Like all birds, Windbird has her nest. It is our cockpit when it is covered with the dodger and bimini and all of the side curtains are in place. It is a warm, dry refuge from the world. A few weeks ago, we took down the bimini and side curtains so I could varnish the cockpit coaming cap rail. Because of all the drizzly days we have had since then, I got on only three coats, but that will make it through this season. When we took down the side curtains, I took them out on the dock and scrubbed them thoroughly and today we put everything back together. Mark had to do some sewing repair work on a few of the seams and then we had to spray all of the canvas with Sunbrella 303 Fabric Guard which is a water repellent. Once those jobs were done, everything was put back in place and Windbird’s nest is ready for another season.
The weather was not right today for putting on the sails. It was just too windy, but Monday looks good. So if that forecast holds, we’ll put the sails on Monday and then move the boat to her new summer home next Saturday. Of course, that depends on the weather, but at least the high tide time is perfect. They dredged the entrance this winter, but since going aground there a couple of years ago, we’ll leave at high tide—just in case.
We are babysitting at Heather and Jed’s tonight while they are in Woods Hole at a presentation by Robert Krulwich, NPR Science Correspondent and co-host of public radio’s Radiolab. His talk tonight is entitled, “Saddam Hussein’s Secret Octopus and other Tales of Science.” Can’t wait to hear what that was all about. Mark works tomorrow and H & J and boys have invited me to tag along with them on their Mother’s Day outing. We’ll visit a WHOI art exhibit focused on the impact of climate change on polar animals, have lunch, and visit Peterson Farm to check on the baby lambs before coming home.
by Judy Handley | May 9, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 200, Year 9: The Wait Continues
Date: Friday, May 9, 2014
Weather: Overcast and Cool, High Temp Back Down in the 50’s F
Location: Back Onboard Windbird, Fiddlers Cove Marina
Mark has heard nothing from his doctors at Mass General or from his primary care physician here on the Cape. We know his team at Mass General met yesterday, but they told us that if we didn’t hear from them today we should call on Monday. So not hearing from them didn’t really surprise me. I am more perplexed that we haven’t heard from the primary care physician here. She ordered a chest x-ray and then a follow-up pulmonary function test which is a complete evaluation of the respiratory system. Both have been completed days ago and we have heard nothing. Maybe no news is good news, but we will be busy on Monday calling doctors to try and get some answers. The wait continues.
Our plans to move Windbird tomorrow to her new summer home have been delayed due to laziness and uncooperative weather. Technically we should be out of here as our contract was up the first of May. But the owner of the slip we are in doesn’t usually return from Florida until sometime in June, so we think it is safe to assume we can hang out for another week or so. The weather report for tomorrow is wind from the SW (the direction we need to go) and rain. So instead of moving the boat, we will spend time getting the sails on–if it is not too windy or rainy. Mark will also try to complete the repairs on the bimini so we can get that back up and have a dry cockpit once again. He has tomorrow and Monday off and then works every day for the next two weeks with the exception of one Saturday. So maybe we’ll try for a Monday move.
Our friends Chris and Geoff made it to Malaga, Spain aboard Lady M this morning. The last twelve hours of the trip from the Azores was quite rough, but they will have to email us about that later. As soon as they reached land, they had to hurry to get themselves to Gibraltar for their flight home to Australia tomorrow morning. They fly from Gibraltar to London and then to Singapore before heading on to Brisbane. I know they will be glad to plant their feet on solid ground for bit.
by Judy Handley | May 8, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 199, Year 9: Back Home on Windbird
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds, Temp in the Low 60’s F
Location: Back Onboard Windbird, Fiddlers Cove Marina
Ollie, Mark, and I headed to Windbird this morning when Heather and boys headed to work and school. Mark got us plugged back into electricity and Ollie played with Legos while I cleaned the freezer and refrigerator. When I was finished, I turned them back on so they would be cold when I returned at the end of the day with the food we had moved to Heather’s. Once that was done, Ollie and I returned home and played in the backyard for a bit before lunch and nap time. At the end of the day when Mark returned home from work at West Marine, we moved our things back to Windbird and are now nicely settled in. We really enjoyed our three nights with Heather and the boys, but it is always nice to be back home.
Jed is in Washington, DC tonight with his mom. They are hosting a memorial ‘celebration’ in honor of Jed’s dad. Today would have been Donald’s 78th (at least I think that is correct) birthday, so Marti decided it was the right time to celebrate Donald’s life with their friends and neighbors. There will be another memorial ‘celebration’ in Maine later in the summer. Our thoughts are with Jed and his family tonight.
by Judy Handley | May 7, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 198, Year 9: Questions Four Year Olds Ask
Date: Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Weather: Beautiful Day, Temp in the 60’s F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones in East Falmouth, Massachusetts
Today was a typical work a day. Mark worked from 10 to 6 at West Marine and then had an hour and a half monthly meeting. Loooooong day for him. Heather doesn’t normally work on Wednesdays, but since she stayed home with Ollie so we could go to Boston yesterday, she worked half a day today. And while Mark and Heather worked, Jonah and Ollie and I had fun in the backyard. When Heather came home, Ollie was napping and she took Jonah food shopping with her. When they returned, Jonah presented me with a red rose and told me it was to go back to Windbird with me. I then told him how in Thailand, when you launch a boat, you decorate it with flowers, sort of like christening a new boat. So I said the rose would be Windbird’s christening flower. Jonah looked at me and asked, “Who’s Chris?” That was definitely the highlight of my day!
Our friends Geoff and Chris who are crewing aboard Lady M as she crosses the Atlantic wrote an update today. They made it to the Azores and filled the almost empty fuel tanks with 70,000 litres of fuel. That’s about 18,500 gallons. Sure am glad I didn’t have to pay that fuel bill. Here’s the update from Chris after I wrote to her yesterday telling her about Windbird’s 24-hour turn around.
“Windbird’s work period is quite the opposite to what we have experienced over the past 6 weeks and the problems continue to plague this gorgeous sports yacht. We arrived in the Azores about 7pm on Tuesday evening by the fumes in her fuel tanks. She had guzzled over 70,000 litres of fuel and we crawled in at a relatively slow speed for her of 13 knots. The fuel pipe was waiting on the dock and they pumped 75,000 litres in around an hour and a half and after taking on hundreds of bags of groceries, we were on our way in perfectly calm conditions doing 24 knots. Just after I started my watch at 2am a hydraulic hose in the starboard steering blew and sprayed oil all over the place including Geoff who was on watch at the time. Between him and the Chief Engineer they managed to fix the problem with another hose from the SCUBA compressor. It took a few hours but eventually we were underway again and at the moment we are flying along at 24 knots in the most gorgeous conditions for a motor yacht you could want and burning over a 1,000 litres of fuel per hour!!
We are heading non-stop to Malaga in Spain now instead of stopping in Gibraltar. It’s just been a continuous chasing of unrealistic arrival times to try and keep the boss happy. Stupid really as everyone is feeling so stressed and now working around the clock to have her ready for the owners to step onto the moment we arrive in port.”
