My Time in the Ward

By Loretta

 

Our visit to Langkawi Hospital went very well. When we arrived at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club on May 21, we immediately rented a car and went to the Emergency Ward. It was there that I learned that I had broken both my leg bones at the ankle, and would require surgery.

 

After going to and fro with the decision making, and after discovering that the orthopaedic surgeon had a very busy schedule, and after closely studying the x-rays and CT scan, we all finally agreed on an action plan. Then things moved quickly.

 

By 5:00 p.m. I was admitted to the hospital and fasting, in the hope that the busy surgeon would be able to fit me into his schedule. Darrel was kept busy gathering items for me, coordinating with the hospital staff, and doing all the other things required when first landing in a country.

 

By 3:00 p.m. the next day, May 22 (two weeks after the break), I was getting a spinal block and enjoying the company of nine professionals as they got down to the business of resetting my bones and installing a steel plate and two screws.

The incision on the other side had 13 stitches.

 

In the meantime, Darrel was scrambling, trying to deal with uncooperative banks both in Canada and Malaysia to secure enough cash to pay for the medical bills. It turns out we over-estimated the amount we would need, but we didn’t want to be caught short.

 

May 23:

Darrel got all the money we needed.

I was trained on my new crutches.

Darrel renewed his Malaysia driving license.

 

May 24:

I slipped and fell on the clean but wet hospital floor. I remembered my karate training and fell in a safe manner, but was shook up. Darrel slipped and fell (safely) trying to rescue me.

 

May 25:

Darrel talked with Expedia and managed to get a nearly-full refund for our air tickets out of Mauritius.

Darrel bought another phone so I could call him from the hospital bed if I needed anything. He actually called me, wondering where the microwave popcorn was.

 

 

Comfy and safe in a wheelchair, cleaning my teeth.

 

Three doctors and a nurse telling me I can go home.

May 27:

I got my plastic splint (softened, then moulded to my shape).

We paid the hospital bill – way more affordable than we thought.

By 2:00 – we’re back on CanKata. Good to be home, even in a marina.

 

May 28:

We bought a wheelchair, after I discovered that the long wobbly docks in the marina are just too much for me on crutches.

 

May 29:

Darrel turned 60. No cake, sigh. But we had a delicious meal at the marina restaurant – rack of lamb, apple pie with ice cream for dessert.

 

May 30:

Follow up visit to three doctors on the ward. They said all looked well.

 

June 5:

They took my stitches out. No infection – hurray.

 

 

 

Something I posted on FaceBook:

 

Cost to fix a broken leg in Langkawi, Malaysia (with top notch care):

(Canadian dollars)

Admittance to hospital - $17.

Six days hospital stay, with meals and meds - $142.

Lab work - $27.

Radiology and CT scan - $30.

Cardiology - $10.

Ortho implant - $100.

Two hours surgery - $135.

Crutches brand new - $27.

Wheelchair brand new - $95.00.

Dressings (of course brand new) - $88.

Personal care 24/7 by Darrel: PRICELESS.

 

The Women of the Ward

I had asked for a private room at the hospital, but there were none available. So I was put in a four-bed room, B9-12, although there was never a time when all four beds were filled. I was in B-11.

 

This sharing of a room turned out to be a very good thing in terms of teamwork and sisterly love. And it was an incredibly rich cultural experience.

 

My first “roomy” – B9 - was a 62-year-old Chinese-Malay woman who could speak no English, but her son and daughter could speak it very well. While Darrel was out-and-about taking care of business for us, the three of them would hover and ensure I was doing okay. My roomy had fallen and broken her wrist, and had her surgery just before me. They had put her under, and when she came back to our room she was pretty sick. I did my bit by pushing the call button.  We got pretty good at sign language for things like, “Look at that rain”, “What a beautiful morning”, “What a crappy meal”, “Boy is she a grouchy nurse”, “Crap – they’re waking us up at 4 a.m. again”, and so on. She left after a couple of days.

 

My second roomy – B12 - was only in for a short stay. She had just had her second miscarriage and was in for a CT scan. She is Muslim, with two daughters, and very badly wants a son. She will try again. She was pretty quiet but laughed at the antics of her old-lady roommates.

 

The third roommate was a very sad case.  The evening of my surgery, there was much hustle and bustle and then a stretcher came in with an adult patient for B-10. Special equipment was set up for the patient. I had just asked for a strong painkiller so dozed through much of her admittance process. I awoke at about midnight to see that B-10 was tossing and turning and groaning. Her mother was with her, rubbing her arms and head and trying to keep her from banging against the side of the bed. I could see that the patient was swollen all over, head to toe, and obviously in much pain. I still regret not pushing the call button. A nurse should have been there to help the mother calm her daughter. The two of them were up all night, one tossing and groaning through her pain, the other trying to settle her without any success.

 

In the morning, nothing much had changed except that the poor mother was now reduced to tears, hopelessly whispering calming words to her pain-riddled daughter. I went to the bathroom to get ready for the day, and after a few minutes returned to find that a full team had come to help the mother. The curtains were closed, but my roomy in B-9 could see what was happening. She started crying, pantomimed a swollen head, shook her head, and cried some more. Doctors ran in and out. One came in with a user manual! A few minutes later, they took the patient away, followed by her sobbing mother and a few other relatives who had shown up. We were never told what happened to our roommate.

 

B-10 was filled by a lovely Muslim lady named Saidah who prayed a lot. She would dress in a lovely white robe and head-dress, kneel towards Mecca, and say her prayers. Every time she ate, she offered up a toast in the direction of Mecca. Her husband would visit often, but usually read the paper or had a nap. Her sons came from time to time, and they were wonderful, doting sons. They brought her gifts, a cake, a gold ring, and they threw her a big party the day before her surgery. She was having a breast removed. The party was festive but there were many tears. Her sons could speak English and they asked me a lot of questions about my circumstances. One had a sweet 2-year-old daughter that kept us on our toes. They gave me a piece of cake.

 

B-12 was filled by Chinese-Malay teenager named Jasmine who had mangled her knee in a car accident. Her mother, who broke her shoulder in the same accident, stayed with her nearly round-the-clock. She became a care-giver to me too.

 

B-10 had a habit of leaving the bathroom sopping wet. B-12’s mom would wipe it up so I wouldn’t slip on my crutches. She bought me apples. She showed me photos of her family. She introduced me to her family when they came to visit her daughter. She gave me regular updates on her daughter’s progress (all this via older daughter #2 who could speak very good English). With daughter #2’s help, we had long discussions about traffic safety, Malaysian culture, and the role of Chinese in Malaysia. As I said earlier – it was a rich cultural experience being in Ward B9-B12.

 

Like me, Jasmine hated the catheters that they put in our arms to facilitate intravenous injection of antibiotics. Together, we would tease the nurses, suggesting that they were enjoying the pain they inflicted upon us when either injecting us or putting in a new catheter (I needed the original and two replacements). Both Jasmine and I were using crutches, and I think the stress on our arms caused the catheters to displace. Then our injections would miss our veins and cause our arms to painfully swell. More teasing of nurses required.

 

I left the hospital before Jasmine. The doctor wanted her to be able to bend her knee to a certain angle before he would let her go. She was gone by the time I went back for my follow-up visit on May 30. So was Saidah. Jasmine and I are now friends on FaceBook.

 

So with the aid of rich memories, an incredible husband, a splint, crutches, a wheelchair and the odd painkiller, I am healing well. Thank you all for your concern and good wishes. Loretta xx

Fractured bones, fractured dreams

By Darrel

 

 

 

Loretta and I purchased CanKata in 2002, and since such time we have had numerous wonderful adventures. Often when we talk to landlubbers they mention to us that we are “living the dream” and their eyes are filled with envy.

 

Well over the past while we have awoken from our dream and have had a number of unfortunate incidents.

 

After aborting our circumnavigation attempt due to unseasonably bad weather patterns we had turned CanKata back towards Thailand, with a planned stopover in Malaysia. Since our decision was mutual we were both in relatively good spirits and we thought we would enjoy our trip back.

 

We had already cleared out of Indonesia so officially we were supposed to be out of the country within 24 hours. Our visa had expired and we had spent most of our Indonesian Rupiahs. Luckily we still had a number of hours of phone time and internet time if we were within range of both.

 

After seeking refuge from the nasty weather heading towards us on our way to Mauritius, we planned our route northbound and started watching the weather along that route. Wow - not only were extreme lows forming westward they were also forming up at the top end of Sumatra with winds exceeding 50 knots and waves exceeding 5 meters (16 feet). So we had to plan our return trip slowly allowing the unseasonal weather to move off the coast of Sumatra and head towards Sri Lanka.

Storm in our path off the north end of Sumatra.

Winds up in the high 30s with waves of 9.4 metres.

 

 

Because we had intentionally depleted our Indonesian currency we did not have much to pay any fees to the Indonesian authorities if we were boarded while underway or at anchor along the way. Also we did not have much to replenish our diesel which we had used to get away from the West coast of Sumatra enroute to Mauritius and then back again. We did have some USD if we would be so lucky to find someone to either exchange it or allow us to purchase diesel with it. Because we were illegal aliens we could not go to any port to access an ATM due to port authorities.

 

So after studying the weather and planning a number of different routes, we agreed that we would take our time and slowly sail north in an attempt to conserve our fuel and to give the nasty weather time to get the hell out of dodge.

 

During our last night in the anchorage before heading off, our sleep was disrupted by a storm, or perhaps a Sumatra, with rain and winds pushing our wind meter up to 49 knots. But the next morning looked better so off we headed without knowing for certain which path and how far we would go. Our route would be determined as we go by keeping a close eye on the weather reports we would receive through our SSB.

 

The winds were between 10 and 20 knots on our beam so we were able to sail, making us very happy. Later in the afternoon we got a small shower but the winds were holding speed and direction.

 

Around 15:30 I decided to have a nap due to having been robbed of some sleep the night before and to help me prepare for doing my 6 hour watch during the night.

 

Just after getting comfortable I heard a loud yell from Loretta “Darrel Darrel ….then garble … foot”.  I flew from the berth into the cockpit thinking that Loretta had somehow got her foot caught in the genoa sheet and twisted around the winch. But Loretta was sitting on the cockpit seat beside the helm holding her foot and then told me she slipped while climbing up to the helm seat and fell onto the cockpit floor but forcing her foot to twist way beyond its natural articulation would allow. She told me she thought she heard a crack so our first thought was that she broke her lower leg or ankle. Then she told me she thought she was going to faint, which she immediately did. I grabbed some cushions to prop her up and began to think of our options. We were about 15 miles from the closest anchorage but it was remote and no medical assistance would be there unless we were so lucky to find a surf boat with a doctor aboard (some of which apparently do). The closest hospital was in Padang which is where we had cleared out from about a week ago, but it was about 80 miles away.  I thought this latter option was our best one, so I altered course and CanKata picked up speed due to even better wind orientation. We would arrive by 04:30 at which time I would have to seek help to get Loretta off CanKata and onto shore, which I knew would not be easy since it was difficult even for an able bodied person.

We were hoping this was just a bad sprain.

 

Loretta had now regained consciousness and we were able to take a closer look at her injury. I carefully probed and felt along her bones and looked at the alignment of her foot. Loretta was able to wiggle her toes and she could put some pressure on the heel. The foot had begun to swell but from our cursory diagnosis we thought it may only be a sprain and not a fracture. I pulled our medical and first aid books out and read about fractures and sprains to try to determine if the symptoms differed. All the literature stated that if medical attention could not be sought, the sprain should be treated like a fracture. We had all the necessary supplies on board to wrap the ankle and if needed to rig up a splint. We also had pain killers on board. It was then we decided to turn CanKata 180 degrees and sail to the anchorage which was now about 20 miles away and hold up there for a night to allow us more time to determine what we should do. Unfortunately, just after turning CanKata around the wind shifted and increased so it was now directly on our nose. At this rate we would not make it into the anchorage before dark so we now had to decide do we turn back to Padang or head north knowing we could get medical attention in Sinabang, about 300 miles away, i.e., 2 days away, if not sooner at Telo which was about 100 miles away, i.e., only one night and day of sailing. Loretta was feeling much better by now and the pain was holding and the swelling and bruising seemed under control. We decided to head north.

 

We moved Loretta inside and got her as comfortable as possible in the salon.

 

 

 

 

It was now starting to get dark so the wind began to die so I started one engine and motor sailed, knowing that if we kept that up we would be forced to go to a port to arrange for money and diesel. But at this point this was the least of our concerns, we were prepared to pay whatever bribes or penalties would be imposed on us. We knew we would have to face this to get Loretta to medical attention anyways.

 

By the next morning we were still about 70 miles away from Telo, the closest port, but meant we would not arrive there until after dark. It was a tricky channel to get into it so we thought we would just continue on to Sinabang. Loretta at this time was well rested and felt the pain had subsided considerably, unless she accidentally hit or twisted her foot. More and more we both felt the injury was a sprain rather than a break, so as long as Loretta stayed put it would be okay.

 

We were now motor sailing between the two islands of Siberut and Telo and had a strong contrary current slowing us down considerably. Not only that but the wind shifted and was also on our nose so we, or I, had to drop the sails and motor until the conditions changed – which they did but not as we were hoping. Around 18:30 I looked at the sky and there was a distinct black line of clouds just to the north of us. Could this be another Sumatra? We hoped not.

 

About two hours later we got hit and again had sustained winds in the mid forties with the highest gust hitting 49 (what the heck is with 49 knots?). The storm lasted just over an hour during which I had to start the other engine to keep CanKata pointed in the right direction. Even so we lost some ground until the storm passed. (SEE PHOTO OF SEAMAX)

 

Once the storm passed the winds stayed over 20 knots on our nose (our last weather report indicated we should have had winds from our port quarter) and the seas had built up to 3 meters (10 feet) hitting us front on. Our boat speed was averaging about 1 knot. There were no safe anchorages before Telo so we had no option but to continue. Our plans to continue to Sinabang were scrapped due to our renewed timing, i.e., we could reach Telo during daylight. Originally we thought we would have passed the turning point in the wee hours of the night.

 

The other reason to change our heading to Telo was because I was getting dangerously exhausted. I had been trying to get 15 minute naps between my watches but with the bad weather and sea state the naps were limited and sleep deprivation was starting to set in. I do not know how single handers do it, nor do I ever wish to find out. Also, although I am very seldom affected by sea sickness, I was not feeling very well. It was probably due to stress more than anything else but I had reluctantly taken a sea sick med so I too would not also be incapacitated. The common effect from sea sick meds is drowsiness, which was not what I needed but better than the other option.

 

(Loretta’s email on May 9:

We left Pototogat on May 7. Our last night there was blustery. There were three boats in the anchorage, which has good holding, and none of us dragged. It is a well-sheltered bay so the waves didn't build.

 

The morning was incredibly calm, so we accepted the fact that we would have to burn some fuel, raised our anchor, and headed off. I put "HOME" in the media player search engine, and 53 songs popped up, including the album "Feels Like Home" by Norah Jones, "Home" by Mick Bubbles, "Homeward Bound" by Simon & Garfunkel, "Take the Long Way Home" by Supertramp, and (of course) "I'll Be Home for Christmas". Good music to head home by.

 

By 9:30 we were getting favorable winds, so both sails went up and the motor was turned off. The sea was very manageable. We had a good overnight motor-sail.

 

Wednesday was not a good day. We had strong winds and current on our nose and a few squalls. One squall had winds up to 49 knots - what's with that number? We now no longer have enough fuel to get us home so will have to make a stop somewhere.

 

Worst luck, I slipped climbing up into the helm seat and sprained my ankle - to the extent that I am "out of commission" and keeping my ankle elevated. Darrel is now running the show entirely on his own, while tending to my needs. L. )

 

 

We arrived in Telo around 1600 and just as we were approaching the anchorage we got something tangled around our prop so I had to switch over engines and anchor with just the one. Once anchored I immediately dove in to remove the item from the prop but it had already freed itself. Once anchored all I could do was prepare a meal for Loretta and me and close down CanKata. I crashed at 1930 and slept with a couple of disruptions - which I will mention later - until 0630.

 

That night the wind picked up again and a couple of small storms passed over us. I turned on our anchor alarm in the berth and could see that our anchor was holding, but perhaps too well. Loretta and I could both hear our anchor chain wrapped around a bommy. There was nothing we could do about it at that time so we just put up with the grinding noise throughout the night.

 

The next morning was very blustery and a big surf was crashing against the shore even though we were on East cost of Telo thereby protected from the swell from the Indian Ocean. I knew that our dinghy was out of commission since we had removed the motor for our crossing of the Indian Ocean. It takes two people to put it back on. I noticed a small speed boat in our vicinity so I hailed them down and asked if there was a hospital or doctor around. You have to understand that there is little if any English spoken in these parts and of course I cannot speak any Indonesian so all of our communication from this point on is in combination with a lot of pantomiming. I invited one of the two men in the speed boat to come aboard so I could show him Loretta’s leg. We then worked out a deal for him to take me to shore and he would take me to a German doctor. I quickly grabbed my clothes, money and the camera with photos of Loretta’s leg and also our boat papers and expired visas and passports just in case I ran into the authorities and we sped off to a dock which from a distance looked quite sturdy. However, up close I could see that the dock was damaged due to the previous night’s storm and we had to walk over some spans and across one slippery narrow plank. I knew then that this was not a place for Loretta to disembark. I was led to a Catholic church where I met a lady in white who was not a doctor but probably a nurse. With the help of my boat guy we told the lady, who could not speak any English about Loretta’s injury and condition. Somehow during the translation the injury was confused since the lady asked me if the “animals” that caused the injury were still on board. I think she thought it was a snake or spider bite. That is when I pulled out the camera and showed her the photos. This lady was not willing to come out to the boat so I told her that once the conditions settled down I would try to get Loretta to come in. In the meantime she gave me some cream in a half used tube (not sure what it was at the time) but I took it and later found through an internet search that it was to improve blood circulation and used specifically for sprains. She refused any payment. When we got back to the dock the surf had picked up and the remaining boat man and his father had taken the boat from the dock to avoid damaging the boat. They saw us on the dock and came in so we could leap onto the boat and they returned me to CanKata. I paid them with USD.

 

Later that day a charter surf boat, Bohemian Baru came into the anchorage. As they went by in their dinghy I hailed them over and asked if by chance they had a medical doctor on board. Unfortunately no, but they would pass the info onto their captain and see if he could be of any assistance. The captain, Moose, immediately came over and looked at Loretta’s leg. He too thought it was probably only a very bad sprain but advised us to seek medical attention soon. We told him we were going to sail off to Malaysia as soon as the weather cleared up to the north, which again he agreed we had to hold off for it to pass. He said this weather is very non-typical for this time of year and in this area. I explained our dilemma with the dinghy being out of commission, and our shortage of Indonesian currency, and the urgent need for diesel. He said “no worries” he would have two of his crew run me and my jerry cans to a place where I could get diesel. He also offered to exchange some USD for Rupiahs. Wow how nice was that. I told him that we have offered assistance to a number of fellow cruisers over the years and now it is our turn to have to accept help. Moose said it important for us to all look after one another and it was good karma. His crew came and picked me up and headed off in search of diesel. They had to ask for directions to a couple of fisherman, so again I was glad to have two Indonesians to help me with this. Once we found the right place they both went on shore but told me to stay on the boat. They probably knew of my illegal status. They took my cans and got them filled and hauled them back to the dinghy. I paid for the fuel and off we went back to CanKata. The two crew guys helped me get the cans on board and then I tipped them, of which they seemed quite surprised. We now had enough fuel to motor all the way back to Malaysia if we had to.

 

The weather reports are starting to show signs of the system moving off shore so we should be able to start to head North in two days. That is providing our chain is not caught on the bommy and we have to find someone with scuba gear to help get it unwrapped.

 

(Loretta’s email on May 11:

Today was a weather-watch day, with Darrel getting as much information from internet that our weak connection would get him. It looks like we may be able to head off tomorrow morning.

 

We made bread today! I sat at the dining table, doing the mixing and kneading, while Darrel was the runner. It was fabulous teamwork, and then Darrel made us toasted cheese sandwiches for lunch. He even offered to dry my hair for me after my shampoo. Actually, I had asked him to dry "the head" and he thought I had said "my head". He did dry the head (bathroom).

 

And now he has fixed me dessert so I will go and enjoy it. L.)

 

Loretta thinks she will be able to do a few short watches but just in case it does not work out we intend to do the return trip in four legs; 1 overnighter, 2 overnighter, 1 day hop, and the last one either a 2 or 3 overnighter.

 

(Loretta’s email of May 12:

Today we were planning on moving all day and night, but the winds and currents conspired against us, so we changed direction to here, Lagudri, and had a brisk sail for a change, gaining 53 NM without burning much fuel. Darrel continues to "single-hand" and do my running around. I tried to be helpful today but am afraid that I moved around too much and have returned to square one with the healing process. The injury is triggering migraines so at times I am dopey from medication.  Right now the captain is getting a good night's sleep ... well deserved.

 

I will behave tomorrow and keep my foot elevated. We plan to do an over-nighter (maybe two if the conditions cooperate) so I might spend a couple of hours at the helm while the captain sleeps. Darrel will rig me up a device to protect my foot. L.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the time of writing this entry I was not sure if we would post this blog and if we do it will only be posted after our safe return. We do not want to cause any unnecessary concerns by our readers. Also I hope this entry does not make me out to be a hero, the actual hero in this story is Loretta for having the courage to continue on without knowing the extent of the injury. She knows that if the bone is broken and not properly set she will be able to say she broke the same leg twice. Ouch!

Our route from "the breaking point" until Langkawi - about 900 nautical miles.

 

 

Epilogue

Our voyage from Telo did not work out as planned and we did run into a few other dramas but in summary we did safely arrive at Langkawi, Malaysia nine days later. Loretta was able to take short watches provided the weather was good and there was no rain. She was limited to these conditions since she had to lie down on her bean bag in the cockpit with her leg propped on a pillow and drag herself up to the helm station every 20 minutes to look around. She would call me if any wind shifts occurred and required sail trimming.

 

(Loretta’s email May 14:

We couldn't sail to Bangkaru but made good progress with our engines, and our over-nighter was uneventful. I managed six hours on watch with an ankle that is properly taped and bound, and Darrel got sufficient rest for a change.

 

Today we'll sit in this anchorage at Bangkaru and Darrel will do some boat maintenance while I try not to be too useless. Tomorrow morning we'll leave bright and early on another over-nighter. L.)

 

At two different occasions we hit something at night, likely a log, although one did sound like metal. Fortunately neither encounter caused any major damage to either of or two rudders or propellers so we just kept on going. During another stretch our autohelm decided to take a holiday but I was able to source out the problem and fix it.

 

(Loretta’s email May 16:

We made great progress last night. I was supposed to be on watch for 6 hours, and Darrel certainly needed at least that much sleep, but after 4-1/2 hours the navigation system acted up and I had to get Darrel's help. But I did another spell at the helm in the morning so he was able to catch another nap.

 

It was a beautiful night to be sailing. There was a crooked smile of a moon set. Then it became a wedge of orange peel sliding slowly slowly down the curtain, then falling off the back of the stage.

 

CanKata was rather argumentative last night. Auto pilot was also taking a nap so I was hand steering. I would have us on course for a few minutes, then C would go "look look the moon I want to see the moon" and off to the west she would head. I would say, "No girl, we're going north" and would correct - well Overcorrect is more exact - and turn us north but end up going east. Then I would Overcorrect again and C would go "oh look look the moon let's go see the moon" and I would again remind her that we were heading north and then I would swing us east, and when trying to get back on a heading north, CanKata would start on her westward quest ... and so it went.  Hand steering is an art, a very special skill. I have not honed it.

 

Currently, with Darrel at the helm, the auto pilot is keeping CanKata on exactly the course she should be on, with no arguments from her. She has her favorites, I guess.

 

We're hoping for another good night tonight, getting us closer and closer to the end of this adventure. L.)

 

We arrived at the Royal Langkawi Marina at 10:00 and by noon we had Loretta admitted at the Emergency and Trauma Ward of the Langkawi Hospital. We will continue this story in a separate blog.

 

(Loretta’s email of May 20:

A sure sign we are getting there: we have changed our clocks to the Malaysian time zone UTC +8.

 

Another sure sign: Darrel just said "I can see Lipe". Lipe is a Thai island right on the Malaysia border. I would have got up to look but my leg said "save your energy for washing your hair" and I listened.

 

Last night there weren't many ships, but Darrel did have to change course once to keep out of the way. The half-moon was up for all of my watch which makes things very pretty, magical, mystical, visible.

 

We will probably arrive in Langkawi after midnight. We'll anchor in a safe spot then go into the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club marina in the morning. We'll stay there for however long it takes to get my ankle operating, then we'll hover around, and then at the end of the June we'll put CanKata into Rebak Marina (calmer, cheaper, but not as conveniently located) while we head to Canada.

 

It's all unfolding as it should. L.)

  

 

I would like to thank our family and friends who provided us with information and encouragement during the fourteen days it took to get Loretta back to Malaysia following her injury. It was a very challenging trip and your good wishes kept us going. We even had one of our friends from Phuket offer to drive down to Langkawi to pick us up and drive us back to Phuket so we could take Loretta to the International Hospital which is renowned for excellent medical services.   Darrel.

 

Turning Around

On May 5 we sent a note to our son. The key message was as follows:

 

“We are sending you this note before we send out the general note to the gang. You should be the first to know.

 

We are not continuing on the circumnavigation. It is all explained in the next note we send.

 

We are safe, we are happy, but we have had some experiences that are telling us ‘head back’, and so we are.”

 

 

IT ALL STARTED OUT SO WELL:

 

On May 1, we headed back to Pototogat after our productive nine days in Teluk Bayur. It was a good trip - a slow but steady 20 hours. We had a couple of squalls (I had 33 knots of wind with rain & lightning on my night watch) but we were prepared ... only a bit of headsail flying, which we then wrapped up tight. We had the motor running while we were making water (which we couldn't do in the not-so-clean harbor of Teluk Bayur), which made things a bit easier.

 

We then got busy getting the boat and ourselves ready for offshore: taking the dinghy motor off, tightly securing the dinghy to the davits, putting away breakables, running jack lines (to hook ourselves to when we leave the cockpit), putting out our MOB sling and horseshoe, checking the contents of our ditch kit (what we'll take with us if we have to leave the boat in a hurry), digging out our foul weather gear, and so on.

 

The dinghy motor off the dinghy, securely mounted to Cankata.

Darrel waterproofing the canvas.

 

Airing out our seldom-used foul-weather gear.

 

We had a wonderful two months in Indonesia, slowly working our way south and enjoying fine weather, but now we were at the starting line of our crossing of the Indian Ocean. 

 

Our May 3 email:

 

Darrel is in the water, scrubbing a bit of scum off the hulls of CanKata so we'll glide through the water better.

 

We decided to head off from here, Pototogat, since it is lovely and calm and good for doing our preparations.

 

We have set up the starboard berth (no more sleeping together until Rodrigues, sigh) so that whoever is off-watch and napping is easily accessible by the helmsman.  The laundry is done, all the safety equipment is at our finger tips, our EPIRB has been tested, our strobe lights are attached to our life jackets, the sea-sick meds are on the kitchen counter, and our flag has been tucked away. A basket of raisins, crackers, ginger cookies, chocolates and peanuts is sitting on the table, in case the helmsman gets peckish.

 

A good drying day.

 

 

 

Not ticked off: Secure all books. Ha! We have Kindles now. No more books to go flying across the boat (which they seldom do in a cat anyway).

 

As soon as Darrel dries off, we'll be underway.

 

Another email later that day:
 

 

LATITUDE: 02-13.37S

LONGITUDE: 099-10.76E

 

Above is our position at 1000 UTC. We are moving slowly at 3.8 to 4.0 knots.

 

The winds are calm, the swell is gentle, the sky is clear, and we were thrown a good-bye bash by about 100 dolphins, just as we were leaving. They didn't come very close ... seemed more interested in a school of tuna.

 

We have taken off our exterior sun shields (to protect them from severe wave and salt exposure) and now the boat is good and hot ... 40 degrees most of the day. Good thing we're not trying to keep meat frozen.

 

When we left, I asked the captain if we needed to maintain an average speed. "No", he replied, "time is on our side", which got me singing that fab Rolling Stone song, which prompted me to put on some music. I put "TIME" into the media player search engine and got 214 items with "time" in the title, album or artist. We got a great selection, including "Best Singles of All Time" (was Agadoo really a best single?), "Timeless - Hank Williams", "It's Time" by Michael Bublé or Mick Bubbles as an Aussie friend calls him, and "Now is the Time" by Alanis. We heard songs ranging from a track off JC Superstar to "As Time Goes By" to (unfortunately) "Christmas Time". It was a good way to start our journey, with time on our side.

 

 

Leaving Indonesia in our wake.

Out our port: nothing to see but sea.

 

Our navigation system showing 2366 Nm to go!

 

 

Our May 4 email:

 

LATITUDE: 02-17.32S

LONGITUDE: 099-13.40E

 

Well that was a false start.

 

On our 6:00 p.m. radio chat, yacht Green Ghost said they were very worried about the bad weather coming. After sign-off, Darrel immediately tried to get another, more recent "GRIB" (the weather information we get via our HF radio) since the GRIB we had received earlier that morning did not show any bad weather. It took a very long time to get connected (one of the main Ham stations for this area is currently non-operational), but Darrel eventually got the GRIB and he saw what they were worried about. Yikes. A big system was showing up on May 11 and we would be in its path if we continued. So we stopped the boat and hovered in the same area so we could get another weather report the next morning to get a better idea of how strong the system was and in what direction it was heading.

 

At 600 a.m. Darrel got another report after numerous tries and saw that in the area of 85E - 90E and 05S - 12S there were winds up to 80 knots and waves up to 9 metres directly in our path.  So we will not continue, but rather head back to a safe anchorage to get more detailed information via internet, and to wait until there is a better weather window to go.

 

We are sailing as much as we can (we averaged less than 1 knot/hour overnight) to conserve precious fuel, so will be crawling around in these light winds. I am NOT complaining about these light winds.

 

We are having a heck of a time with our radio stations, finding it very tough to get a connection to get weather information.

 

(P.S. It is said to be bad luck to start a passage on a Friday. Hmmmmm.)

 

The GRIB showing the weather system

Following our track back as best we can in light winds.

 

Our May 5 email:

 

LATITUDE: 02-01.04S

LONGITUDE: 099-34.50E
COMMENT: Once again at Pototogat

 

We had a very slow sail back to our protected anchorage. And now we have internet access, so we can get LOTS of weather information.

 

The forecast for the bad weather system seems to have calmed down considerably, which is very good news.

 

HOWEVER ...

 

Before we even got the updated weather information, Darrel and I had a discussion about what had happened out there. (Captain Ron: "If it's going to happen, it's going to happen out there.") It was frightening for both of us, especially when we couldn't get HF radio reception to receive our much-needed weather information.

 

Now, before I go on, I'll tell you about my level of fear. I have often been asked, "Aren't you afraid?" (Usually a woman asks me. Darrel never gets asked). My truthful answer has always been "No", and I go on to add that driving a car on the highway or going on a chair-lift in the mountains is much more frightening for me than sailing the big seas.  But I knew that could change. At one time in my life, I used to love riding behind Darrel on his motorbike, and even sometimes (but seldom) went with skimpy summer clothes and no helmet. One day, a vision of me falling off the bike and sliding face first across the highway popped into my head, and I was forevermore afraid to ride on the motorbike.

 

Something similar has happened to my view of sailing the high seas. When it occurred to me that we would eventually get a good weather report and then head out again, I got a very sick feeling and every single cell in my body wanted to cry out "NO". When I confessed this to Darrel, he responded very honestly that he wasn't keen on heading out again either. There seem to be a number of forces indicating that it is not the thing for us to do.

 

So we are heading back to Thailand. It will be a while before we get there - September or later - because we will probably leave CanKata in Langkawi, Malaysia when we go to Canada this summer.

 

We are both happy with the decision. We would have loved to continue, but we are both getting warning signals that are telling us to turn around.

 

Just after we made our decision, we received news that an important information weather/radio net that we would have used closer to South Africa has been shut down! I believe we really weren't meant to do this crossing.

 

 

Relieved to be far from that nasty weather system.

 

At this time, Darrel and I would like to thank all the wonderful Indonesians we met for their warmth, friendliness, hospitality, and helpfulness. It is a beautiful country – especially Sumatra and its many islands.

 

We’d also like to thank yacht Erica, Kevin of yacht Helena, Daryl of yacht Bintang, and the 101 Anchorages within the Indonesian Archipelago guide for extremely helpful information on cruising along the west coast of Sumatra.