Pages

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Down But Not Out!

A short post to update you on my current circumstance after an injury aboard!

I regret there has a been a long period of no new posts. There is a reason for this.

in the last days of 2018 I was in Koh Samui, Thailand after a very fast and successful sailing passage from Japan.
After leaving Hakodate, Hokkaido I made my way (again single handed) south to Okinawa, meeting Carol in Honshu, and we then set off for the Philippines. From there we went to Malaysia and on into the Gulf of Thailand and Koh Samui where Carol had a House Sit booked, and I was looking for yards where I could make use of cheap labour and skills to deal with brightwork and other minor maintenance on my boat.
I will post more detailed blogs on the journey to this point later on.

Once in Koh Samui and on anchor in Bang Rak (above), being tourists on the island and caring for a bevvy of dogs at the house sit, I had made a paddle board trip out to the boat to list out the work needed on the boat. Nightfall came and I had not returned to the housesit, so Carol organised some friends to come and look for me. I was found just regaining conciousness having ended up injured and lying in my own blood in the saloon. To this day I have not regained any memory of the events before and after the incident. Nothing was taken from the boat, but my injuries seemed excessive for just a small fall, the boat being on anchor, flat calm, and no likely contact with the boom, etc.




Anyway, I ended up in hospital in Bangkok, Carol taking on the huge job of first emergency response and then ensuring my care, an absolute miracle worker, and then taking on the task of getting me home to New Zealand for care and treatment after a severe brain trauma, which normally takes from 6-12 months. I owe her hugely!
My family have provided wonderful and generous care and support, for which I will forever be indebted and exceedingly grateful.

Its now six months after the event, and my recovery has progressed well. I soon will be fully recovered and have every intention of completing my stuttering project to explore the Ring of Fire.
I am now working on my Passage Plan for the leg to New Zealand from Thailand, a distance of some 5,500 nm. The now familiar but more essential search for crew, funds, and resources is now getting underway. And the delayed blogs/stories will come now that I am recovered, finished with the intensive period of treatment and more readily to recall and write!


Sailing again, yay!                    Carol and I On Pete Baddeleys Yacht,  Hauraki Gulf



And my much deferred 60th birthday celebration put on by my loved ones




Pic of Carol up the mast doing the concussed skippers work!

No comments:

Post a Comment