SV Panta Rhei Retirement Trip

Vessel Name: Panta Rhei
Vessel Make/Model: Able Apogee 50
Hailing Port: Seattle
Crew: Larry and Karen
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18 September 2017 | Seattle
23 August 2017 | Prince Rupert
15 August 2017 | Anan Bear Observatory
19 July 2017 | Petersburg, AK
17 June 2017 | Hoonah, AK
03 June 2017 | Seward AK
03 June 2017 | Denali
25 April 2017 | Seward AK
23 March 2017 | Seward, AK
11 March 2017 | Seward, AK
23 January 2017 | Seward AK
06 December 2016 | Seward AK
12 November 2016 | Seward Alaska
14 October 2016 | Valdez, AK
21 September 2016
05 August 2016 | Seward, AK
26 July 2016 | Whittier, AK
19 July 2016 | Valdez, Alaska
05 July 2016 | Seward, Alaska
Recent Blog Posts
18 September 2017 | Seattle

We are back in Seattle

It feels like home. Of course we are not in Silshole. Maybe we will be, someday, but there is a list and we are on it. In the meantime we are at Bainbridge Island Marina.

23 August 2017 | Prince Rupert

The dinghy holds air again

It wasn't very nice of the bear to tear the fabric across a seam. We were worried that we couldn't patch it but tried anyway. The glue had a job to do and it did it!

15 August 2017 | Anan Bear Observatory

A Grizzly Bear damaged our dinghy

We were visiting the Anan Bear Observatory south of Wrangell. It is one of the best places to visit in all of SE Alaska BECAUSE it has bears. But (as we learned) there is a dark side to this bear concentration. And of course, there is a story to tell.

19 July 2017 | Petersburg, AK

Moving On

"No matter where you go, there you are" (unknown reference). By now we have been there and done that. Most recently that included Cannery Cove on Admiralty Island. The photo shows the quiet grandeur of the setting with Ron and Suzie's boat SV Tango in the foreground. It has been like that for the last [...]

17 June 2017 | Hoonah, AK

We are in Hoonah, SE Alaska now

We got something resembling a high pressure ridge so we moved expeditously across the Gulf of Alaska. The crossing took three days and weather stayed as forecast. That was a very good thing. The weather changes in the far north far more rapidly and dramatically than we ever experienced in the more southern [...]

03 June 2017 | Seward AK

Crossing the Gulf of Alaska

We are still in Seward, AK. Now that spring has come, why not start south?

If you get sick, the boat will break

19 August 2011 | San Carlos MX
Larry Nelson
We are in the San Carlos Marina, running both our air conditioners and "power drinking" water. It's hot and sunny most of the time, but not all the time. Yesterday the wind blew about 40 knots and every boat in the marina took down their awnings (covers that help to keep the boats cool). Awnings can't stand high winds and yesterday we had high winds from a thunderstorm (or line of thunderstorms). Of course it wasn't hot during the storms, it was overcast and even rained a bit. After the storms passed the sky cleared but it was late in the day. There is no need to have an awning at night. So the stage was set for another boat catastrophe.

Our neighbors Cliff and Lynne on SV Taya had a great party aboard last night (after the storm). But this morning Cliff was not feeling well. In fact he wasn't dead, but wished he were. He was throwing up and of course staying close to the toilet. So of course with the awnings still down, and no wind blowing, the air conditioner picked this time to stop working. You wouldn't believe how hot it got on their boat. The problem cause was the water pump for the air conditioner. We got it removed from the boat and sent out to be repaired, but it will take a few days. There might be other pumps that could work temporarily (it is a 110 volt pump), but jury rigging something like this involves about a day of shopping for new parts and assembling them with maybe 2 or three trips before anything gets completed. This is not something you can do when you are sick.

The end of this story hasn't been written yet, but hopefully Cliff gets well. I don't know about the air conditioner.

We've borrowed a hatch mounted air conditioner from a neighbor's boat (the neighbor is not here) and installed it in a hatch above where Cliff is resting. This has a chance at keeping Cliff alive while nature runs its course. While we were doing this I didn't hear a word from Cliff, though Lynne says he is still breathing.

In other news, another neighbor, Anne Jennings (SV Serendipity) has an eye infection. We've been pumping antibiotics into her arm, her tush, her wrist (through a catheter), her mouth, and dripping them into her eyes. All of this on what seems a nearly continuous (round the clock) basis. To get this done, we've gotten to know the local "rescue" team on a first name basis. They give Anne her shots. This started on a Friday so by the time help was sought on Sunday morning, the problem had developed too far. And, just like in the US, it isn't easy to find a specialist on a weekend. We ended up at the emergency room of the Guaymas hospital. We got some broad spectrum antibiotic eye drops to manage the situation until we could get her to an opthomologist on Monday. Now it is Friday and the bacteria has been cultured and a whole lot of shots and drops are producing some improvement. She isn't cured yet, only improved.

There are several lessons from Anne's story. The most obvious is that these infections can progress with astonishing speed into serious conditions. What if this had happened when were were in Baja in Bahia de Los Angeles? (where we are going soon to avoid hurricanes). Worse, it could have been preceded by a storm like Cliff encountered just before illness struck him down leaving the boat at risk if you leave it, or god forbid, you at risk if it leaves you just as you most need it (remember, this is when boat's break). There are risks involved in being far from civilization and they aren't the storms or pirates that everyone talks about. Illness and disability are the real dangers.
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