Friday 10 June 2011

Back on an even keel

Jean arrived back on the bus from Whangarei yesterday in the pouring rain so it was lucky that Jim had been offered the use of a vehicle by neighbours of ours here in the marina. It certainly beat walking down the Opua hill in the rain.
Anyway, the important news is that she eventually saw a cardio-thoracic specialist in Whangarei on Thursday evening and our worries that some sort of remedial surgery might have been needed have been dissipated. She has had a blockage of the airway into one of her lungs originally caused by some sort of infection which she thinks now she has probably had for some time. This of course gave rise to a lack of oxygen and combined with a natural inclination to low blood pressure, was causing the nausea and more importantly the tendency to faint. Neither of which are desirable traits on a yacht at sea!! The diagnosis has confirmed the Paihia GP's opinion and that the medication she prescribed was correct. Neither of us like the idea of pharmaceutical medication, particularly over an extended period, but when it's necessary to effect a long term cure it's a bitter pill that must be swallowed! She has another appointment with the Paihia GP (who incidentally is a German woman doctor) on Monday and then we will at least be medically all clear to go. Many thanks once more to Hamish and Sara for all their kindness in having Jean to stay while in Whangarei.
However, then we have the problems of finding another suitable weather window and getting our Cat One certification extended. We had dinner again in the Opua Cruising Club last night (but no gravy!!!) and met a yachtie from Nelson who is waiting to sail to Fiji. He made the observation that with all the information we have these days through the internet, etc. we are inclined to be too cautious about leaving as we tend to look at 7 day forecasts and see all sorts of reasons for delaying departure, when in fact 7 day forecasts are at best only a rough guide and the reality could be very different. So, we will try to keep that philosophy in mind as we assesss the weather over the coming days. The other issue of Cat One can be dealt with as we have been in touch with the inspector in Whangarei who is happy to fax a letter to Customs which they have already said they would accept.
Jim's earlier comments re Cat One still stand however in spite of "explanations" received from Yachting NZ. Why on earth should a safety certificate "expire" after only 30 days and in fact be cancelled altogether once the first overseas port has been reached? The clear inference is that, while NZ registered vessels are required to meet certain standards before being allowed to leave NZ, no-one gives a toss what happens after that. And of course yachts that are foreign registered cannot be legally compelled to obtain Cat One at all and can sail in any condition whatsoever. Lots of inconsistency here.
So, after Monday and a bit of re-provisioning we will be ready to go again. Just a matter of the weather!
 

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