This is the odyssey of Bryce and Helen to Key West aboard Dragon Lady during the fall of 2021. Dragon Lady is a 40 foot blue water ketch sailboat made in Finland.
Today was a BAD DAY! As we were leaving the dock at 6:00 this morning, the line on the bottom of the fender that was attached to our boat rail got caught on a cleat on the dock. I tried to pull it free and was tossed overboard along with the boat rail, hitting the dock and breaking the teak rail with my leg. I am writing this from the Carteret Co. ER where I have been X-rayed for two fractured ribs. We are docked at Casper’s Marina in Swansboro where we arrived at 3:30. I insisted that I wanted a nice seafood dinner in town before spending the next several hours waiting in the ER. Such a nasty conclusion to a wonderful trip! Ugh!
Yes, we made it back! But it wasn’t easy! I spent the night in the ER because I have a punctured lung as well as two cracked ribs. The taxi dropped me off at Casper’s Marina at 7:00 a.m.; we had the dock hands help us off at 8:30 and we arrived back at our slip in Pecan Grove at 3:00. Whew! The last 48 hours have been stressful! Now we will spend the next couple of days packing up all the clothes, food, and other things that turn a boat into a home. Then it is off to our house in Cary to do all the things that were ignored for over six months! I am getting tired just thinking about it. And let me add that I am on pain meds that makes me feel a bit loopy.
We finally made it! It seems like a marathon! We left the marina at 6:45 just as the sky was brightening. The ocean was like glass- not even a ripple; there was no wind. We saw thousands of crabpots scattered along our route, right in the channel. But we avoided them ( a crab pot on your prop can be a costly mistake unless you like diving). We arrived at Stock Island Marina Village at noon, topped up diesel, and tied up at our slip which will be home for the next 4 months. Amen! I am ready for a rest!
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