From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Dec 21, 2005 9:55 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: catalina27-talk: Winter - a time to rest and plan for another
summer
Now I know the real meaning of "On the Hard."
Here's a lesson to be passed on, so that others don't do it the wrong way.
Sunday evening after Thanksgiving, the weather forecast was for light snow
by
mid-week.
So, having put a 30x20 tarp over the boat in early November, and left the
back open so the the deck could "cook" the moisture out of the deck before
freezing-thawing cycles opened up things - I put a ladder up against the
transom,
climbed up and started to put a small tarp over the rear life railing with
a
small air gap at the top for ventilation.
As I was holding onto the life rail and leaning over to tie the tarp to
the
life rail, the top of the ladder slipped the other way, I fell to the
"Hard."
Yes, I had violated rule number one about putting ladders against slippery
fiberglass - tie the top of the ladder to something. Fortunatley, I tried
to hold
onto the life rail, so fell kind of vertical about eight feet to the
"Hard."
As I lay on the ground in semi-shock, I was thinking things like "you
dumb -
- - " and then about football players on TV waiting for the haze to clear,
etc.
The haze cleared as usual, but I realized that my left foot keep hurting.
I
tried to get up, but the heel hurt like - - - . So I then told my
help-mate in
life that we needed to visit the local emergency room. The ER folks were
sympathetic. An x-ray disclosed that probably only the heel bone was
broken. I was
lucky, kind of.
An operation later, a plate and seven 2" long screws later - - I'm told
that
the recovery period is about three to four months, if I'm fortunate - if I
don't get an infection from the hospital stay, and circulation is good,
etc. - -
just in time for golf and getting the sailboat ready for another season.
So, I'll meditate on life in Northern Ohio, missed winter sports (both
outdoor and indoor), and plan on appreciating and enjoying life with a
Catalina 27
in the water the summer.
So, I'll add to the old saying about staying away from shore when in a
storm
- the following - Be very careful when more than two feet above the
ground
when your boat is on the "Hard."
Oh yes, the x-ray technicians love to make you feel better by telling one
about folks who had it worse than you:
1. The guy who slide down a ladder about fifteen feet and broke both heel
bones. He couldn't put weight on either heel for three months.
2. The guy who fell off when standing on a plastic bucket that collapsed,
and
rotated to hit his shoulder on a concrete floor. The essential bones were
all
broken. He still can't lift much with that arm (like a razor, etc.)
So, count your blessings, plan for safety in all things. Anticipate the
unusual. Don't hurry.
Peace to all,
Bob
