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Thursday, April 22, 2004 |
| Today started out like any other day...morning coffee on the porch...the usual slacking around for an hour or so. Today even included a load of laundry since I had to have some clean clothes for work tonight. After that stuff, I went back to the boat because I needed to get a few things together to give back to Mark & Patti. One thing that they'd let me borrow is a kinda nifty tool that aids in the installation of grommets and button snaps. I mainly used it for the storm sail that they helped me out with, but before I gave it back I wanted to put in a few button snaps on a piece of canvas I had. One of the steps in installing these little things is for you to cut a small hole in the fabric that the snap can fit through. Well, being the safety minded person that I am, I started poking a hole in the canvas with the sharp end of a pair of scissors. Not the brightest thing in the world. The thought crossed my mind that this was an absolutely stupid way to create a hole, and that I should stop and rethink my method. It was too late...about that time, the open scissors caught my left index finger right between the blades and sliced it good on both sides. The cuts weren't all that bad, but before I knew it, blood was all over the place. So, here I am in the cockpit of the boat with one bleeding hand and one working hand trying to open the hatch to get inside so that I could access my first aid kit. Once inside the boat, I was able to grab a towel and wrap the finger up pretty good, and it didn't take too long to open the kit and locate the items I needed. Having only 1 usable hand made the  operation a little tricky, but I lathered some Neosporin in the cuts then put a butterfly bandaid on the deepest one and wrapped them in gauze and tape.
I was actually pretty impressed with myself after it was over with...I think I dealt with it quickly and efficiently. It really got me to thinking though about first aid while I'm under way. While sailing is certainly one of the safest things there is to do (Mark always says the most dangerous part about sailing is driving to the marina), there will be many instances where I will have to take care of my own first aid should the need arise. Also, it's now apparent that I need to get a good close look at my first aid kit and beef it up a bit...I had everything I needed, but I can already see where I could use a few more things to make it a little more comprehensive. Anyway, even though it means that I'm going to have to deal with a pain in my finger for a few days, I'm actually glad this happened, because it's making me think a lot more about the subject.Ok, so after all that was taken care of, Mark let me steal some of his recipes and make copies. I think before long I'm going to start up a section of this site just for recipes. He gave me some really good ones. On the way back from Office Depot, I stopped by Bluewater Ships Store and picked up the spare anchor that I ordered. I also talked with a guy at Southern Nameplates & Graphics about getting DawgGone put in vinyl on the sides of the boat. I'm pretty pumped about that and I really hope it turns out well. Hmm...at that point it was time for me to go to work, and that's not really much to talk about (other than this cute girl I work with that I'd kinda like to get to know better...), so I'll stop talking and let you get back to what you should be doing! Wait...First I want to warn you of a few things...first of all, I think that Jonathan Bywaters and James Holbrook and maybe a few others are coming down tomorrow, so no promises on a entry in the old logbook. The other thing is that I'll be back in Georgia all next week to watch a lot of my friends graduate...so, there won't be much for me to write about as far as the cruising life is concerned. Once I get back though, I'm going to be ready to really get going on preparation for the trip to the Keys. Also, just so you know, I'm keeping my options open as far as my plan goes. It looks like I may opt not to go on an eastern Florida leg...I may go to the keys, the dry tortugas and then be back here (Bear Point Marina) before fall semester starts. I doubt I'll make my decision until I'm halfway through the trip, but there are advantages to both choices. We'll discuss it later. |
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