about a pain in the groin for some time now.On the boat we don't move
around too much.Him and Brad went for a stroll yesterday and when they
came back Pieter was in a lot of pain.He showed me where the pain is
coming from,and the young man has a hernia.We googled and confirmed our
suspicions,that it could be life threatening and decided that he will
have to fly back to SA immediatly for medical attention.I informed
Nicky,our lady in Cape Town which I wrote about a while ago on the
blog.And just to prove what I said,the decision was taken immediatly
that he has to fly back and Nicky set the wheels in motion.This morning
we received Pieter's e ticket and he is on his way back to SA.Sent Brad
with him to the airport and he will be landing in Cape Town
tomorrow.Thanks a million Nicky,it is always inspiring to work with the
best in the business,and I,once again,salute you.
To Pieter,his family and friends,all the best.Hope you will still follow
our progress,even though Pieter is no longer on this trip.It was an
immense pleasure having met and sailed with such a determined
person.Part of what could have caused the hernia was that Pieter was
often seasick,and I think this also weakened the inner
membranes.Anyway,the Higher Hand decided and we follow suit.
We are now a crewmember short and have made some enquiries here in
Funchal,Madeira.There are some people that both Brad and myself know
indirectly.I have stayed in the same block of flats where the lady's
parents stay and have often talked to her father about sailing.I told
him I think madeira is a stunningly beautiful place and he informed me
that his daughter,Colleen is running a day charter business here in
Funchal.That was a few years ago and now,through Providence,I got to
meet Luigi and Colleen.They have networked and I have an experienced
person coming to see me this afternoon about assisting us as crewmember
to Greece.Alternatively I also have my French connection,Thibault,who
you may also remember from previous trips that we blogged.I forgot about
him as a possible option an d Nicky suggested I contact him.Teamwork of
the highest calibre Nix.
We were also looking at some other deliveries that may come this way,and
most of them have four crewmembers and Nicky suggested that we could
perhaps wait a bit and get a crewmember from one of these boats.So we
have options,but nothing definate yet.By this time tomorrow we should be
sorted.We were hoping to leave on Saturday,even though the weather is
far from perfect to go through Gibraltar in four days time.We would
probably have a good run,four days to Gibraltar and then will have to
wait at Cadiz for a window to open into the Med.
So yes,this is the situation as it stands,and we are good and ready.Last
night was the first night in nearly fifty days that we could sleep on a
bed that doesn't move,and sweet it was.Today we spend most of the time
getting Pieter sorted and to the airport in time.When we arrived
yesterday we tied onto another vessel against the wall.We had to wait
for an hour for customs and immigration,which we used to fill up the
water tanks,decant and fill our diesel tanks,wash Venus down,and finally
washed ourselves a bit.
The day before yesterday we had first a dove and then a swallow flying
around the boat and trying to land.The dove landed and the swallow,as I
have seen a few times before,flew into the saloon.Brad,6 foot 3,dived
down behind Pieter.Such a big boy catching such a big fright from such a
little bird.Mmmmmmmmm.We had a good laugh about it,and I guess this is
what we will miss most about Pieter,his infectious laughter that had us
in stitches at time.Go you welll my friend and we will stay in touch.
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