About Me

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Sacramento, California, United States
so salty pieces of coral from surfing Hawaii in the 60's and 70's getting reef pounded living in my body fall through my skin from time to time!

sailing to Oahu

Jimi Hendrix was playing on Oahu. I had never sailed. Surfed Mexico, California, Hawaii! Aw, how hard could it be to sail 90-110 miles from Kauai to Oahu? Piece of cake, right? Remember it was the 60's! This is so bad. We thought we were looking at Kaiena Point,Ohau, knowing we weren't going to make the concert! But at least we were in site of Oahu-wrong! Coy, who had never sailed before, me,who had never sailed before, jeff and Abbott etc. We were looking at the sleeping giant on Kauai! We had done three-sixty's in the night! We sailed on the only tri-marran I've ever sailed on ( except later ) in my life, missed the concert! It was at the Waikiki Shell Ampitheater ( Moon eclipsed . We finally made Nawilwili Harbor! The Skipper tried to give us his boat saying, " It's trying to kill me"! We watched him go stark raving mad not even realising that had we got caught in the channel current we were on our way to Japan! Remember it was the 60's and we were going to see Hendrix. I left out some of the good stuff but I will make up for it later!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

A Man With A Disease (cont)

Uly, ( my friend ) found me in a fetal position, unconscious, by my dingy below the old Cairns Yacht Club in Cairns Australia. He carried me to his dingy and rowed me to Guinevere, the boat I had sailed through the South Seas on for quite awhile. I stayed in the forpeak, where my berth was located, not moving for four days. I was to sick to move, hallucinating people who seemed so real but were not there. Continually throwing up anything put before me.Dave ( the skipper ) was working and staying in Port Douglas and Leslie, Dave's wife, couldn't lift me or drop me over the side into a dingy to get me to a hospital so we waited for coherency. When I finally got to the hospital my temperature had dropped from 106 to a low 102! Almost died. The sisters at the hospital were so excellent ( nurses in the U.S.) and the doctors so familiar with malaria, they healed me with a regimen of 12 pills a day for thirty days. I still get occasional periods of weakness but not like my friend Phil from Adelaide, Aus! He contracted cerebral malaria (bad)! Mine was the minor malaria and completely curable. Phil still gets knocked down once or twice a year, sweats, weakness and fatigue. So people, please start taking Malaprin early on before you enter malarial territories! When possible anchor your vessel 200 yards from shore. Mosquitoes have a limited flying range. Use mosquito nets and repellent when possible. I didn't realize I had contracted malaria until I stopped taking Malaprin and was in a first world country!! So be very careful to watch for early malarial symptoms once you have ceased from taking your malaprin. I thought I was home free!! God!!! Was I sadly disappointed!!? The only part of the malaria encounter I don't find unpleasant is while I was hallucinating with deadly high temperature I visited with friends I have known throughout my life. Many of them had passed away! It was great getting to speak with them again. Never could figure out how it seemed so real that 30 people could fit in the forpeak of Guinevere all at the same time!! Seemed quite natural while it was happening! Admittedly Guinevere is 60 ft but but.....Ah! Who knows what is possible/impossible with Sailors, Sailboats and an Infinitely vast Reality called " Mother Ocean"?

A Man With A Disease.....

Where am I? I'm so hot! I'm freezing! So Thirsty, bring me water!!! Who am I and why does it stink of vomit so strongly here? Don't hand me water! Can't you understand it won't stay put? Who are all these old friends visiting me -all at once? How did I get here? How long has it been? I don't know!!!!

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