Sailing GANNET has unexpected side benefits.
Yesterday I went for an MRI on my shoulder. The young woman who was operating the machine asked if I am claustrophobic because many people have problems with MRIs. I do not. To the contrary. When she slid me inside the tube, I peered around and thought: This is bigger than GANNET’s pipe berths. And more comfortable. And drier.
I do not yet know the results of the MRI.
The orthopedist is reasonably confident that I have tears in two of the muscles and tendons that make up the rotator cuff. The MRI is to determine if I need surgery of if physical therapy will be sufficient. In either event, recovery will be slow.
At present I have discomfort rather than pain, except on certain movements, but I am not capable of sailing GANNET on an ocean passage. I could not steer with my left hand except briefly, certainly not for the nine hours I did in the gale the last day into Opua. And I cannot sleep on my left side, which is necessary at times, or take pressure on that side, which is inevitable when I am sitting at Central and GANNET is heeled to port.
When we arrived in Opua GANNET was frayed. Now I am.
Hopefully I will be repaired sufficiently to return to New Zealand in March and sail by May.
In the meantime I am in danger of becoming lopsided.
Although I did my full workout, including my age in push-ups and crunches, on my birthday as a point of honor, I have been told not to do push-ups. The orthopedist, who is in his thirties, looked surprised when I asked about push-ups. I don’t suppose that many septuagenarians do. So I’ve modified my workout and now do 100 crunches, followed by 250 knee bends, followed by 73 crunches, and 100 side leg raises each leg, and then various right arm only exercises with the Bull Worker.
I am uncertain whether this will result in a list to port or to starboard.
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We are in one of those increasingly frequent periods when I find what passes as the news on television to be intolerable, so last evening I turned it off and watched the 17 best drone videos of 2014.
I have no idea if these are the best, but all except the one about the Apple campus, which should be one minute long instead of eight, are interesting, and several are outstanding. The one by the rock band OK Go is most original and should not be missed.
Drones are changing the way we see the world, as well as the way we kill enemies.
Mark, who sent me the link to the 17, for which I thank him, suggested that I could use a drone to photograph GANNET, an idea that I may implement one day.
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From Dave came reference to ELEMENTS OF ELOQUENCE, for which I thank him—I bought the Kindle edition but haven’t read it yet—and from a review of the book came an irresistible quote from Dorothy Parker: It’s a small apartment. I’ve barely room to lay my hat and a few friends.
