On Thu, 27 May 2004 10:26:57 -0400, "Skip Gundlach"
skipgundlach.sez.remove.this.and.the.dots.to.mail
wrote:

Life is what happens when you're making other plans...

Most of you know that Lydia and I have bought our boat and expect to get
aboard and cut the cords. Target departure date is November 1, with a
[...]
partly drive our decision, should we decide to go ahead. Either way, if I
go under the knife, we'll not be outta here in November as we'd planned. If
I don't, my arm will never be better than it is today...

Not to get into the medical details but a couple of years ago I lost
some use of my right arm. There was no pain at all but I was unable to
raise it up and could definitly not lift anything above my head. I
couldn't even lift my right arm up to the steering wheel of a car. I
had to use my left had to lift my right arm and place it on the wheel.
Once there, I could use it fine to drive but I'd use my left to do most
of the steering. And while I couldn't even lift my arm above my head,
hauling in an anchor was not a problem.

Anyway, I did try sailing a few times in that condition and found that,
while it's possible, it really slowed me down in doing a lot of things.
My boat is mostly manual operation though, not even a roller furler. I
could do everything I needed to do but some things, like just lifting
the headsail from below out onto the foredeck through a hatch, were a
real problem.

I love single handing but decided not to do that until I got better
since I didn't want to get stuck in an emergency situation alone that I
couldn't deal with due to my arm. It would take me at least twice as
long to reef a sail since there's a lot of overhead work involved.
There's just about nothing I can't handle alone when in good shape. It
took about a year for my arm to get back into shape enough that I'd
consider sailing alone again for more than a day sail.

So, my advice to you is to get your arm back at least to the point where
you can function before going on an extended cruise. Day to day
activities may be no problem. But you'll want to have use of both arms
when the sh*t hits the fan.

Steve

Hi, Steve, and Group...

"Steven Shelikoff" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 May 2004 10:26:57 -0400, "Skip Gundlach"
skipgundlach.sez.remove.this.and.the.dots.to.mail
wrote:

Life is what happens when you're making other plans...

Most of you know that Lydia and I have bought our boat and expect to get
aboard and cut the cords. Target departure date is November 1, with a
[...]
partly drive our decision, should we decide to go ahead. Either way, if
I
go under the knife, we'll not be outta here in November as we'd planned.
If
I don't, my arm will never be better than it is today...

Not to get into the medical details but a couple of years ago I lost
some use of my right arm. There was no pain at all but I was unable to
raise it up and could definitly not lift anything above my head. I
couldn't even lift my right arm up to the steering wheel of a car. I
had to use my left had to lift my right arm and place it on the wheel.
Once there, I could use it fine to drive but I'd use my left to do most
of the steering. And while I couldn't even lift my arm above my head,
hauling in an anchor was not a problem.

That's very much like what I experienced. I've gotten to the point where I
don't have to put my hand on the wheel or the gearshift, but there was a
time when I did...

Anyway, I did try sailing a few times in that condition and found that,
while it's possible, it really slowed me down in doing a lot of things.
My boat is mostly manual operation though, not even a roller furler. I
could do everything I needed to do but some things, like just lifting
the headsail from below out onto the foredeck through a hatch, were a
real problem.

There's no way I can lift over my head with the right arm. I'd have the
same challenges.


I love single handing but decided not to do that until I got better
since I didn't want to get stuck in an emergency situation alone that I
couldn't deal with due to my arm. It would take me at least twice as
long to reef a sail since there's a lot of overhead work involved.
There's just about nothing I can't handle alone when in good shape. It
took about a year for my arm to get back into shape enough that I'd
consider sailing alone again for more than a day sail.

So, what was it that happened, and how was it cured?


So, my advice to you is to get your arm back at least to the point where
you can function before going on an extended cruise. Day to day
activities may be no problem. But you'll want to have use of both arms
when the sh*t hits the fan.

That's our plan. I've been advised that won't be any less than 6 months
from surgery, and may well be longer. I'm not about to get back aboard if
I'm not functional. As much as I like water skiing (the source of the first
injury), I didn't attempt it until I could do a pain-free pull-up, which was
first seen as just being able to hang from my hands. I'll take the same
approach here - if I can't comfortably grind a winch, or put both hands over
my head (separately!!), I'm not splashing the boat...

Thanks for the interest...

L8R

Skip

--

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin

Skip... Lydia, I'm NC, BTW :-)

Skip! Get yer arm taken care of! *Damn fool old man*

Enjoy the pleasures of being taken care of by your woman for a bit, so
you can return the favor in full force to the woman who will stand
beside.... well, YOU!

Not that I'm suggesting anything:
http://www.uniformsandscrubs.com/Ski...d_Dresses.html

Other than enjoying life.

You were looking to take a break, right? Consider this a break. A
later winter cruise is gonna take a certain amount of body heat, eh?

Shared?

TheNIGHTCRAWLER
(There are only options)

"TheNIGHTCRAWLER" wrote in message
m...
Skip... Lydia, I'm NC, BTW :-)

You've been introduced, privately - and you've most likely missed your
chance to see me play, as I doubt I'll be in anothe concert, things being
what they are...

Skip! Get yer arm taken care of! *Damn fool old man*

Yup, gonna do that in something less than 334 hours (two weeks less a couple
of hours). No fool here - a very cautious and think-things-through kinda
risk-taker...

Enjoy the pleasures of being taken care of by your woman for a bit, so
you can return the favor in full force to the woman who will stand
beside.... well, YOU!

:{)) Indeed. Not only that, but her mother's coming over (from England)
again about the time I'd be starting serious progress toward therapy. She
makes a career out of helping out, spending a good half of the year around
the world tending others' gardens, or sitting their pets or houses, or, in
my case, spoiling me rotten for about 3 monhs a year between her jaunts to
visit the friends she grew up with in New Jersey.

Not that I'm suggesting anything:
http://www.uniformsandscrubs.com/Ski...d_Dresses.html

I doubt very seriously I'll have any of those nearby unless I'm unconscious.
I'm going to be in an inpatient-outpatient mode, staying overnight, but
dismissed before 24 hours, so perhaps I'll see one of those, but only
briefly :{))

Other than enjoying life.

You were looking to take a break, right? Consider this a break. A
later winter cruise is gonna take a certain amount of body heat, eh?

Shared?

Not in the Caribbean - and, contrary to most folks' expectations, it's
actually reasonably cool in the tropics. We've slept under blankets every
night we've gone in the past. But, on the point of cooler, working on the
boat in the winter is certainly a more palatable thought than the FL summer
I'd anticipated. It will all work out. As to the other insinuation, yes,
I'm her portable heater :{))

TheNIGHTCRAWLER
(There are only options)

Better than puts and calls, in this case :{))

L8R

Skip and Lydia

--

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin

Sent blind copied to protect the innocent. If you didn't see the original,
it's below...

L8R

Love, affection, gratitude and all that from Skip, much blessed by my
community of friends and family

From: "Skip Gundlach"
skipgundlach.sez.remove.this.and.the.dots.to.mail
Subject: 8 days a week...
Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 9:34 AM

Watta way to go...

This morning was absolutely perfect. Totally flat water and flat light.
Lydia filmed my final runs from the dock at water level, and from a
neighbor's double-decker. If it hadn't been for no traffic, the water
wouldn't have been perfect, but nobody was out except us. The flat light
assured that the lighting was even, rather than backlit on some of it, with
no definition in the front. And the icing on the cake was that it felt
great. Mental and muscle memory will be of those last runs...

It will be the only film I have of me from other than a Trakker, and on
review, it was marvelous. Nice memento of my skiing days, now presumed
over. Better yet, for my grandchildren, I can show off my aged body doing
this kind of stuff as compared to whatever's in vogue in the next 20 years
:{))

I'm off to a nap, and then off to surgery. People keep asking me if I'm
scared or worried, and I'm not - at all, whatsoever. It will be what it
will be. I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my athletic
activities, either!

L8R

Skip

--

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin

"Skip Gundlach"
skipgundlach.sez.remove.this.and.the.dots.to.mail wrote in
message ...
I lo ooo ooo ooove you (to paraphrase the Beatles)...

Not really 8 days in the week, but 8 skiing days. On the afternoon of the
15th, I go in for surgery on my shoulder. That, combined with my
anticipated lifestyle change, is quite likely the last ski run I'll have
in
my life.

It won't go on the boat, and I'm not coming back, once we shove off. I
don't anticipate having the opportunity to ski where we'll be sailing, so
even if I was willing to give up the precious space aboard for it, my
Sasquatch (72" Extreme HO XXL front/rears) wouldn't get used. My son will
get it...

Lest this sound like sour grapes, or anything else negative, I want to
emphasize that I'm thrilled to have skied each morning for the last 12
days.
Today's runs were really sweet, as I got back into the swing and tried to
put my shoulder in the water as I did my turns. Not quite, but pretty
close
(to actually do it would be to do a Mike Kjellander, something I've never
mastered)!

I have a posse of accomplices here who are enabling me to get every day in
before I go under the knife. A couple of them that I've worn out (they
have
to take turns recuperating!) have been alternating the last few days, and
another one has had to go back to work, his vacation having ended.
However,
two of them have volunteered to pull me, even if they're injured/worn out,
to make my target of skiing every day until I can't. Today, I taught the
SO
of one of the regulars how to drive on my sets (her first time driving a
boat), so she could drive for *him* when I'm unable.

I expect I'll still drive for others, as my shoulder's in rehab, once the
pain is manageable and the doc sez it's ok to take the occasional jarring
that driving would do. But my skiing days are definitely numbered.. As
quickly as I can take a punch in the arm (the equivalent of bouncing off
the
bulkhead or some other boat part in an unexpected movement) after rehab,
estimated to run not earlier than the end of January, we're outta here.
Ennyone wanta buy an inexpensive Supreme? :{))

L8R

Skip

--

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin