Friday Funny 03/31 (Tides)

Good pun!

High and Dry

It's important to pay attention to tides when you are boating or cruising on bodies of water that are not lakes or rivers.  There are several ways we check the level of tides, and at what time they occur.

One of ipads is dedicated to Garmin Charts, it has a selection to view the tides at the location that is shown on the screen.

High and low for the day at Wrangell.

In Alaska, you'll find these 5"x3" booklet Tide Tables in every outdoor store, and they are free, take as many as you need. I was really surprised one time in Washington to find a tide table book that had a price on it! You have to decide which region you want to know about, and they can be $5.00 to $16.00. The internet can also give you the information you need, but what if you are in a place without a wifi or cell signal? It's better to be prepared in advance.

They come with different covers too, pick your favorite!

There are also apps, (of course), for tides.

Then there is the "rule of twelfths". I'm trying to wrap my mind around it, but, it just goes to sleep every time I think of it. I might wish I hadn't fallen asleep when trying to figure this out sometime.

Wikipedia:

The rule of twelfths is an approximation to a sine curve. It can be used as a rule of thumb for estimating the height of the tide at any time, given only the time and height of high and low water.

Snooze, (head drops to table), snoring........

How the sun, and moon affect the tides.

We even have to be aware of the tides when we are in the marina.

You may recall the evening in November, when I posted this on Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat, we had a full moon, and a minus tide which caused Denali Rose to gently sit on her keel in her slip. (As in NO water under her.) It was very disconcerting to see the depth gauge at 0.

A minus 4.6, settled the keel in the mud.

Denali Rose draws 6.3 feet, and our gauge is set at what the water level is under the keel. For instance, if the gauge reads 16 feet, then it is really 22 feet deep. The previous owner set it up this way, and we left it. We have since had a diver check out her bottom, and he said it was all good.

Carrying items to the boat can be interesting if you haven't timed the trip at the correct time. The ramps to the docks move up and down with the tide level.

Steep!

The ramp can be quite steep at a minus tide, this is Bill with a load in a dock cart, being very careful on his way down the ramp. Hopefully no one is standing in the way at the bottom. That's one of our safety rules, the dock cart goes first, and everyone else follows it. 

After all, we wouldn't want to damage or drop the wine!

Even the wine needs a PFD.

Do you know the rule of twelfths? Let us know here in comments, or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.

Friday Funny 03/24 (Refrigeration)

Whew...

Is refrigerator cleaning a part of your spring cleaning? We have to do it routinely, or who knows what science experiments will actually begin to move on their own. Maybe we could employ Mr. Death to clean out the deceased items on a regular basis.

Snidely Milk Lash

We have choices for refrigeration on Denali Rose. We have the usual in-counter (deep dive) fridge, which we try to keep organized with small crates.

Well organized.

Not so well organized. I do know that the cheese bin is on the bottom.

We were keeping our leftovers in hard sided containers, but we found they took up too much room, and switched to zip-lock bags.

Various sizes of this, you use the pump tool to pump out the air after you seal the container.

Various sizes of zip-locks, I made the holder, and it hangs on the wall above the counter.

We also have a sharpie pen close by to label the bag. Items inside these bags can quickly become those "dead things" if you don't know what it is, or when you put it there.

We also have a front door fridge that is mounted under the countertop.

Also with organizational bins.

This unit is very old, eats power, and I have to get on my knees to see in, and pull items out. I'm dreaming of a new drawer model to fit in here.

My dream fridge.

We would already have installed one of these except for one problem.

The aft side of the galley.

The current fridge is in the lower left, and it is 23 inches wide. The width between the handrail on the left [in the above photo] and the mast on the right is 19 inches. Soooo, it's either dismantle a wall, or pull the mast off of the boat to get the old one out, and the new one in. [This predicament is also why our stove has an oven almost tall enough for a pie...] Neither of those options will be happening anytime soon, so for now we will use what we have.

We also have a dedicated freezer, it's the size of a large cooler, and it holds quite a lot. We need to eat up what's in there now, so we can make room for all of the fish we intend to catch. (Wishful thinking, please send positive vibes.)

The aft side of the lower dinette.

The Engel freezer inside the bench seat.

Organized meats, but no room for ice cream. Alas!

We turned off the heater to the v-berth, and closed the door. This action created another cool storage room, so we put large refrigerator items in there on the port side upper bunk. It has worked out great, but just today, it's getting too warm, (finally), and almost everything got moved out.

Fruit, onions, veggies, yogurt, and pickles were stored up there.

Maybe......   

Clearing off the countertop, always need more space.

What is on your spring cleaning list? Do you have more than one fridge to clean? Let us know here in comments, or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.

Friday Funny 03/17 (Retirement)

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Pow!

I had planned to write about retirement, but when I put the title on the draft post, I realized it was St. Patrick's Day, so I had to include that too.

I put my dollar in there.

Some of you saw the photo that Bill posted on Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat, of me holding up a Priority mail envelope. I had just gotten off of the phone with my Retirement Counselor, who had assisted me in completing the State of Alaska retirement and benefits paperwork. I gathered up all of the forms, and immediately drove to the Post Office to get it off to Juneau for processing. I should be official by May 01. I had resigned from my job three years ago when Bill retired, and I had been waiting for this day to arrive. It means that I have achieved that magic age.

Retired; Young at heart, slightly older in other places. 😁

The moment is captured.

Thank you everyone for the well-wishes!

I also left Alaska Airlines in 1999, after working for them for 23 years. I still need to wait until I am 62 to start to receive that retirement as well. Unless you're a pilot, the amount you get is quite minuscule, but I will be gaining my full "pass benefits" back. It's a good perk to have.

Are we having fun yet?

As long as it is extra sharp aged cheddar!

Along with retirement comes a bit of the "tightening of the belt". Since we have been living on Bill's retirement, it will seem like we have almost doubled our income. Spending Spree! No, not really, we intend on banking the other half.

All good, except that we need a drawing of a sailboat.

I found this shirt on Cafe Press, it does show a power boat, but if I really wanted one, I could have them make one with our sailboat on it.

And away we go!

First Aid Training, Knowledge, & Supplies

This post has now been added to our list of Stuff we have and use [and do...] sidebar where we will keep it up-to-date in the future.

Please read that updated version.

________________________________

Original Version:

We prefer exploring remote areas- both on land and sea. [Or is it we prefer to stay away from crowds...?] Consequently, we lean toward self-sufficiency and focus on prevention as well as preparedness. 

This philosophy is also our approach for rescuing a person overboard; we focus most of our efforts on preventing it from happening– leaving rescue procedures for last.

As part of our safety briefing with guests we discuss accident prevention. To emphasize how important injury avoidance is to us, we warn everyone that injuries— no matter how minor— will be amputated. No exceptions...

Invariably this prompts questions about First Aid kits, preparation [training] and most importantly, prevention.

From my experience, the answers to questions regarding how much training [and kit content] depend upon where and how we will be traveling [e.g., sailboat cruising, kayaking, and hiking in this context] and how isolated the areas will be. [i.e., How self-sufficient do you need/desire to be in an emergency?] 

I personally believe proactive prevention, followed by reactive training is even more important than the first aid supplies onboard for ocean crossing and remote area coastal cruising. Proper training will help you deal well with emergencies and give you the knowledge to formulate [and evaluate...] your own concepts for what to carry in your kit(s). 

Training will also help you find your balance for risk tolerance vs. those associated with your planned adventure(s).

I believe proper training also facilitates efficient communication with remote medical support services in an emergency. [e.g., Working with medical specialists over a radio or phone. (i.e., Telemedicine) It also makes it easier to obtain prescription meds for your kit(s)...]

There are, however, those who feel specialized First Aid training is not useful because they believe those lacking a medical background will not benefit from nor retain unpracticed training. [e.g., Dr. Welch]  

Do you agree?


How our strategy evolved:

We are prone to traveling in fairly remote areas where it is often unusual to see another vessel [or person] for days, or sometimes weeks at a time.

Therefore, when pondering prevention, First Aid kits [and training...] the first question we ask ourselves is how long might we have to cope with an emergency situation before we could anticipate the arrival of qualified assistance? [Whether that be someone arriving on scene- e.g., an ambulance; or us transiting the patient(s) to medical facilities.]

In a big city, it might be 10-20 minutes or so before an ambulance arrives on scene. Much First Aid training is based upon this scenario. But what if it took 2 hours; or 10; or a day; or two days before you could reasonably expect qualified assistance? [Whether they are coming to you, or you to them...] 

Ask yourself if you are you prepared for that...

Delayed [or remote via voice call; e.g., Telemedicine] assistance is the more likely scenario for a cruising boat. [See the Yachting World article in Additional Reading section, below...]

Can't we just read a good First Aid kit and book and be prepared for most contingencies?  

Possibly... And you could possibly read a book about sailing or driving a car, and then just go do it... 

More questions to ask yourself: [or; what did we ask ourselves...?]

Could you stand to listen to someone you care about [or a stranger for that matter] moan and scream in pain while you to read [and interpret] a book, or use an app on your phone? [Will your hands be clean and dry enough to use either?] Can you keep pressure on that bleeding wound, and/or keep their spine immobilized while you search your reference materials for what to do next? 

If there is more than one injury and/or patient, are you comfortable deciding who to assist first and the priorities of treatment?

In a remote location scenario, are you prepared to converse effectively with medical professionals on a phone or radio, provide the feedback they request, and understand their advice and guidance? 

If you answered yes to all of the preceding questions, then there is no need to waste more of your time here...

So, what is our current strategy? 

We plan around hands-on medical assistance [on-scene or self-transport to assistance] always being a minimum of 1-4 days out. Even if we activate an emergency beacon [e.g., EPIRB, PLB] or make a sat phone or radio call. Therefore we try to be prepared to cope and manage for 4 days as our designated worse case scenario. 

Figure this out for yourself and it will help you decide how comfortable you are with your level of knowledge and preparedness... Because we figure we may have to be self-sufficient for up to 4 days in a medical emergency, we both obtained Emergency Medical Technician [EMT] and other training. 

A reasonable alternative for those who cannot commit one or two college semesters to EMT training [EMT levels 1 and 2 are all we felt we needed] is the NOLS Wilderness First Responder [WFR] course [80 hours in 9 full days in a row- mostly outdoors...] 

Whether you have EMT, Paramedic, or NOLS WFR training, the NOLS Advanced Wilderness First Aid course [WAFA] is icing on the cake. [40 hours over 5 full days- time divided between classroom and outdoors...]

We really got a lot out of the NOLS WAFA course, and highly recommend it. But either of these courses will boost your knowledge and confidence immensely.

We have also heard very good things about the Offshore Emergency Medicine course by Wilderness Medical Associates International, but have not had an opportunity to attend one... yet... [Textbook included in book references, below.]

Do we really need all of this training?
   Hopefully not.

Have we had occasion to put it to use?  
   Unfortunately, yes. [More below...]

Do we need such diverse First Aid 'kits'? 
   Again, hopefully not. [But we don't normally need fire extinguishers either...]

Would lack of training or First Aid supplies prevent us from pursuing our adventures? 
   Not a chance. 

But if I have learned one thing about myself [with many requisite lessons in humility...] it is the more I delve into a subject, the more I discover I don't know... 

So, I have proved to myself more than once that ignorance truly is blissful– but not very useful in a pinch...

If you plan to always be close to first world societies and reliable means of emergency communication and transport, then you may be able to justify [rationalize?] less knowledge and training. 

It all depends on your personal risk tolerance, desired level of self-sufficiency, and the situations you may encounter on your chosen adventures. 

To help mitigate the risk of delayed response times in remote areas, we joined DAN Boater. 

This service [note: this is NOT insurance...] includes a 24/7 emergency medical hotline and worldwide emergency evacuation– among other related services– for US$100/year for a [US or Canadian] family [up to 5 individuals.]

This is a no brainer for us...

First Aid Kits

What supplies do we include in our First Aid kit(s)? [We found we were better able to formulate our own lists after some advanced training...]

A good initial reference [for boaters] is Practical Sailor's series of articles on this topic which includes evaluations of commercial First Aid kit offerings for various levels of need.

Independently, we decided upon the Adventure Medical [Marine] Kits line of offerings for our major kit. 

We have 4 levels of kits ranging from the usual stuff we need for minor, day-to-day issues, up to major trauma kits with neck braces, various splints, IV solutions, an AED in the near future, etc.

Adventure Medical Kits also happen to be what NOLS and many other organizations rebrand and sell.

We have amassed various levels of First Aid Kits, and carry what is appropriate for the adventure at hand. For instance, we have about everything you could need on the boat; carry a smaller subset of that in our kayaks, and an even less when exploring on land... [And no, we are not 'gram weenies'... Our kits are somewhat larger than many...]

For our boat ditch bag kit [and for grab-and-go and more extreme emergencies onboard] we chose the Adventure Medical Marine 3000 kit, and supplemented it with additional items we felt were worthwhile for our current risk factors. 

List of supplies included with basic kit

We added items like a traction splint, 4 neck braces in 3 different sizes, inflatable arm and leg splints, additional IV solutions, tooth/cap repair kits, Epi-pens [and spare ampules of Epinephrine and syringes...] fast dissolving [sublingual] antihistamines, prescription antibiotics and painkillers, high energy goo packs, and other specialty items. 

If you are wondering why we added some of these items [or what they are...] then you may be ready to augment your first aid knowledge...

We stow our kits in [truly waterproof] ditch bags made by Watershed. [They also make military bags and rifle cases Navy SEALs swim with... These are not your typical roll-top 'dry' bags– which in our experience leak if left floating on water for a while; and definitely leak if submerged...] 

Here are a couple of our ditch bags: the yellow one is the typical non-waterproof floating bag packed mainly with waterproof signaling and communication devices, and a few survival goodies. 

The red bag is one of our Watershed ditch bags currently containing our near-shore survival gear. [e.g., tent, sleeping bags and pads, food, cooking supplies, etc.– all packed in waterproof bags within the ditch bag... Remember we are playing on the Inside Passage at present and ditching the boat would typically lead us to shore quickly...]

The black snake on top of the bag is a paddle board leash. We install bungee style leashes on all of our ditch bags to safely and easily tether them to us, the raft, dinghy, etc. in a hectic emergency situation...

And speaking of ditch bags— we have 3; not including the First Aid Kits— stand-by for a separate post on that topic...

Many cruisers choose to make up their own First Aid Kits. Using the list from the Practical Sailor reference, above, and/or one of these commercial offerings is a good starting point if you decide to do that. 

However, we have discovered there really isn't much savings building our own comprehensive First Aid Kit(s) [especially if you include your time...] We also feel that the organization and ease of refilling/reordering contents included with the commercial kits is a worthwhile added value for us.

What is in our medical library? 
[We are not including EMT and other specialty titles here...]

Emergency and general First Aid: [In alphabetical order- by publisher where applicable]

• Hesperian Health Guides:
• Where there is no Doctor
• Where there is no Dentist
• Marine Medicine: A comprehensive guide 
• Included with Adventure [Marine] Medical Kits
• NOLS: [Not a DIY resource; requires the training...]
• Wilderness Medicine
• Wilderness Medicine Field Guide
• Wilderness Medicine Pocket Guide 
• Helps get you past 'brain freeze' in an emergency...
• Where there is no Pet Doctor  [If you have pets onboard as we do...]

Other books worth considering include:

• Merck Manual(s)
• Various titles of interest; great for diagnosing and treatment
• Don't forget the Veterinary version if you have pets...
• Physician's Desktop Reference [PDR]
• Various titles; useful if you need to understand medications in remote situations
• Wilderness and Rescue Medicine 
• Offshore Emergency Medicine course textbook referenced above

Have we ever been put to the test as a couple?

Yes, but luckily our personal worse injury to date [and here's hoping this record holds...] has been a fractured wrist; in inclement conditions at night in a remote setting on shore during a kayak trip. [Colles' fracture; very painful, but more inconvenient than life threatening...] Third-party water evacuation back to our vehicle– 20 kayak paddling miles away– was not possible until the next day [~16 hours- and one overnight- later] due to timing and inclement conditions. Subsequent ground transport and arrival at a medical facility occurred late on day 2. [~21 hours after the incident...] All-in-all not bad— unless you were the patient...

Lessons learned from that incident:

• More powerful pain relief meds were needed. [Now in inventory. Otherwise the kit was more than adequate.]
• Voice communication with rescue and transport resources [via sat phone in this case] is invaluable in an emergency requiring assistance. [Without that, it would have been 4 days before conditions abated enough where I could tow the patient- in their sea kayak- roughly 20 miles back to our vehicle, and then drive another 2 hours to medical facilities...

Is that the worst incident I have ever been involved with? Unfortunately, no...

I hope this explanation of how our strategies developed will help you continue your own discussions, and that you never have the occasion to test your First Aid skills or use your kit(s)!


Additional Reading of Note:

• Attainable Adventure Cruising: Medical Emergencies eBook
• Modest membership fee required, and so worth it to us...
• DAN Boater: member stories 
• Yachting World: Telemedicine at Sea

Please leave a comment sharing your First Aid strategy [and philosophy if you like]; favorite preventative measures; books on this topic; and any unique inclusions in your kit(s), if any. 
[e.g., We don't need snake antivenom in our current latitudes...]

Friday Funny 03/10 (Spring Forward)

Fashionably so.

 "Spring Contemplations"

It's that time of year again, where we "Spring Forward", and turn our clocks ahead one hour on Saturday night. Do people really do this? All of our "i" devices, just do it on their own. I suppose I'll need to set the microwave though. The extended daylight hours typical in an Alaskan summer, sort of defeats the purpose of Daylight Savings Time, but we do it to maintain the one hour difference from Alaska Time to Pacific Time.

It has been our first complete winter in Wrangell, and we thought we would be seeing warmer weather by now. Yes, granted it's warmer here than what we experienced in Fairbanks this time of year. They are in the minus 25-45 range right now, and we are in the plus 15-35 range. (still whining) The good folks here say this is the coldest winter they have seen in awhile. Thanks Wrangell! We had to push our haul-out out a couple of weeks to take advantage of warmer weather. Now it will be mid April, not late March.

In Alaska, the concept of spring is sort of lost on us. Everywhere else, people are coaxing their first buds, and sprouts out of the ground, we are preparing for dog mushing, the Yukon Quest, the Iditarod, and a myriad of local day races, like the Anchorage Fur Rondy, Fairbanks North American, Bethel Kuskokwim 300, Kotzebue 440, and many more. These people are all praying for snow. 

During the Iditarod, I like to follow Deedee Jonrowe, she's an inspiration at 64yrs young. She is a cancer survivor, Ironman competitor, and she lost her home in the Sockeye Wildfire in 2015. Her parka is pink, her truck is pink, and her huskies wear pink booties. You can pick her out in the crowd. 

Photo credit: Kristina Wood, Whistler Dreams Photography

Alaskans are proud of the women in the Iditarod. We all know names like Libby Riddles, (the first woman to win), Susan Butcher, (won 4 times, and lost her life to leukemia in 2006 at 51yrs young), Ally Zirkle, (who at the time of this writing, is currently in 1st position, Iditarod 2017, (now 11th)), and Deedee Jonrowe, (who has the fastest time recorded for a woman in the Iditarod, and 14 top ten finishes.) Great role models. 

From Wikipedia, JKBrooks84

Our state joke is that we don't have spring, we have what we call breakup. (Nothing to do with relationships, or a Spenard Divorce) This is the time of year when the snow is melting, and the rivers thaw carrying chunks of ice down river. We have mud, puddles, thawed animal poop, and the Nenana Ice Classic. This is a lottery for guessing the minute of river breakup on the Tanana River. Each ticket purchased is $2.50, and last year, 2016, 28 people shared a $330,000.00 pot.

Nenana Tripod on Tanana River

I guess I was bored, (translation: avoiding boat projects), I wrote a poem in the style of Shakespeare's O Romeo, and I put it on our Facebook page, Denali Rose Sailboat. Then I shared it to the Facebook group, "Alaska Life". So far that post has gotten over 1500 views, I'm astounded. In case you didn't see it, for your reading pleasure, ridicule, sarcastic reply, or total disregard.

O Spring, Spring! Wherefore art thou Spring?
Deny thy month and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn to come, and I’ll no longer be whining.

Tis but thy slowness in coming that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a winter. What’s winter? It is nor warm, nor green buds, nor baby animals, nor any other but cold, belonging to November through February.

O, be some other name! What’s in a name? That which we call the final washing of winter garments, by any other name would smell as sweet.

So Spring would, were it not Spring called, retain the dear warmth that it owes, and come quickly.

Someday my Spring will come. 🎵 (sung to: Someday My Prince will Come, from Snow White)

My friend Bob posted this on his Facebook page.

Sums it up for me.

Are you ready for Spring? Let us know here in the comments, or on our Facebook page, Denali Rose Sailboat.

Please don't SHOUT! [or: What does that hand signal mean?...!]

We have always used hand signals when anchoring, but there are times when a conversation [or both hands are required for the task-at-hand...] may be better, or even necessary. 

Hand gestures are nothing new... 

In fact, gestures most likely preceded oral language- and still do if we don't know a language... [And I'm reminded speaking volume is no substitute for lack of language skills.....] 

Unfortunately, Technology rarely helps in such cases... 


Once the anchor is down, communicating with the helms person regarding present depth and how much anchor chain is out is also simply accomplished using hand signals:

...or not so simply... [blurring is intentional to demonstrate the clarity with which gestures are sometimes received... ]
And no, these are not in our abbreviated arsenal of hand/finger gestures for anchor teamwork...

Walkie-Talkies [or any half-duplex radios] work for this need, but we found too many safety issues with years of use for these purposes. [e.g., one hand for the radio; missed dialog because you were both keying the mike/speaking at once; VOX (Voice Activation) is activated by ambient sounds, effectively muting the other party; etc.] Therefore, we decided to go with full duplex capability [like telephones- all parties can speak/hear simultaneously.]

We proofed that concept for ourselves using our smart phones with headsets and one of the many freely available bluetooth walkie-talkie apps.

That cemented it for us. And since we had already decided not to risk our smart phones in inclement conditions, we tried two different, robust commercial offerings; one with a belt-clip transceiver with corded headset, one pure headset version. [They cost about the same...]

We by far prefer the SENA SPH10 bluetooth headsets. 

Cruising Solutions sells them and has some great instructional videos.
(These are very feature-rich headsets...)

We still almost always use hand signals when playing with the anchor(s) but there are times while anchoring, docking, dealing with something on the foredeck, in the engine room, etc.- especially during inclement conditions- when coordinating in civil tones works wonders. 

This is especially true for situations for which the hand signal is not visible to the receiving party, or has not yet been developed [and it is not a convenient time to make up a new one...] 

Or perhaps the hand gesture chosen under stress might not be appropriate, intended, nor well received...

Hands-free, simultaneous voice communication is also very useful when at the top of the mast, in the engine room [these work well even with the diesel engine running...] in a crowded nightclub, etc.

They are very quick to put on and turn on, easy to mute [e.g., when in the engine room, or when speaking to someone else...] comfortable, waterproof, have many features [bluetooth pairing to smart phone for music, phone calls, etc.] and just plain work. 

We have also used them on the road [their original development was for motorcycle riders after all...] when driving separate vehicles, and especially like them when backing our truck/camper and one of our 27ft trailers into tight spaces. 

Hand signals just don't apply in such situations- especially in the dark...

As back-up we still have intercom capability with our wireless VHF radio mike, handheld VHF radios, and FRS [walkie-talkie] radios [which we always issue to away teams...] 

But for us, nothing beats reliable, phone-like conversation capability- especially in sporty situations. 

There is good reason why this type of capability/technology is often categorized as Marriage Saver in nature...

What communication styles, practices, and technology [if any...] work best for you in similar situations?

PS: This is one of the follow-ups about items not included in our End of year upgrades for the boat post because they were gifts...