Saturday 3 July 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Saturday 3 July 2010 בס"ד

I woke up for Friday morning watch feeling a bit queasy. It was drizzling out and so I slacked lines for the first hour as needed. My queasiness increased and I began to feel faint. At 0515 I told Paul that I was not feeling well and afraid I'd pass out, and was sent below to my rack. What happened next was the worst illness I can ever remember feeling. I was unable to sleep because I got terrible stabbing pains in my joints and in my guts. I had difficulty breathing, my sinuses were leaking everywhere, I was feverish and basically felt like I was dying. At 0800 Gary came in and based on my symptoms thought it was dehydration, so I nursed liquids until about 1300 with no change. At that time, I thought I might be feeling better, so I went on deck and got some water. Then I returned to my rack and was finally able to get some rest. At 1530 I was woken up for watch, still feeling somewhat better but not nearly 100%. I helped clean the paint locker, but my head was pounding and everything was in slo-mo. Because my legs hurt so bad, I found that as long as I was sitting I wasn't too bad. At dinner I had my first bite of the day: some rice and a brownie. This instantly upset my stomach and within minutes I had truly foul diarrhea; not the screamers like I had with the “Galapagos Gut.” I hung out on the quarterdeck for the rest of watch, then went to bed, where the stabbing came back. I took some Ibuprofen, and I think that helped.

I woke up at 0330 for morning watch and stayed up until about 0500 before Nadja told me to rest. Luckily this time I was able to sleep and I woke up for lunch feeling about 90%. My gut still wasn't perfect but I had my energy back and all was well. I went back for more rest and at 1600 when our watch began the Captain mustered all hands to explain why we had tacked around (which happened while I was sleeping) and were headed back to the Galapagos. We believe Paula has appendicitis and are getting her back for medical attention. We should arrive early Monday. A workshop had been planned for dittybag making but was cancelled. I stood second lookout and had nothing to report. Paul explained to us the physics and logic of how the sails work and the tacking around procedure. I helped clean the plastics, which included 52 wrappers from sliced cheese with Bob. After watch, watched the Count of Monte Cristo in the forepeak. Tomorrow I'm Sunday galley and it's the 4th of July, so definitely BBQ action, and I heard a rumor we'll have turtle races.