Finally!!

After six months of frustrations, Oso Blanco is finally on the way back to the US!   She was loaded aboard a Dutch ship in Brisbane, Australia and is headed for New Orleans.   We'll pick her up in N.O., clean her up after her 9200 nm ocean passage, and figure it all out from there!

 

They say stress is not good for one's heart – this is a huge load off of our plate!

 

Eric

Reality Check

It has been a 5 week whirlwind since we left Oso Blanco in Brisbane and headed back to a land life in Park City, Utah.   Since then, we have visited my Mother and friends in Minneapolis, Ann's Mom and the gang in Northern WI, and hung out with Elizabeth and Margaret and the beautiful Grand Girls in Asheville, NC.    After all that, Bear and I did a 'boy's road trip' and drove our car from Minneapolis to Park City.

 

The last two weeks we have been trying to get settled in our new town with Bear adjusting to 5th grade in a 'real' school, getting the house set up, and finding our way around.   Both Ann and I have been working hard at getting into ski shape as we look ahead to the approaching winter.   I treated myself to a wonderful new bicycle and have been enjoying the beautiful fall weather riding the back roads and many trails around our area.   Life is good.

 

Tuesday was "Get your self to school Day" so Bear bypassed the bus stop and we headed out on our bikes for his school.   We were less than a mile from home when I felt strong chest pains, had trouble breathing, and had to get off the bike.   Oh shit", I thought.   "It's the big one".   I told Bear that I didn't feel good and we needed to go home so Mom could take him to school.    The pain lessened and we limped home and immediately headed for the ER, dropping Bear off on the way. 

 

Chest pain is a sure way to get attention when wandering into an ER.     Park City's hospital is a brand new facility with all the latest gadgets and gizmos and little traffic at this time of year.    I was given exceptional care and every imaginable test.     With the initial fear and urgency diminished, little was showing up in the diagnostics.    EKG and blood tests were normal, but they persisted.    Stress test,  pulmonary CAT scans, MRI, and more blood tests showed little.   We had arrived at the ER at 8 am and by 2 pm they had run every possible test but were not willing to give up.    The ER Doc had been working with the Cardiologist in Salt Lake and got a call around 2:30.   "We are going to transfer you to the hospital in Salt Lake", she informed me.   "OK, we'll go home and get our stuff.   When should we go down there?"   She shook her head.  "Now. We have already called the ambulance.   There is no need to change back to your clothes.   They have already scheduled your surgery."   Huh?   We were just about to get dressed and go home to relax.    All of a sudden we had to figure out how to get Bear home from school, make other arrangements, and get wheeled into the 'limo'.   

 

There was no delay for paper work or other admitting details.    I was wheeled to a room and a nurse started explaining what they had planned.    The intercom barked "Prepare 328 for immediate surgery"and the action started.    Luckily Katherine works nearby and she was there shortly.    Ann was on her way down from Park City, but we were rolling down the hall and into the elevator before she got there.   The surgeon explained that even though little was showing up on their tests, they were suspicious of blockage and were going in to check.   If there was a problem, they would fix it.

 

An hour later, I was back in the room with Ann and Kat and dinner was on the way.   The Dr. brought us copies of the pictures showing over 97% blockage of the left anterior descending artery or LAD.  He had installed a stent to open it up and said to take it easy for 2 –3 days before resuming normal activity.  24 hrs after setting off to school with Bear, I was getting dressed in the hospital to go home.    Obviously there is more to taking care of this in the long term, including a row of bottles of meds, but we have once again proven that it is better to be lucky than smart!    Had we been somewhere in the South Pacific this week, this would have been a more interesting story.   

 

During my discharge briefing, the nurse told us that if we wanted more information on what I had gone through, just google 'widow maker'.    Check it out.    Yep, it could have been the big one.  

 

Back on the bike next week.  Ski season is coming.  Take nothing for granted.

 

Eric

BOAT TALK by Bear

The final year on the boat is coming to an end; I will miss the boat much. But to say goodbye I wrote a poem to my boat, OSO BLANCO:

Goodbye Boat

By Bear Bloomquist

Goodbye sweet boat, I hope you always float;

 You are always there and you always have cared;

 You are my dream come true, even though we are almost through;

 We have been to countries and to states; here and there we have met many mates;

 I have been on many boats that float, but you are the best because we have traveled on you from east to west;

 I love you much but we must go on, I will never forget you, never ever.

            Hope the boat likes it, I hope you do too, but like I said it is time to move-on. Goodbye my boat.

Sooooo close, but .........

The good news is we have an answer.  The bad news is we are not on the ship leaving Brisbane tomorrow.

 

It is a VERY long story ........................ I gave up on trying to get info from the agent and was able to talk directly with the ship owners.  They told me they had never received all of the boat information, including all dimensions from the agent.

 

Not so bad news is that they have the next ship leaving here Oct 13 and expect us to be on it. I have started dealing with Nordhavn to make sure the shipper gets what they need. Certainly a disappointment, but some progress.

 

So we are on to Plan 37.9C.    We are scheduled to fly out of here on Thursday.    Back in the States this week!    I'll have to come back to Brisbane in October for the next chapter.

 

Eric

Hurry up, and wait ...........................

We have been docked at Rivergate Marina, on the Brisbane River, for the last 10 days preparing Oso Blanco for a long ship ride back to the USA.    We are working with an agent in Florida who is supposed to specialize in shipping yachts around the world and have prepaid 50% of a large shipping fee.     Oso is scheduled to ship from here next week and we have tickets to fly back to Minneapolis on August 30.

 

Unfortunately, the shipping line has "concerns" about loading Oso due to her size and weight.    The agent continues to say they are "negotiating" our shipment with them and there is still some hope.   Neither the shipper nor the agent excels at communication and with time differences, updates are few and far between.    Each morning this week I have had to get up between 2-3 am to attempt a call or emails with the agent.    Success has been rare.

 

One way or another, we intend to be in Minnesota late next week.    If Oso has been loaded, everything will fall into place.   If this particular ship does not take her, our agent will continue to find other options, although nothing will be in the short term.    I will come home and return to Brisbane when loading is rescheduled.    Preparations for shipping are similar to what is necessary for 'in water storage' so all is not wasted.   If we need to leave Oso here, we will have to arrange for regular cleaning and care to assure all systems are happy.

 

Friday morning update from the agent was, "We are continuing negotiations and appreciate your patience."

 

What patience would that be?

 

E

Ekka

Think Minnesota State Fair meets Bayfield County Fair and you have the beginning of understanding of the Ekka - the Royal Queensland Exhibition of Industry and Agriculture. The event had all the traditional displays to which we are accustomed - with an Aussie twist. There were carnival rides, fried foods, animal barns, crafts and the grand-stand. We watched blacksmiths make and mount real horseshoes and lumberjacks hack through mega logs in record speed. We indulged in fair food: dagwood dogs (foot-long corn-dogs on a stick that barely stayed upright) and fairy floss (cotton candy - ok, we didn't actually get any fairy floss but I couldn't resist putting the name in the blog!)

Then there were the Show Bags (I only capitalize the name as they are such a big deal to the Aussie Fair experience). Show Bags are unbelievably popular plastic bags of over-priced, Chinese-made junk toys and trinkets. The selection ranges from AC-DC to the Wiggles and everything in between. Housed in a gigantic, white, circus tent, several hundred booths line up to sell their bags of crap (pardon the expression) consisting of dime-store paraphernalia you wouldn't give away at a kids birthday party. Yet thousands of Aussies paid $5 - $50 per bag to score their favorite iconic novelties and parade around the fair grounds carrying their Justin Bieber or Elmo treasure bag. Just didn't get it....

Our favorite was the animal barns. There we saw (truly!) newborn lambs that were birthed on display behind glass at the fair; their bloody umbilical cords still hung from their scrawny bellies. Show dogs were meticulously groomed; some looking absolutely stunning with shiny coats and manicured appendages and others appearing ridiculous as in the inconsistently shaved standard poodles with pom-poms on their butts and buffont hair-dos. (Think of the movie "Best of Show" and you get the picture.) In the horse barn, they had spectacular displays of the various types of horses in Australia explaining their origins, uses and characteristics. For each, they had a live horse in a stall for viewing. It was very informative. We also learned that there is one non-allergenic cat as its fur does not contain the protein to which people are allergic. So, there you go.

All in all, it was an enjoyable day and something for everyone. Bear got to chase down Dad on the bumper cars and shoot some arrows into a target. Eric missed out on the classic cars but got his fill of turkey legs and ice cream. Ann was happy watching the horse jumping and walking through the animal barns. It wasn't the Minnesota State Fair but it was a nice way to spend the day.

Footy

 Footy - that's Aussie-speak for Australian Rules Football - is a popular  Australian national sport which, to an American point of view, combines several better-known games into a fast-action, intense and grueling competition of 18 men per team vying to put a bouncy, spherical ball through a set of four posts at the end zones of a large field. Players move the ball by kicking it (like soccer), bumping it (like a volleyball), tossing it behind (like in rugby) or bouncing it (like a basketball) as they run. Points are awarded for getting the ball through the posts: six points through the middle two posts and one point through the outer posts. The score adds up quickly as the game moves almost non-stop through four, twenty minute quarters. It is a riveting game!

Ann and Behan under the Lion's paw!

Along with our friends from s/v Totem (Behan and Jamie Gifford), we witnessed the Brisbane Lions defeat the Adelaide Crows at the Gabba arena near Brisbane on Saturday night with a score of 95-85. The competition was intense and the outcome wasn't determined until the final minutes of the game. Complete with a hug from the team mascot and greasy food from the arena vendors, we thoroughly enjoyed this Aussie national sport and would become Footy fans if given the chance! Go Lions!