Emergency Contingency Plans while Cruising, Post 25-19

Back in March Jimmy had a medical condition that had both of us thinking about contingency plans in case the situation went from concern to emergency. In the end it was not something major, but we still had to make some adjustments to accommodate his condition.

We thought that we’d capture some of our thoughts during this process while Utopia is sitting still in at a marina this week.

Background

In February Jimmy’s eye had become red and painful, but after about a week the irritation had disappeared and the incident forgotten about. However, when a few weeks later the pain and redness returned to the same eye, it became concerning. With this second episode, his pain was much worse, so much so that it kept him up at night, then became slightly opaque.

This was a stressful time since Jimmy has had a lot of issues with his eyes in the past.  A few years ago, he had a detached retina that could have left him blind in one eye if not addressed quickly. Then after the surgery to repair the retina, he had to have cataract surgery, a common side effect to retina repairs.  So having another eye issue without the ability to get to an eye doctor quickly was worrisome to say the least.  

And a lot of “what ifs” began to play out in our minds…

Contingency Plans

One of the first concerns to us was what if Jimmy needed to see an eye specialist. From pre-trip research of the Bahamas, it seemed that most specialists and prescriptions needed to be handled in Nassau. Or what if he needed to get to the United States to be covered by our health insurance provider, or to see his vitreoretinal doctor in Tallahassee?

Source: Native Stew

Mailboat

Some islands have ferries available to get around, they are typically within a single island group (e.g. The Abacos). To move between regions, people can purchase a spot on the mailboats that typically pick up mail and cargo in Nassau to deliver it to the out islands. Most settlements have a government dock where the mailboats arrive every few days, so it would be fairly easy to find one to take. Although, one may have to wait up to a week for the boat to arrive, and then once underway, this option is very slow, sometimes making several other stops before heading to Nassau. Other issues include what to do with Utopia if Baxter was even allowed to travel with us on the mailboat? Most likely this option would require Jimmy to travel alone, leaving Sondra with the boat.

Flights

A faster option may be to find an airport. Some islands have small airports that head to Nassau. This option poses the same concerns as a mailboat over what to do with Utopia, and the difficulty of attempting to travel with a cat.

Sailing Short-handed to Nassau

We had a little bit of luck with being in Northern Eleuthera, 50 nautical miles from Nassau, with mostly a clear shot across the Bight of Eleuthera then across part of the Great Bahama Bank. Yet, this trip would still require 10 to 11 hours to complete. This would be a difficult trip for Sondra to manage if Jimmy's sight was compromised. yet, if it was really necessary, she could handle this option.

Getting Crew to sail to Nassau or the States

We also considered trying to find someone to help us move the boat. We had been cruising with some other boats, so it may have been possible to borrow a crew member from one of them to get to Nassau, leaving that boat single handed, and this would probably not be probable for a trip to the States if that was necessary. Our next thought was to reach out to sailing friends from the Shell Point / Tallahassee area, offering to fly them down to the Bahamas to aid Sondra in getting Jimmy, Baxter and Utopia back to the States.

Our Actions

Bahamian doctor writing a prescription for Jimmy

At the time of the second flare up in Jimmy’s eye, Utopia was anchored in Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera. Luckily there happened to be a clinic in the small, nearby settlement of Alice Town, where the doctor pronounced Jimmy to have conjunctivitis, and handed us a prescription.

However, the clinic did not have the required medication, and Alice Town did not have a pharmacy. We attempted to rent a car, only to find out that the person that rents out cars was not available. That meant we would have to sail to a settlement with a pharmacy. There was one four days to the north and another two days to the south. Jimmy felt that since it was only conjunctivitis we could continue to sail four days to the pharmacy to the north , instead of backtracking to the closer pharmacy.

The only problem was that Jimmy's eye became very opaque, severely affecting his vision, and on top of the pain and poor visibility, he developed a serious sensitivity to light. At least he was able to raise the anchor while I helmed the short passage up to the Glass Window, where we walked around a bit, with Jimmy holding onto Sondra for stability when walking over uneven surfaces. The following day, Jimmy’s light sensitivity had decreased enough to handle short stints at the helm in the open waters where clear visibility was not imperative. We eventually made it to Spanish Wells, where the prescription was quickly filled. Over time his eye healed, his vision returned, and all appears to be fine.

Thankfully we were able to manage this incident on our own, but it is a good reminder for all of us to be thinking of how to handle situation in remote locations.

 Post 25-19