Karin Earns a Purple Heart

October 28, 2018 – After a month at home, we decide to set South again.  To time our arrival in NYC – in particularto hit Hell’s Gate at slack – we leave at the crack of dawn, with no help on the dock.  Bad decision.  Misjudging the strong Housatonic river current, we allow the bow to swing into the current after release of the bow line such that the bow thruster is not strong enough to swing the bow back to free the last spring line.  Emmanou is stuck at a 45-degree angle off the dock with her stern pressing against the dock and her forward spring line preventing her from leaving.  With Karin on the dock trying to release the spring line, Thach attempts to swing Emmanou parallel to the dock with a propwash turn.  The force of the maneuver shears the dock cleat and frees Emmanou – but not before slicing Karin’s left palm.  Thach manages to maneuver Emmanou back to the dock to pick up his bleeding first mate (and Admiral!).  After copious bandaging staunches the bleeding, we make it to Liberty Landing opposite lower Manhattan to be met by brother-in-law Tom who drives Karin to get stitched up at Jersey City hospital.  By the evening, Karin is back on duty – the Admiral is made of strong Anglo-Polish stock indeed — for a planned late-nightcruise of NYC harbor with friends on board (Emily Rapp, William Hines and friend, Tom and Christine).  After a couple of nights R&R at Liberty Landing, Thach and his wonderful but winged wing woman, continue South to Cape May, Delaware City, Annapolis — where we meet up with Tracy Coster (B-School buddy) and the Santos-Wuests (ex-New Haven friends), the Solomon Islands, Tangier Island, Portsmouth, Coinjock, Belhaven, and Beaufort Inlet, before heading offshore for the run to Wrightsville Beach, NC.  Of these stops, Tangier Island was a new one, which we stumbled upon as we ran into rough waters down the Chesapeake.  Turns out, this little crabbing community of less than 500 inhabitants is likely to sink away in the next 25 years (due to fake global warming).  The isolated community speak a form of old Elisabethan English that prompted a theater company to stage a Shakespeare reading there. We only anchored off, but plan to stop ashore on our way back North nextyear. Thach is practicing his curtsey…

Heading South to NYC at dawn — UFO is overhead light reflected in pilot house window
Straight back to work on deck
Flotsam to avoid — a loose floating dock in Long Island Sound
My wonderful winged wing-woman
Lady Liberty waving au revoir
Osprey over Norfolk
Belhaven sunset
Celebrating stitches removal in Beaufort

WARNING: Below not for the squeamish!

Carnage
Stitches same day
Stitches out 2 weeks later
7 weeks from incident — High Five!  (Does Karin have Wolverine healing powers?)

11 thoughts on “Karin Earns a Purple Heart”

    1. Ospreys used to crash a lot but I think they sorted out the problems. Impressive plane. Can imagine how versatile they might be in action.

    1. I thought Karin’s hitchhiking days were over but now I think I can still send her out on the road.

  1. Much admiration for Kap’n K!
    Well… even more admiration to add to pre-existing 🙂
    Very intriguing re Tangier Island vernacular. Will www further.

    1. Very intriguing indeed by the Tangier’s vernacular. I imagine if I replace s’s with th’s and add e’s at the end of words I’ll get by. Whate doth ye thinke?

  2. …just as well. I’ve been catching up on a bit of reading. You guys are living the dream! Fabulous stuff! I will live it vicariously through you. I think perhaps you could do with a clinical nurse on board, psychiatric trained? We will be ready and waiting when you pull into Brisie. Meanwhile, Happy NY to you both and the fam. BTW it is wonderful to see old, familiar names in the blog!

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