NUTS & BOATS
The twice monthly newsletter for to-be and already-are cruisers Volume 2, Issue #6 - March 15, 2004
Publisher: Trish Lambert
www.takehersailing.com
(C) P. Lambert 2004
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THE SPRING SALE CONTINUES!!! GET "TOOLS & TECHNIQUES" FOR $5.97
$2 OFF THE REGULAR PRICE In honor of the spread of spring, Capt'n Pauley's ebooklet, "Tools & Techniques," is on sale! This is a perfect book for spring boat projects. Paul will tell you how to find alternative methods to use what you have instead of postponing projects until you "might" have all the tools you think you will need. For the month of March, buy and download this invaluable ebooklet for $5.97, a $2 discount.
POSTSCRIPT TO LAST MONTH'S NEWSLETTER Gord and Maggie May, who have achieved "Anchorage Barnacle" status in the THS Virtual Anchorage, have proposed two corollaries to Murphy's Law that apply to going aloft: The attraction of passing boats is in logarithmic proportion to the height of the crewmate aloft. The speed of passing boats (when crew is aloft) is directly proportional to the maximum wake-making ability of the hull.
For the story about how they have derived these corollaries, check out The Virtual Anchorage under the "A Little Help From Your Friends" forum.
FROM THE VIRTUAL ANCHORAGE
How to Survive a Heart Attack Alone from F. Daniel Rochman, MD Note from Trish: This is an article that "Latitude Adjustment," one of regulars at Take Her Sailing's Virtual Anchorage, posted. The original was written by F. Daniel Rochman, MD, who started the article by saying, "If everyone who gets this sends it to 10 people, you can bet that we'll save at least one life." I think that this information is very important to cruisers because so many of us, whether single- or double-handed, spend a lot of our time in pretty out of the way places.
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Let's say it's 6:15 p.m. and you're driving home (alone of course), after an unusually hard day on the job. You're really tired, upset and frustrated. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest your home; unfortunately you don't know if you'll be able to make it that far. WHAT CAN YOU DO? You've been trained in CPR but the guy that taught the course neglected to tell you how to perform it on yourself. Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, this article seemed to be in order. Without help, the person whose heart stops beating properly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness! However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest, and a cough must be repeated about every 2 seconds without let up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again. Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital. Tell as many other people as possible about this, it could save their lives! **********************
Postscript from Skip: This is very good information, especially for baby boomers like me who spend a lot of time alone on the boat. If you wonder how you would know if you are on the verge of a heart attack, the main symptom is pain, often described as a tightness or heaviness in the chest. It is often severe enough to be described as the worst pain one has ever experienced. The usual location of the pain is in the center of the chest but it frequently radiates to the left arm or the jaw. As a physician assistant, I might be able to recognize heart attack symptoms in myself sooner than someone else would. If I were experiencing what I believed was the onset of a heart attack, I would do the following: 1) call 911 on my cell phone (if I were in cell phone range), 2) take one full-strength aspirin, and 3) follow the coughing/breathing procedure described above. The aspirin is in case the attack is blood-clot related; aspirin is a proven anti-clotting agent. I know that it would take a while for the drug to make it into my circulatory system, but I would still take it if possible. It is important to emphasize that the coughing Dr. Rochman describes needs to be a deep and "from the lungs," so that it will have the desired effect on the heart muscle.
ANNOUNCING TWO GREAT PRODUCT LINES FROM TAKE HER SAILING THS SHORT SHOT #1: A YEAR OF CRUISING TIPS Get some extra oomph to keep you on track to getting out on the water. Receive a weekly e-mail tip from me about some aspect of cruising--for a whole year! I cover a wide range of hints and tips, andI'll bet I bring up stuff you haven't thoughtabout!!! You'll also get a cool cruising-related quote to keep you inspired! Get a year's worth of weekly email cruising tips for the introductory price of $9.97! WANT TO TRY BEFORE YOU BUY? Get three free cruising tips in your email for three days!
A CRUISER'S EYE VIEW
Home sapiens marinerus: Field Observations by Skip Randall Get ready, fellow barcophiles--this Saturday (3/20) marks the vernal equinox, the traditional beginning of spring. This is a special season for the biped known as Homo sapiens sub-species "marinerus non compos mentis." It means that Opening Day is just around the corner! I've spent the last 14 years as a year-around liveaboarder and cruiser on three United States coasts (West, East and Gulf), and I fancy myself an amateur cultural anthropologist specializing in the study of this strange hominid. I've observed this subspecies throughout the seasons on all three coasts, and there are marked differences based on geography. First, let us consider the Southern California H. sapiens, s. sp. marinerus during a typical winter. There is only a marginally different outward appearance in winter compared to the other seasons: often only the presence of a windbreaker, long pants, and, perhaps, shoes indicates that anything is different from, say, June or July. Winter is a joke, a non-event, something experienced mainly by others, and best seen on TV, or perhaps on a weekend skiing trip. If the temperature dips into the 50's, the weather is described as "bitter cold," and anything below 50 is "freezing." Most significantly, one observes abundant activity around marinas and sails can be seen on the water throughout the season. Southern Californian H. sapiens marinerus does give a token nod to the onset of spring in a ritual known as "opening day." But really, it's just a convenient excuse to eat, drink and party (like they need one). My opinion is that these folks are seasonally anesthetized by the monotonously good weather and, therefore, they don't really appreciate the coming of spring. Contrast this with the typical behavior and habitus of the MidAtlantic marinerus. After a short but robust sailing season, the dockside field observer will note a subtle yet significant change in behavior. Dock carts that had been laden with beer, potato chips, and other goodies are now filled with cases of a liquid dubbed "pink pop" (antifreeze solution). This indicates that the late fall winterization process has begun. Next comes full-on hibernation, first for the boats, as evidenced by the 7AM to 7PM rumble of travel-lifts. The adventurous owners who elect to leave their boats in the water generally take down all the sails and canvas, then cover the exposed topsides with sturdy tarps. Most of the humans leave the waterfront in their temperature-controlled SUVs to hibernate in their temperature-controlled dens (and kitchens and family rooms), not to be seen again until spring. For the hearty souls who choose to hibernate in situ, the marina can be a lonely place, a bleak landscape of snow-covered tarped-over boats, empty slips, and drained pool. Winter liveaboard H. sapiens marineri display plush and colorful winter coats, characterized by brightly colored parkas, yellow overboots, gloves, and watchcaps. The arrival of spring in the MidAtlantic is a joyous event, a cause for celebration, marking a very real transition. The bare trees sprout leaf buds, the grass grows back, the humans return to the waterfront, and marinas become alive again. Off come the tarps, the travel-lifts rumble again, sails get hanked on, and the pink pop gets flushed out. Life is good. Opening Day MEANS something. Let the sailing begin! Life on the Gulf Coast is a median between the two extremes just described, and is a happy medium for this marinerus (yes, I admit that I am one myself!). Sailing slows down here in winter, but doesn't grind to a halt. The bar and grill stays open (well, on weekends anyway). I can testify that it does get cold in winter: I've seen 28's and 29's (Fahrenheit scale) on a few mornings, and there was even ice on the docks...once. It's a spoonful of winter, just enough to let you feel you can honestly celebrate the start of spring. This week, the Gulf Coast marinerus types in my marina are sweeping out the "tiki bar" at the foot of the docks. By next weekend it will be fully stocked with beer and chips and peanuts--ready for a "first day of spring" opening. I'll be there, and I'll raise my glass in a toast to spring, finally here. My vernal best wishes go out to you, my fellow marineri, wherever you are. Enjoy.
NEW MERCHANDISE IN THE TAKE HER SAILING SHIP'S STORE!! The Latin Series has joined the Magellan Series and the Signal Flag Series at the THS Ship's Store. Now there are THREE ways to express your "cruiserness" through your stuff!!! Come by and buy!!!! | 
