Voyage 2006-2007: Chapter 1

10 Sep 2006, Our Carnival Cruise, 38 46.590 N/ 076 33.930 W

Ann said, "So you want to go to the Caribbean, huh?" I thought she meant with Jule III. Nope, we were going to the Caribbean on Carnival's MS Valor. This was the biggest ship we have been on with a total complement of nearly 5,000 souls. Still we were travelling with friends and the trip was quite delightful, except ....

Bob still had to do his computer security work but it didn't detract from the trip. However, in the middle of the trip, Bob 'sprung a leak' from an earlier colonoscopy. None of the options were great: a transfusion onboard, a visit to Belize Hospital, or a shot to temporarily fix the problem. The shot fixed him within 30 hours. Everything looked good. Sure it did.

Our favorite place was Roatan, Honduras. It was the least 'touristy'. We met a couple of the local artists and actually bought some of their work. The water was crystal clear and it was really, really hot. Actually, everywhere we went was hot. We mean, really, really, hot.

18 Sep 2006, No joy, again!, 38 46.590 N/ 076 33.930 W

After, the cruise, we headed back to the boat yard to continue readying Jule III for her October departure to Wilmington NC with SV Moony. Bob was still weak from the loss of blood, but the doctors indicated that the weakness should pass. On Saturday, Bob cleaned the hull with solvent while Ann put the first coat of bottom paint. Later, Bob helped with the painting and of course got more on him than the boat. A few minutes later, Bob was experiencing heart attack number 2. Apparently, the loss of blood and the exposure to the solvent made his heart unhappy.

Bob got another stent for the trouble and was released within 24 hours after the procedure. No damage to the heart was noted. That's two bullets that he has dodged!. After he was released from the hospital, we headed for ... the boatyard, of course. We didn't do much but Bob soaked up all the sympathy from our friends.