Another Slip

Since it looks like we'll be here a while waiting on my documentation certificate (that's another story), I figured I'd try to catch up the blog. Instead of one long omnibus entry short on detail, I'm going to post several shorter ones, and try to keep them in chronological order as much as possible.

The day after I anchored off of Cat Island, I decided to tidy up and re-flake the mainsail. The winds had been sorta high the previous day, so I just headed into the wind and quickly flaked it so I could anchor. It wasn't pretty, but with no one around, who cares?

After looking at it all the next day, I decided to quickly re-flake it right before sundown. The wind was still up a bit, 15 with gusts close to 20. I pulled off all the sail ties and the sail unfolded in the wind. After making sure all the flakes were correctly alternating from one side to the other at the mast, I came back to the cockpit and started flaking the lower ones, which are the most difficult, especially in the wind.

I got the first couple flakes over the boom set, but couldn't reach the sail ties in the cockpit, so I tried to hold the finished flakes with my right hand and use my left foot to try to hook one of them. If you want to picture this, I'm standing on the sliding hatch facing forward with my right hand holding the flakes on the boom. In that position, there's nothing else to hold onto. I'm crouching down and twisting to my left and reaching down with my left foot.

I don't know if a wave hit us or I just slipped, but I fell over backwards into the cockpit, and hit my tailbone on the edge of the port locker hatch as I fell. I can't say I saw stars, but for a few minutes I was sure I'd broken something.

I guess that's the good thing about being in shape, you don't weigh as much, and what's there is mostly muscle. After a few minutes on my back, I got up and a few minutes later found I was fine, albeit a little sore. It took a few days, but I don't feel it at all now.

Part of the problem might be a misplaced sense of security due to the new non-skid. I hadn't done the hatch yet, but everywhere I've got it, the footing is so good, I may have let my guard down. I plan to finish the non-skid everywhere before I leave, and try to look on this as a reminder to always hang on tightly with at least one hand -- one hand for you, one for the boat, and flakes don't count.