After making a VHF call to Russell radio notifying them we were heading back to NZ, David and I bashed our way back to Opua early Tuesday morning; we were both overwhelmed by the possible worst case scenarios. The 20-25 kt gusts seemed even more intense as the waves pushed Sidewinder's starboard rail under again and again. We reefed again and tried to bring in the head-sail as much as we could, and she slogged her way toward the Bay of Islands. By mid-morning, the warm shining sun and the blue skies brought wonderful color to the horizon and the wind and waves calmed a bit, giving us some relief from the intensity of the situation. By early afternoon we were sailing flat seas inside the bay with tons of rally boats passing us by on their way to Fiji and Tonga. We radioed customs in Opua and made contact with Gary, who had sold us his car in November, and he had already made arrangements for us to go directly into the marina, slip C19. Doug, on Windcastle, heard our call to the marina, and called back letting us know he would be there waiting for us at the dock to help with the lines, along with Larry from s/v Magenta. How comforting it was to have friends waiting for us at the dock! Again David did not sleep much with so much pain, and with the generosity of Larry as driver, we began the search for help and answers on Wed.. We saw a wonderful doctor in Paihia who immediately put David on anti-biotics, ordered a blood-test, and sent us to Whangarei for an ultra-sound, 45min away. With negative results from the Doppler/Ultra-sound, a wonderful sense of relief came over us both. On our way back, both David and I reflected on the wake-up call and the possible risks of just living this adventurous life. We are so lucky we were close enough to turn back and to have the high tech care offered here in NZ, as we wait now for more information.
It is now Friday and David's leg seems to be much better; he slept until 3AM without pain, and when it did wake him up, it was barley noticeable. Along with the doctor, we are now just waiting for the anti-biotics to run their course and for the infection to go away. The weather has been beautiful all week and I was fortunate enough to go on a good hike along the bay yesterday, stopping along the way to bask in the warm sunshine and meditate in a tiny little protected cove. I am so grateful that we have just been delayed a bit and that David will be fine soon. The compassionate government of NZ gave us both 3 more months on our visas and luckily we will not have to stay longer than maybe a week or so more. We have discovered quite a few boats here with cruiser friends we have not seen since Tonga or Fiji, and, if all goes well, we will make the crossing to Fiji with them next week, when a new good weather window appears.......possibly Wed. We shall patiently wait and see what comes our way. We are just so thankful to be here with all the positive support and hopefully the best case scenario solutions.
Meanwhile, we hope everyone is doing fine and that you, too, are appreciating the precious life we are given. We send out special love and sympathy to our friend, Tracy, who is having a memorial service this weekend, "celebrating" Kenny Phebus' life. We are so privileged to have had him in our lives and to know Tracy, his true love. Many hugs to you, Tracy. Love to all, Suzi and David
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