CREAKY OLD SHOULDER and BAD NEWS FROM VENEZUELA ON GIANT OIL SPILL

Well I have had to put any immediate sailing plans on hold because my niggling shoulder problem which I have been ignoring on the ' keep it till it gets better ' principle got worse and had reached the point where it was difficult to sleep and I needed help getting my back pack on.

I went to see a local very experienced chiropractor who quickly diagnosed a rotator cuff issue, the drop arm test showed there was no complete tear and he thought that if there was any tear it was minimal. In fact he suggested that it was most likely to tendinitis and should respond to some manipulation and regular applications of ice [ or in my case 1/2 a kilo of frozen peas.

A US sailing friend called Jan [ AKA HAPPY FEET ]

who is a physical therapist by profession has given further reassurance but suggested that the rest period should be around two months.

Dizzy who has taken to waiting in full ' Kilroy woz here ' pose

Says WOT NO SAILING WHOOPPEE.


Well I have been following the regime doing the manipulation

applying the ice and it is working. I can sleep again and even find it possible to sleep on my left side.

I have been thinking about activities on board that I do regularly which might be causing the problem and came up with lifting the dinghy. I do this every night to protect it from theft and it involves putting my arms above my head and pulling down hard on the pulley rope to lift the stern.

So I have devised a simple workaround which allows me lift the stern with outboard using only my right arm and no overhead stuff at all just a little winch cranking.



VENEZUELA GIANT OIL SPILL

Large quantities of the heavy bunker fuel from the ruptured fuel oil storage tank at Petrotrin's Pointe-a-Pierre refinery has become lodged in the mangroves and on the beaches of Guiria, Venezuela.

There are reports that at least 3 fisherman have died when they ran into the areas where this thick oil was floating on the surface and there outboards conked out leaving them to drift and die.


Also oil-covered leather back turtles have washed up dead, claimed Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) secretary Gary Aboud.

The dead turtles have also been confirmed by Papa Bois Conservation, an environmental group.

Displaying photographs of the dead turtles, Aboud said FFOS' sources in Venezuela have confirmed that over 50 large marine turtles have washed ashore dead since the heavy bunker fuel oil has contaminated Venezuela's coastal communities.