The sun came up (although I am not sure it was ever dark), our anchor pulled and we left Neka Bay (Port Frederick) enroute to Funter Bay. On the way out, we picked up our crab pot and discovered several large dungeness crab.
In Icy Strait, we made a quick stop for Jeanne to catch her first Halibut at Sisters Reef. It only took about 15 min to reel in the catch.
We then headed to the east, leaving Icy Strait behind to the convergence points of Lynn Canal and North Chatham strait.
Seas were calm.
We had a following breeze.
We were accompanied by a pod of dalls porpoise.
It was almost the solstice.
We got the sails out and the drone up. This was our first use of the drone under sail and we got some great shots. Now this is ALASKA!
Contemplating what recipe to use for our fresh catch in the morning we made our way to Funter Bay. At the end of the bay we spotted the public float (dock not attached to land) and pulled alongside to tie up. Jeanne got of the boat secured the spring line and while getting the stern line tripped on unsecured dock board causing her to fall hard.
It was very apparent that she broke her wrist.
We packed Jeanne's arm in frozen chicken (it worked well!), untied from the dock and settled in for the 4.5 hour trip back to Juneau. Although, I did have to make a slight deviation to avoid the pod of feeding humpback whales just north of Juneau. We arrived in early evening. We had made good time.
Going into a full and very active marina without help while single-handing can be a bit tricky. Managing 52,000 lbs of sailboat means you can run out of room very quickly. Fortunately I spotted MV Monara, a boat we are familiar with, so I rafted up. I left a note for the owners as they were not onboard and requested an Uber to take us to the ER. Because Jeanne couldn't climb over the railings, there was dingy shuttling involved. It was a process.
Bartlett Hospital was great. After x rays confirming 3 brakes and torn cartilage, it was determined that Jeanne would need surgery. We met with the Orthopedic Surgeon the following morning and surgery appointment was set. The surgeon, (Jeanne joked that he must be the Juneau "Dr. McDreamy") was excellent. And equally important, he loves motorcycles, so I liked talking with him.
With a few days until surgery and pain under control, we looked forward to having family in town for the next few days to distract us.
On to the next round of adventures albeit with only 3 working hands.
Post note - More on this later, but the surgery went fine and Jeanne is doing great. Thank you everyone for all the well wishes. We are thankful for Auke Bay/Statter Marina hospitality and all the healthcare staff that made this tough situation a lot better!
My McDreamy orthopedic surgeon moved to Alaska a year ago…wonder if he was Jeanne’s surgeon?? Or maybe Alaska just attracts gorgeous male orthopedic doctors??
OMG. Thoughts and sympathy for poor Jeanne. You have to cater to her a little more than usual. Trip has makings of being memorable as well as epic. Be safe, love to hear about your daily adventures.
Thanks for the update Re Jeanne’s wrist. I was curious and concerned. Quite an adventure!