In the beginning of our world cruising dream, my mind was always tangled with one problem. What if we got sick while on the ocean? In sailing, one of the most important rules is that no matter what problems you are facing, you have to solve them by yourself. The safety of the boat depends on you, your safety depends on the boat, and the boat and you can not be parted from each other.
At the sailing school, we learned that if you wanted to obtain the Coastal Skipper certificate, a certificate which allows you to cruise offshore, you are also required to own a first-aid certificate. With the connections of the sailing school, Pierre and I both signed up for a First Aid training. Besides the general first aid knowledge, we also learned how to implement cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which is extremely effective for the treatment of heart attacks and drowning.
Before our departure, we spent thousands of Rands to buy medications. In addition to the two existing first aid kits, we had stocked the most common medicines, which included medicines for headache, fever, cough, colds, vomiting, diarrhoea, burns and scald, as well as various painkillers, plasters and patches, and some wound infection ointments for scratches or cuts. I thought about all the kinds of possible illnesses that my family could get, but I forgot one.
From East London to Port Elizabeth (PE), 130 nautical miles, we set sail in the tail of a gale. The sea had not calmed down yet, and the boat was rolling terribly in the waves. It was so uncomfortable most of the time that Pierre had to use the engine to stabilize the boat.
By the time we arrived in Port Elizabeth, it was almost noon. The Yacht Club was not big, and the moorings were small. We checked around and decided not to dock at the club, but at the same fishing dock we had visited a year ago, which was next to the squid fishing boats on the right side of the marina. The people on the boats were very kind and didn't mind Ithaca tying up to their boats. When they heard that we were going to leave South Africa and cruise around the world, they, from the cabin below, brought a bag of frozen freshly-caught squid, as well as dozens of loaves of bread, and gave it to us as a farewell present. Although the bread did not seem to show wealth, it supported us for a long time on the sea. We were very grateful for their hospitality but had nothing to give in return.
We had just finished the lines with the fishing boat, and Pierre said to me that he was not feeling well; he felt very tired and he had to go to sleep. At first, I thought that he did not have enough sleep the previous night, but his face was so pale, and his forehead was burning like a fire. He asked me to bring a blanket to cover him because he felt very cold. That was not good news! Because outside, it was a hot summer day! The worst thing was his whole body was in pain, even to a soft touch. After having some fever and pain reducing tablets, he buried himself straight into the blanket and went to sleep.
When we were in East London, he had some uncomfortable pain when urinating; he realized that he had an infection. Pierre did not say a word of this because he thought that he could get over it. He drank a lot of water in the last two days, even so, his situation was still getting worse after a whole night trip.
A year ago, in that dirty boatyard with poor sanitary conditions, I also had a urinary tract infection. The patient needs to drink plenty of water to discharge the bacteria, and the pain is unbearable each time going to the bathroom. The over-the-counter medicines did not have any effect on it, and in the end, the only way was to visit a doctor to get prescribed antibiotics.
Pierre did not think the infection was so bad as to need to go to a doctor, and there were still some over-the-counter medicines on board to treat him. The next morning, he felt even weaker and he needed to have antibiotic remedies. The captain fell ill; the spirit and strength of the entire boat were gone too. Our children were afraid of disturbing him, spoke softly while around him, and played inside their cabin most of the time.
In South Africa and many other countries, antibiotics are controlled medicines. Without a prescription from a doctor, pharmacies will not sell you the antibiotics. Because antibiotics need to be taken for a full course of 5 -7 days to kill bacteria completely, one should never stop taking the medicine after three days as the medicine takes effect thereafter. In spite of this, some antibiotics can be purchased from pharmacies without a doctor's prescription in China. When I visited my hometown, I bought some antibiotics which mostly treats symptoms of cold and flu. While I was searching for medicines on board I found an "antique", which was a medicine box from the 1980s or 1990s, left by former owners. So many medicines were in front of me, but none of them could treat Pierre properly.
Walking with a sick and weak patient, we eventually found a doctor who didn't need a schedule for his appointment. It was not easy because Christmas was near.
To prevent this situation from happening again, we explained our circumstances to the doctor and asked for an extra course of antibiotics. Later, we learned that in the vast ocean, the chance of being infected by bacteria or virus is almost zero, and we only got sick when we returned to the city.
Four ports in South Africa can handle entry to and exit from the country. From North to South, they are Richard Bay, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. When we departed from Durban, we did not go through the exit formalities, but planned to come to Port Elizabeth to do so -- instead of Cape Town. Last year, a friend who left from the Cape Town warned us, the exit procedure was very bureaucratic there; it took them nearly a month to finish requested documents. Besides, the berths in Cape Town's Yacht Club were crowded and small, so we tried to avoid any unnecessary troubles.
Besides, when we left Durban, my Chinese passport was still in the visa application process at the consulate of Brazil. How could I leave the country? The journey was reckoned in advance for the time of arrival in Port Elizabeth; the next day, my passport was ready for collection at the post office, on time. But the Christmas gifts sent from the grandparents had not arrived yet.
Garmin's agent in Port Elizabeth came to visit and agreed to a new autopilot replacement after an inspection, but we would need to wait for a few more days. We checked the weather, and there was no time to wait; it seemed that we had to replace it in the next port.
Besides Pierre's sickness, at the time we arrived in Port Elizabeth, our second-hand laptop purchased a month ago suddenly got "sick" too, and the system could not be started due to a hard drive error. This was the only computer we had after the theft in Durban. When Pierre was resting on the boat, I carried the laptop and looked for a repair shop to fix it. After several rounds of disassembly and reassembly, the machine was finally able to work again.
The Christmas holiday was approaching. Port Elizabeth, known as the "Wind City of South Africa", was quiet, even in the centre of the town which is usually the noisy part of the city. The sailing club was closed, which made for a sharp contrast to the warmth of the Vasco prize-giving evening a year ago. Perhaps our mood determined our feelings.
Two days after, we handed in our exit documents; the process was simple and fast, and all went well. Our next stop is not well known by sailors because it is a small fishing port – Gansbaai. We were invited to stop there by a sailing friend; this is his hometown. We wanted to see this beautiful little town, which was known for manufacturing the famous brand of canned fish in South Africa – Lucky Star.
What we never expected on this trip was, in those starless nights, twice we would be struck with troubles. The sea was continuing to test us to see if the two of us, novice sailors, were brave enough to carry on sailing towards our dreams.