Thanksgiving 2021 Mishaps...

9am...

Just now...

 

Laying in the v-berth...winds gusting to 40-55 mph...

 

Suddenly...

 

A huge crashing sound on the bow deck...

 

oh god. has the mast come down?

 

did my dinghy go airborne?

 

I scramble out the companion way hatch...

 

I stand transfixed by the sight...

 

a huge paddle board has gone airborne, and slammed into my boat...it is wedged between the lifelines (!?) 

 

I go knock on a neighbor's boat...two slips over...he lives on a trawler...and I think I recall seeing a paddle board on his upper deck...previously...

 

He looks up. Yep, it's gone. 

 

We walk over to my boat to confirm it is his...I'm walking backwards...to show him how i think it flew through the air...must have bounced off the dock...and slammed into my boat...getting caught in the lifelines. 

 

The boat between us? Worth over $350K...not a scratch on it...

 

Did you catch the bit of me walking backwards...

 

I fell through the space between the dock and my boat...

 

Luckily, I didn't have my keys, wallet, or cell phone with me...

 

How I avoided slamming the back of my head into the concrete dock...is a mystery...

 

I couldn't pull myself back up onto the dock, even with his help...luckily someone just happened to be walking by at that exact moment...

 

2021-12-05 update:

• On my right hand, the second joint (from the tip, known as the "pip" in the diagram below)) of my middle finger is still too stiff/swollen to allow me to make a tight fist. I'll give it another week and see how it goes.
• After falling into the water, I knew I had swallowed some of the harbor water. I was concerned about the level of toxins and pollution this far far back in the harbor. My fears were well-founded. The lymph node just below my right ear blew up earlier this week, overnight. I suspect I'm fighting off multiple infections - based on other symptoms.
  
• The massive contusions between my shoulder and elbow, and just below the elbow are slowing healing.
  

 2021-12-20 update: 

• After 3+ weeks, my hand still hasn't recovered enough for me to be able to make a tight fist.
• Also, the swelling has still not noticeably abated yet...
• On Saturday, I detected a a "clicking" feeling in the third metacarpal of my right hand, when I would press the tip of my thumb and middle finger together firmly...
  
• Last week I made an appointment for today - at 1pm - to get an x-ray at an Urgent Care facility - and was able to confirm that there are no broken bones in my hand. Excellent news.
• The diagnosis is swelling due to tendonitis. So, it is just a matter of giving it time to heal. 
• Definitely a relief to know that, now...

 2022-01-17 update:

• My right middle finger is still stiff when I try to bend it - some days I can almost make a complete fist - other days, not so much. I think it is much more sensitive to changes in weather now.
• I've had a few moments in the last week when I felt that there has been some real progress in the healing...but then again, tonight - I am wondering if that is real, or imagined...
• My right shoulder seems to have finally recovered - and the bad contusions between the shoulder and elbow, and below the elbow - are fully healed.
  

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpal_bones)