close knit community

Over the course of our trip we've noticed the amazing sense of community that develops between cruisers. People of all nationalities, walks of life and ages form a group in which friendships solidify very quickly and everyone comes to the aid of everyone else. For the last two days we've been on the receiving end of that help. Day before yesterday, Pete cut his finger very badly while opening a coconut. One of Pete's favorite activities is hunting and killing coconuts with a large machete. We've learned about all the different stages and uses of the nuts, and he loves eating them almost as much as hacking them. Since he didn't have the perfect coconut machete he bought one here in Tonga and at the first opportunity, and after sharpening it razor sharp, set off to put it to use. We were anchored off a tiny deserted island with Wyndeavor enjoying a lovely afternoon on the beach. The kids were playing and Mike, Kelly and I were chatting when Pete appeared out of the woods dripping blood. He calmly says, "I've hurt myself," and then proceeded to slump to his knees, fighting nausea and shock. Praise God, the cut is not as serious as it could have been, but it is serious enough to be affecting our lives. He had given the husk a good wack and then while trying to remove the blade, he rolled it over the back of his left index finger. It cut virtually down to the bone, but missed the tendon, arteries and the major nerve. Mike and I got him back to the boat and he began to come out of shock a bit. We've been traveling with a boat called Calliope, whose captain, Skip, is a doctor. So I called him and got some advice. We were 2 hours from town and coming up on dark, and not sure if we should head for the hospital or do self care. Mike had some Dermabond, which is Superglue made for skin, so we used that to close up the wound. On Dr. Skip's advice, Pete jury rigged a splint to immobilize his whole finger in line with his palm. The next day it seemed to be doing alright, although still painful, somewhat swollen and causing frustration. Today, we decided to head for town, check in again with Skip and get some groceries. While pulling up the anchor, he tore it partially open again and had to redo the glue. In that process, we realized just how much glue had actually gone into the wound, creating a hard lump of rock solid glue between the two sides. So he tore out the whole lump and started over. Try number two, while underway to town, went a bit better. He put a small piece of gauze over the cut and glued it down with Liquid Skin, a bit like fiberglassing. That lasted well and held great. We stopped at Dolphins to say hello on our way to town and they said that another boat, Iron Mistress, had a hand surgeon on board who had heard us on the radio and wanted to help. He came over and took a look and put Pete's fears to rest about the damage from the glue and possible long term effects to the mobility. He approved the homemade splint, made out of copper wire (what else for an electrical engineer) and given us instructions for care. The real bummer is that he will have to stay out of the water for 1-3 weeks and have it splinted for the same amount of time. We'll just have to see how fast it heals up. Stitches aren't necessary if he keeps it glued shut and immobile, so he was saved that hassle. Our next dilemma was anchoring. In town, we tied up to a mooring buoy, but we really wanted to be out in a nice anchorage with a beach. We gave a call to Chris and Lisa on Ocean Breezes asking about buoys in Blue Lagoon, where all the kid boats are headed for another birthday party on Sunday. There are none and the anchor is too heavy for me to hand down. We headed out there and Chris met us in his dinghy and let the anchor down for us. By this point we've been helped by five families in 2 days, not to mention Bob on Plane Sailing, who carried my giant zucchini to the dinghy for me.

Once again, I know we are being looked after and prayed for. A few weeks of inconvenience are inconsequential compared to the damage that could have been done and the difficulties if friends hadn't rallied around. Thanks to all at home who are praying and thinking of us and sharing in our experiences via this log. We look forward to seeing you all soon for the holidays.

-Kellie