June 24, 2006 – Good Service in the Land of Plenty

The alternator problem Cliff fixed in Georgetown only stayed fixed for two days, failing again just as we arrived at Wrightsville Beach, near Wilmington, North Carolina. But no problem -- after a call to the Seattle manufacturer, we had a new alternator delivered to a nearby UPS depot, installed, and working, within 24 hours!! What a difference from waiting weeks and months for boat parts in foreign countries!

At about the same time as Skylark’s alternator was failing, I (Orma) noticed that the eyesight in my left eye had suddenly disappeared. It took only one phone call to an ophthalmology clinic to be connected to the retinal specialist on call, and by noon that day, after having been diagnosed with a detached retina, I was having a pneumatic retinopexy, an office procedure involving a cryogenic probe to repair the retina and the insertion of a gas to form a bubble to push the retina back in place. Follow-up involves keeping my head tilted at a specific angle to hold the bubble in place for the next five days, and a check-up in a week to make sure healing is taking place. A return visit to the Dr. the next day resulted in his go-ahead to continue the trip with a referral to a colleague for an appointment in Norfolk. Fortunately, between our BC Medical coverage and BCAA Travel Insurance, all the medical expenses will be covered.

The anchorage at Wrightsville Beach was a fun location with lots of action involving water-skiing, tubing and boogie boarding, with fizzboats and jet-skiis buzzing by. Within easy walking distance of the excellent dinghy dock there were groceries, restaurants, and the ocean beach. With our rental car we were able to go sightseeing in Wilmington, a historic southern city with gracious antebellum homes and shady oak-lined streets.

Two boats from our past showed up in the anchorage – Blind Date, with Ashley and Carol, whom we had met in Venezuela, and Seaview, with Eva and Keith, the couple we met in the Turks and Caicos. We’ve met several other boats who are also late northward-bound cruisers, and we are enjoying bumping into them every now and then in various marinas and anchorages.