The "S" Curve

If you followed the Spots we sent out with our positions through the day as we sailed from Miami to Bimini, then you know that our course was not exactly a direct one. We needed to sail almost due east, but the northward Gulfstream current of 3-4 knots requires more of a southeast heading, which was exactly where the wind was coming from. We wanted to use the sails instead of the engine, so we pinched up as tightly as we could into the wind for a few hours, giving us a slightly north of east heading, and then added the engine for better "easting" when we saw how far north of Bimini we were drifting. As you can see in the image to the left from Brian's GPS (click it for a full-size view), we ended up about 18 miles north of Bimini and needed to motor south long past dark to reach our destination, finally arriving at 11:30 PM, 18 hours after our 5:30 AM departure.

Bimini is about 45 miles east of Miami, but our "S" curve route added up to about 80 miles, which explains why it took so much longer than the 10-12 hours most sailors expect. The lessons we learned are obvious ones: wait for wind out of the southwest quadrant, which was not possible due to crew members' schedules; and understand that the only way to flatten the "S" curve is to go much faster than the Gulfstream current, which we were not able to do either sailing into the wind or motoring at a careful 4-5 knots due to fan belt issues.

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Whispering Jesse

Whispering Jesse
Latitude:25.72471
Longitude:-79.29758
GPS location Date/Time:04/14/2016 23:48:06 EDT

Message: This is the crew of Whispering Jesse checking in. All is well. Click the Google Maps link to see where we are:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=25.72471,-79.29758&ll=25.72471,-79.29758&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Whispering Jesse

Whispering Jesse
Latitude: 25.98508
Longitude: -79.42352
GPS location Date/Time: 04/14/2016 18:01:18 EDT

Message: This is the crew of Whispering Jesse checking in. All is well. Click the Google Maps link to see where we are:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=25.98508,-79.42352&ll=25.98508,-79.42352&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Whispering Jesse

Whispering Jesse
Latitude: 25.84279
Longitude: -79.81940
GPS location Date/Time: 04/14/2016 12:00:09 EDT

Message: This is the crew of Whispering Jesse checking in. All is well. Click the Google Maps link to see where we are:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=25.84279,-79.81940&ll=25.84279,-79.81940&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Whispering Jesse

Whispering Jesse
Latitude: 25.66623
Longitude: -80.16031
GPS location Date/Time: 04/14/2016 06:26:40 EDT

Message: This is the crew of Whispering Jesse checking in. All is well. Click the Google Maps link to see where we are:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=25.66623,-80.16031&ll=25.66623,-80.16031&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Whispering Jesse

Whispering Jesse
Latitude: 25.72593
Longitude: -80.23877
GPS location Date/Time: 04/13/2016 18:35:30 EDT

Message: This is the crew of Whispering Jesse checking in. All is well. Click the Google Maps link to see where we are:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=25.72593,-80.23877&ll=25.72593,-80.23877&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Sailing Trip to Bimini

Nan and I have been wanting to expand our sailing experiences beyond Biscayne Bay, and a Gulfstream crossing to Bimini seemed a logical choice. We enlisted our friend Mike Young from Colorado, who has been on every major Whispering Jesse voyage, and set a departure date for Thursday, April 14. As we prepared at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club over the last few days, Nan mentioned our plans to Brian McGrath, one of the first members we met when we joined over two years ago. He expressed an interest and soon we were a crew of four.

The weather should cooperate well for us, with predicted winds out of the southeast at 5-10 knots. This direction and speed combination should help to keep the wave heights at a tolerable level. We plan to leave at 5:00 AM and clear Cape Florida, at the south end of Key Biscayne, about an hour later. From there, it's into the Gulfstream's 3-4 knots of northbound current, where we're expecting a significant northward push. We're hoping to make it across in 10-12 hours. Wish us luck!

Scout (April 28, 2008 to December 29, 2015)

Scout passed away last Tuesday evening. The hopes we had that the pancreatic tumor could be surgically removed and that Scout would return to his old self were not met. The surgeon called us just fifteen minutes after beginning the procedure to tell us that the tumor was not on his pancreas but on a lymph node in the same area, that it had grown significantly since the ultrasound, and that it was located in an area where it would be impossible to remove it successfully. He said our options were to have Scout closed up and hope that he survived recovery to live out his final days as he was before the surgery, or to have him put to sleep on the operating table. In my imagined list of possible outcomes, this was the worst one possible.

Nan and I took a few brief, tearful minutes and decided that the most humane thing we could do was to request that Scout be put to sleep, as much as it pained us to lose him so suddenly. I couldn't believe that our wonderful seven-year-old dog could go from being healthy and happy to being gone from this earth in less than six weeks. That is the terrible unfairness of cancer.

To those who knew him, Scout was a special dog, so friendly and playful and goofy, more a big puppy than a mature dog. He was kind with adults, children, other dogs, even cats, but not with squirrels. We loved him and he loved us so much in return. He will live in our hearts forever.

Update on Scout

The meeting with the veterinary oncologist instilled new hope for Scout's prognosis. Dr. Daters discussed the options with us and convinced us that surgery to remove the pancreatic tumor would be the most beneficial. He said it would immediately eliminate the symptoms associated with the high insulin and low blood sugar caused by the tumor, namely the partial lameness, lethargy, and occasional confusion. He cautioned that the cancer would return eventually but probably not for a year or two, which for a nearly eight-year-old dog is a considerable length of time added to his lifespan.

Instead of the Sandostatin medication we inquired about for lowering Scout's insulin levels, Dr. Daters recommended Diazoxide. Scout started on it last Tuesday and so far, there is no change in any of his symptoms. He is still taking Prednisone, and we have added the pain reliever Tramadol as a consequence of the groaning he emits when I lift and carry him.

Scout does not appear to be in pain but rather in a state of perpetual frustration. Inside the house, it is almost impossible for him to attain a standing position without assistance because his hind paws slip outward and put him into an awkward frog-like position. He will sometimes use his front paws to slide himself around on the tile and wooden floors, but he gets stuck and whines when he reaches a rug or can't turn around. We have been using a towel as a sling under his belly to lift him to a standing position and walk with him to prevent slips and falls. Outside, there is better friction and Scout can move around more freely, though his back legs are shaky and his back paws are turned in. He does not have the energy for a walk, even to the end of the block, but he enjoys the warmth and stimulation of lying out in the sun.

Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. It will be less invasive than we first imagined, no more than the equivalent of a spaying procedure. I told Nan I am hoping for a small miracle. It would mean so much to us to have Scout return to his former self, if only for several months or a year. This may be a rationalization but I want to believe that Scout would want to be back to normal as much as we would want it for him.

Scout's health

Scout has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. An ultrasound last Tuesday revealed the cause of his recent hypoglycemia and back-leg lameness: a ping pong ball-sized tumor in his pancreas. The tumor is causing Scout's pancreas to produce excessive insulin, which is driving down his blood sugar and causing the symptoms we at first suspected were related to his spine or hip joints.

His shaved belly from the procedure is the only visible sign in the photo I took this morning that anything is different with Scout. He still has the same wonderful personality he has always had, and his appetite is undiminished. We have been feeding him smaller meals more frequently to keep his blood sugar steady and augmenting his regular diet with high-protein foods like scrambled eggs and cooked chicken to give him longer lasting energy between meals.

We are still trying to accept that this cancer is terminal and that Scout will eventually die from it, just as Charlie died from terminal bone cancer almost eight years ago. As we did with Charlie, we are opting not to put Scout through surgery to remove the tumor. It would be invasive and traumatic, and it would merely slow down the cancer, not eradicate it, even with chemotherapy or other postoperative therapies. He might gain a few months but at the expense of a long recovery and a lower quality of life. We would be selfishly putting our desire to keep him in our lives for as long as possible ahead of his natural right to die with dignity in his own time.

The best we can hope for at this time is to treat Scout's symptoms, particularly the lameness which has required me to carry eighty-pound Scout up and down the stairs and lift him in and out of the car. In addition to the feeding changes, we have him on Prednisone to help stabilize his blood sugar, and we want to look into an insulin-lowering drug called Sandostatin when we meet with a veterinary oncologist on Tuesday. Our thinking is that if we can lower Scout's insulin levels, which in turn would allow his blood sugar levels to return to normal, then he would be able to move around as before, resume the long walks he loves so much, and live out the time he has left as well as possible.