Abscess Hurts Chichester

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31378, 25 May 1967, Page 13

Abscess Hurts Chichester

(From

Sir FRANCIS CHICHESTER)

Aboard Gipsy Moth IV off the French coast, May 23. This ought to be my last message to you. Unless something goes wrong, Gipsy Moth IV ought to be sound in her usual mooring in Plymouth by this time next week. But we could well be headed by a north-easterly at this time of the year or by gear or clew accidents. Gipsy Moth has cantered along gaily, 625 miles in the last four days, and is now 750 miles from west southwest of the Lizard. But the skipper has not been so happy. On Friday, an abscess which developed in my elbow played up and I spent my spare time

putting on scalding hot packs. I used a cloth with a picture of the House of Commons on it which seemed to keep the heat better than the others. Painkiller Needed The arm began hurting above the elbow up to my armpits. The lump at the elbow was nearly as hard as bone and measured 4$ inches long by 2i inches wide. I had to take some painkiller for the seventh night within the last fortnight in order to get some sleep. I am not complaining: it makes me think how marvellous that I have nothing worse. It is now better but still requlries hot packs to quieten it down at intervals. These take time, as we have had a big rough sea with a north-west wind up to 35 knots and it has been dangerous to move in the cabin without a firm band-bold. I feel sure my elbow is not due to vitamin deficiency, although I have not taken a single vitamin tablet on this

passage because I reckon my diet has plenty. Somehow, that elbow always got the cracks and bumps from winches, winch handles and the like and it even seemed to hit the galley taps every day. Luckily, the wind kept pretty constant in direction but I had to turn out to drop the mainsail in a squall one night and I had some trouble tills morning. The wire slice of the mizzen halyards drew at the head of the sail. The halyard came down inside the mast and the sail outside it. I needed that sail badly but could not get to the masthead to replace the halyard in this sea. I decided I could use the mizzen staysail hal yard if I cohid get it over the cross-tree. I tried to pull it over with the boathook standing on the mizzen boom but the eightfoot boathook is made of heavy, waterlogged wood, and I could not hold it against the wind. Next, I tried shinning

up the mast, but half-way up I got cramp in my instep and gave that up. The Penny Drops

Then at last my wits came to the surface. I made a heaving line with a shackle for a weight, threw it over the cross-tree, after many failures, and used it to pull the halyard over. The mizzen is now set again, and to my delight though I must admit I had a very sore arm afterwards. I am sorry I had never tried out the special oil which I was given in Australia for calming the sea in a bad storm.

What you think you will do in a storm and what you can do are very different things. A small boat moving forward leaves the oil patch behind. I think it would be invaluable if it was necessary to abandon ship and I would always carry some. (Copyright of Sir Frtncis Chichester and Times Newspapers, Ltd,).