Bonaire is a fantastic place!

We have been here longer than any other island including Grenada. We are having so much fun diving, snorkeling, sightseeing, eating out and meeting people that I thought I would share…

So our raw water cooling pump has been leaking for some time now, and we were having too much fun, so I decided to fix it.

That’s it right there. This will be easy I tell myself, it will take an hour – so that means two hours.

Removed it, too easy:

It’s been leaking for a while:

The instructions from the manufacturer and every other source I could find on the internet covered every model of pump known on earth, except this one… so I had to wing-it. Cut to the end, I popped the seal out, put in the new seal and roughly six hours later (in the near equatorial heat) I was putting the screw driver on the last hose clamp. That little bugger in the middle is the seal:

Yes, the LAST hose clamp. I was tightening that last clamp when I decided to stop and take a side trip, at quarter to four in the afternoon, soaked to the bone, covered in grease, and dressed in my finest clothes. Why you ask (and thank you for asking)? Aaaaas I was tightening that last hose clamp, sweat running down my arm and into my palm, my hand slipped and my finger slid down the very sharp end of the adjacent clamp! Fun! Fun-Fun.

Sneak peak, more later:

Everything sort of slows down during trauma, for me anyway. So as my finger is slicing open on the adjacent clamp, I think to myself “self, this is bad, you should stop.” After I stopped, I retracted my wounded hand and stared at it, then blood starts pouring down my arm and all over the floor. I’m thinking that maybe I should get this looked at, but wait, I’m not dressed for this, I should put on a shirt. I swing around looking for a t-shirt, blood flies everywhere, “damn it, now I have to clean this up.” WAIT, Tanya is in a class, what time is it? I have to pick up Tanya in 15 minutes, damn it! Now blood is really pouring everywhere, what the hell am I slipping in, damn-IT! Ok, stop, I was in the military, I know how to deal with this. Basic life saving steps, 1 – stop the bleeding, 2 – start the breathing, 3 – protect the wound, and 4 – treat for shock. Ok step 1, I figure I’ll skate across the floor and into the saloon, grab a pile of paper napkins and wrap up the open, taco-shaped 15-inch wound on my three inch finger, step 1 complete! Step 2, breathe in-out, yup I’m good. Step 3 covered by step 1, step 4…no time for shock, gotta pick up Tanya in 12 minutes!

This is never going to work, by the time I dress myself, lock up the boat, get in the dinghy, start the engine with my left hand, and get all the way down to Tanya I’m going to bleed-out or worse, I’ll be LATE! Now the blood is starting to soak through the 15 paper napkins wrapped around my finger, ugh! I think, “call someone, call our friends on the radio, ask them to pick up Tanya,” can’t be late! No can’t call someone, if I don’t pick her up she will know something is wrong. I should go pick her up, ugh 10 minutes left! I’ll just pick her up myself, OMG I look like a homeless person, or worse a cruiser, a cruiser that has been working on a pump all DAY! Change your clothes Dave. OK, one handed I change into something less disgusting. Two dressing changes later, the boat is locked, I’m in the dinghy, engine cooperating starts on first pull, I’m off to pick up Tanya, late but on the way! Tanya is waaaay down south and I’m hauling butt, full-throttle to her, holding my hand over the side of the dinghy, soaked dressing trailing a stream of blood into the ocean, and then I see it, fins. OMG sharks are chasing me! This is BS (say the words slowly!). OMG I forgot my life jacket, and then I think, if I sink is a life jacket really going to save me? Full-throttle I speed to Tanya, past the huge cruise ship that is in port today! Hundreds of people hanging off their balconies looking at me speeding by, hair on fire, one hand on the throttle, one bloody mangled hand over the side, bouncing up and down like I’m riding a mechanical bull in a saloon, WOO-HOO!

For security reasons, you’re supposed to stay clear of large ships especially while in port. Well, I have to get to the small pier on the other side of the bow of the cruise ship…whatever, put me in jail! I tear under the bow of the Adventure of the Seas at full-throttle and up to the little pier, dressing is now completely soaked through with blood and it’s draining everywhere! OMG have I lost too much blood, am I getting dizzy? Stop it, I don’t have time for this, I think to myself, I have to pick up Tanya!!! I race up to the normally vacant pier and see, thankfully, they are holding a local swimming class today, how very nice! There was about 25 people on the pier waiting to learn how to swim, very, very nice! I’m trying, one handed, to tie up to the pier, in the swells, while holding my other hand out to the side so the blood doesn’t stain the dinghy chaps! While I’m doing this, half of the blood-soaked napkins fall into the water and 23 of the 25 people are staring at me and offering no assistance, how neat! OMG I have to get those bloody napkins out of the water, I think to myself, yup hell-with-that, so sorry. I look up and glare “uh, maybe you can get those for me during your swim class!” I climb up, with my now super-bloody mangled hand, onto the pier, stand up, collect my remaining dignity, and proceed across the street to pick up my love! All I can think of at this point is how I must look to these people. My hand must look like a big crimson red head of cauliflower on the end of my arm and it’s shooting a shower of blood six feet into the sky! Now the parents and relatives of the swimming students that are sitting along the seawall are staring at the blood trail I am leaving along the pier, one woman points at me and holds her hand to her mouth, greeaaat! OK, so it’s not just me letting my mind wander, I really am a medical mutant wandering the earth. I should have held up my hand, smiled, and waved back at her. I trot across the street and into the dive shop, find the first employee and ask shortly “classroom?” He points and I barge directly into the classroom trying to hide my hand, yay, they’re still in class-I’m not late!!! Tanya is in the seat closest to me and I say “hey-sorry but, Ineedyourhelpandwehavetogonow” (all one word-no caps).

At this point I have collected Tanya so everything is good and there is deescalation of the situation, and everything is fine because I wasn’t late! Oh…wait I’m still bleeding everywhere and I need a doctor, and now my finger is starting to throb, DAMN IT! LOL! Moral? Don’t be late…no, wait…I mean, wear gloves when working around sharp objects! Yes, that’s it!

Seriously, the Dutch and Bonairian medical staff are excellent! Huisartsenpost = General Practitioner:

Looks like a smiley face doesn’t it? Looks smiley but feels frowny:

“If you don’t stop talking I’m going to sew that mouth shut”

After they sewed me up we made a quick trip to the pharmacy:

…which was right next to the:

Cruising, it’s all fun and games!

…and I’m still working on the big update…