Charlie's Tokyo West Blog

More blood

Spent most of the day in bed. First really bad cold I've had in years. Did go to the hospital at 9 this morning for another puncture. Blood liquidity has hit the targeted 2.0 level, whatever that means. For one thing, it means my dosage of Wafarin goes down from 5 per day to 3. Another puncture due on 12/31. 

Hit a snag on my newest western. An editor I respect feels its too nihilistic. I'll let it rest for a moment and try something else. 

Hale wants to see a mystery from me. Maybe I'll get to work on that.

This problem with my heart has me thinking about the Tideway building project. . . but more about that when I know more about the long-range effect. 

Later.

Blood -- 26-12-08

Thursday's blood test showed some thinning. Meds continued. New blood drawing on Sunday. Heartbeat still somewhat irregular. Japan is moving into the yearend holiday season. Have to see what the schedule will be. Spending time in the waiting room of the hospital gave me a cold. First one in three years. Waiting rooms in Japan are jam-packed with all kinds of coughing and hacking people. Cesspools of germs, I'm sure. I certainly got a good one. And my blood-thinning meds won't let me take any cold remedies. Sucks. Really sucks. Oh, well.

Details -- 23-12-08

Went to the big hospital yesterday. Chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram. Doc says my upper righthand heart chamber is slightly enlarged. He put me on wafarin blood thinner. Must go back on thursday to see if the dose is right. Blood test each visit. Don't really like those pinpricks in the arm. Probably take three or four tests to get the blood thickness right. Then meds to correct the fibrillation. And if that doesn't work, electric shock treatment. Oh well. I've not given up on getting a boat for use in Japan and areas south. We'll see how this heart situation comes together as to whether I go ahead with the Tideway or veer off in another direction. Be back when I know more. About one-third through the next western. If you're in a British commonwealth country, check my novels out from the library. They are Black Horse Westerns by Chuck Tyrell.

Ooops. Problems. 21-12-08

Woke up a few days ago with atrial fibrillation. Heart beats fast and the upper chambers don't contract well. Usually it's a condition that self-remedies in a few hours. Quite unusual for it to go on several days, and I am now in my sixth day of AF. I must go to the big hospital down the road tomorrow and set up a time to get a echocardiogram so the docs can see what my heart is actually doing. Normally, I feel no symptoms. But any exertion leaves me short of breath. Which means, of course, that enough blood is not getting to the places it should get. My blood pressure is about 110/65 which would be great if it were natural. 

Anyway, until I find out if this is a chronic situation, I have to put the Tideway 14 on hold. I'll keep you informed as to what happens, and now I know someone up there watched over me. I could have been out in the middle of the ocean when the AF kicked in. Not immediately life threatening, but not good for strenuous work either. 

Talk to you later when things are a bit clearer.

Tideway 14 -- 17-12-08

It's about time to start watching for the next issue of Small Craft Advisor. There you'll find an article by Charlie Whipple on the Tideway 14 and some of the changes I'll be making. Also a short sidebar by Paul Fisher, the designer, on the origins of the boat. Winter is about upon us, and it won't lift until about March. That's when I plan to actually start putting the boat together. I will chronicle the build and my thinking and all that goes on in articles that will run in Smal Craft Advisor. While my Angel2 does not have the capabilities of Resolution, I will be testing her on some rather long runs down the islands south of Tokyo and perhaps as far as the Ogasawaras, 500 miles from the mouth of Tokyo Bay. Stay tuned.

Tideway 14 name graphic -- 08-12-08

Here's the graphic I plan to use for my Tideway 14 at this point in time. It may change between now and the time I finish the boat, but at the moment, this is where I'm at.

Tideway 14 sail logo -- 06-12-08

This is the sail logo that Graham Young and I devised for Tideway 14 boats. My boat's color design will be Energy Yellow and Jockey Red, so the sail logo will be red as shown. The sail number, in my case 111, is in Gill Sans Bold typeface, slightly stretched. Most sails have their logos in blue, which would be fine in this case, too. 

Got an estimate from Lee Sails in Hong Kong. Four sails and shipping right now would cost me something like US$1,200. I'm wondering if I can bring this building project in for around US$10,000. Luckily, I don't have to pay it out all at once. That would be impossible. As it is, I won't do much building this winter, so I'll have another four months or so to save up. 

Tideway estimates -- 03-12-08

I went to Fuji Lumber today and got the prices for the material list of the Tideway 14. In all, the wood is going to cost in the neighborhood of USD 4,000. That's $575 for plywood, $2,640 for douglas fir and spruce ($510 for spar spruce), and $390 for hardwood. Graham Young in the UK and I are working on a sail logo (Graham is a graphic artist) and my sail no. is 111. 

Not a great deal to talk about. Oh, yes. Robert Hale Ltd., the publisher that puts out Black Horse Westerns, just accepted my fourth novel -- GUNS OF PONDEROSA -- for the line. When the blurb and the cover art is done, I'll post them. My website has gone the way of all the world, so I'll work with Chuck at Duckworks to get another up and going as soon as possible. I'll put a link here when that happens.

Weather is getting cooler here. 15 centigrade in the daytime, 5 degrees at night. Probably won't get too much done on the Tideway until spring peeks around the corner in March. 

Bought a new mainsail for my Westsail. It's been delivered from Lee Sails in Hong Kong and merely waits for me to carry it to Mexico. Don't know when I'll be able to go.

Talk to you later.