Jim Bertch is a founding member of MTOA and has been around boats all his life. If you handle boat lines or clean fish tanks, please heed the caution Jim gives below. This all sounds just plain scary!

Update 7/4/13
Fifth surgery Tuesday 7/2. The infection continues to erode the bones in my hand and even though I have been on a strong anti-biotic regimen for a year the doctors are prescribing a new anti-biotic this week.
This continues to be a terrible, insidious infection so protect yourselves accordingly. Make sure you clean and disinfect ANY wound you have if you have been exposed to wet lines or wash down water. The bacteria will enter through a pin prick or an abrasion. I got the infection in the Chesapeake but it is becoming prevalent throughout the East Coast. So far, I know of incidents in MD, VA, NC, SC and Florida and I am sure there are others that I have not heard of.
Take care!
Jim Bertch
And this from Wikipedia:
Mycobacterium marinum is a free-living bacterium, which causes opportunistic infections in humans. M. marinum sometimes causes a rare disease known as aquarium granuloma, which typically affects individuals who work with fish or keep home aquariums.
Wikipedia

My husband had this infection last winter. It wasn’t easy to diagnose because it’s very difficult to get a culture. He had surgery in Savannah and again in Vero Beach when it still wasn’t healed. In hindsight, I don’t think the infectious disease doctor in Savannah was on the ball. If she had treated him with the correct anti-biotic, it may have healed faster. He spent a week in the hospital on IV anti-biotics. The doctors in Vero Beach were familiar with this type of infection and recognized it right away.
It didn’t manifest itself as what you typically expect with an infection. There weren’t any red streaks. His hand was just swollen and red. It’s good that you published your story. Everyone on a boat should be aware of this infection and get treatment right away!
Harriet

As a cruiser, often days away from medical interventions, I read this note with interest. I am still in the dark about what type(s) of antibiotics were or could be successful treatment for this rather nasty infection. As with siguatera, forewarned is definitely forearmed. Quick action, a reality dose of prevention and having the proper medication handy is always called for. Some of us would call this being medically prudent.
cap’n denny

Jim
I am most curious as to how does this manifest itself ‘“ a wound that does not heal or something that looks like a spider bite that heals very slowly or not at all etc.
Obviously I have a reason for asking as I have a spot on my hand that looked like a spider bite- went to bed with no mark and woke up with an area on my index finger joint that was red and swollen. That was at least 4 weeks ago and it is still `trying’ heal with the Sulfa anti ‘“ biotic that I have been taking.
Again, really interested in how it manifested itself on you.
Thank you
Pat Kenefick
S/V Cynthia Gale

The two cases that I’m familiar with resulted is such severe swelling that the skin literally burst. One was below the knee, one was a hand. In each case the swelling `stopped’ at the joint (knee and elbow). The second case was treated promptly by an MD in Reedville VA, at mouth of Potomac with good results. The other case lingered terribly, and I have lost track of the person so I do not know if it was successfully treated.
Trina

My husband originally cut his knuckle on a hose clamp (rebuilding the head, of course!). The cut took a long time to heal because he kept hitting it on things. The infection started as a red spot on his palm about 3 weeks after the original cut. His middle finger became swollen and painful. The first hand surgeon treated his with IV antibiotics and also reopened the original cut and removed some small pieces of metal that didn’t show up on the X-ray or MRI. We thought that was the end of it. After the swelling returned the second hand surgeon opened and drained the swollen finger. The infectious disease dr treated him with Clarithromycin (500mg) and Doxycycline Hyclate (100mg). What an ordeal! So glad it’s finally healed (except for some slight stiffness.). This took place over 4 months so we never made it to the Bahamas last winter. This experience made us realize what a challenge it is to get medical care while cruising. His first visit to urgent care was a place that didn’t file insurance claims so we paid out of pocket. Still waiting for Medicare to reimburse but not hopeful. Our only other recourse was an ER visit in Savannah on the day after Thanksgiving. What a nightmare! At least the hand surgeon they called in was excellent. The medical care in Vero Beach was excellent too once we got a referral from urgent care.
Harriet

Hello,
I have had an interesting experience with bacterium marinum In 2009 my wife and I bought Grace, a 34 ft Gemini Catamaran, and sailed away into the sunset from Brunswick,Georgia too the Keys. It was on November 11th, Veterans Day that I was cleaning the hull, and cut my middle finger on a live oyster shell. In December, just after Christmas, my finger became swollen. A visit to the emergency room and I began the first of many visits to many doctors. No one could figure out what it was’¦I was in Maine. First it was visits to be treated for gout, then the wrong antibiotics, while my hand became swollen, and my arm, up to my elbow. A culture showed up as an `acid fast’ bacterium. Finally one infectious disease doctor diagonosed `bacterium marinum’. It was now March, and surgery was required to save my hand. And 6 months of 3 different antibiotics. The surgery scraped my tendons, too clean as much infection as possible. I have lost much of the use of my right hand, but the infection finally was removed. Also while being treated for the infection, it was discovered that I had kidney cancer. This was removed, and no more kidney or cancer. I am positive that the bacterium marinum led to the cancer discovery, as I almost never get sick or visit a doctor, which saved my life.
My second experience with bacterium marimum is still underway. I have had two tissue clutures, and nothing positive yet. I was changing an engine mount, and cut my knuckle in January. Same symptoms, swollen finger, (different hand), swollen elbow, arm, but the cultures are very very slow to show results. So I have been mega-dosing with liposomal Vitamin C, with some positive results. The swelling in my arm and elbow is gone, and my finger and knuckle are almost normal. It has cleared up a nasty sinus infection that I had for a month in just a few days.
Jim Duhamel

This infection was brought to my attention by another member of our yacht club, who included the address of a very medically informative article, as follows:
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/31/2/439.full
Pete Schulz sv Selamat Jalan

The Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net is proud to announce the completion of the promised improvement in our recently premiered (see /?p=117421) “Statute Mile/Lat-Lon Chart View Search Widget.” Now, navigators can easily and quickly enter a Latitude/Longitude position, and, with the press of one button, an interactive Chart View page will open centered on the specified location.

What remains UNCHANGED is the method by which our users can open a Chart View page centered on a particular Statute Mile of any Southeastern USA Waterway. To do so, simply choose your Southeastern USA Waterway of interest, enter a Statute Mile, press one button, and, “presto-chango” an interactive Chart View page will open centered on the specified Statute Mile.

WHAT HAS CHANGED, IS THE ABILITY TO EASILY ENTER A LAT/LON POSITION IN DEGREES/MINUTES/DECIMAL MINUTES FORMAT!

Here’s how it works. Locate the red, vertically stacked menus on the upper, right sidebar of any (except Chart View) SSECN page. Pick any coastline. For example purposes, let’s choose “Eastern Florida.” Click “Eastern Florida” and a drop down menu will appear. In this drop down list you will see a menu item entitled, “Stat. Mile/Lat-Lon Chart View Search” indicated by the red, right pointing arrow, in the graphic to the right.

Now, click on “Stat. Mile/Lat-Lon Chart View Search” and a dialog box will appear like the one pictured below:

In the bottom portion of the dialog box, under the “SEARCH BY LATITUDE/LONGITUDE” title, click the button to the left of the label, “Degrees/Minutes/Decimal Minutes Format,” as shown by the right pointing, red arrow above. Now, under “Latitude” in the “Deg:” field, enter “36” (without the quote marks), and in the “Min/Dec. Min:” field enter “19.311” (again, without the quote marks).

Under “Longitude” in the “Deg:” field, enter “76” (without the quote marks), and in the “Min/Dec. Min:” field enter “10.601” (again, without the quote marks). Your dialog box should look like the one shown below:

Now, click the “View ChartView At the Specified Lat/Lon” button, at the bottom of the dialog box. After a few seconds, a Chart View window will open, centered on Lambs Marina, north of Elizabeth City, NC. Neat, huh!

Please remember, these Chart View pages are NOT STATIC. You can place your pointer anywhere on any Chart View page, hold down the left mouse button, and drag/pan the chart as far to the east, west, north or south as you desire. You can drag all the way north to Maine or south to Key West, Florida.

Another thing you can do is activate the incredibly helpful Chart View ARGUS layer by simply clicking the “Argus(MLLW)” check box, above and to the left of the chart image, as pointed out by the red arrow in the graphic to the right.

Once the ARGUS layer is activated, you can peruse all the voluminous water depth data gathered by the ARGUS project. Talk about an on-the-water ADVANTAGE!!!!

And, of course, all our clickable Marina, Anchorage, Bridge, Info, Navigation Alert and AICW Problem Stretch icons will also be fully visible and functional on the Chart View pages you open using our new locator widget!

Alternately, you can click the button to the left of “Degrees/Decimal Degrees Format” and enter your Lat/Lon position in this format. This works almost like the example above, and is pretty self explanatory!

Please give our improved widget a try, and let us know what you think! Send all comments to EditorialDirector@CrusiersNet.net!

Good luck and good cruising to all!

The Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net Bunch

There has been a really entertaining discussion underway this week on the American Great Loop Cruisers’ Assocation Forum (AGLCA, http://www.greatloop.org/) about what makes for a really great cruising day. Anyone who has ever taken to the water can readily appreciate the messages below:

Finish this sentence.
You know its a good cruising day when…
.. a dock hand calls you “captain” for the first time.
.. the harbor hosts are awesome!
.. a marina’s wifi is so good you can watch Netflix.
.. you time your passage through a series of drawbridges and they are all open when you arrive.
.. your best cruising buddies are waiting for you dockside when you arrive at a marina.
.. you join a cruising flotilla that is more fun than what you planned to do by yourself.
.. friends on jet skis come out to meet you as you arrive.
.. the weather is better than the forecast.
.. a fellow boater tells a nervous dock hand to not worry because, “he knows how to handle his boat.”
.. the jerk that waked you terribly is pulled over by the water patrol.
.. you are heading to a free dock and its empty when you arrive.
.. the skipper of a passing boat radios you and tells you that your boat looks great!
.. there is just enough of a breeze to keep things cool and to keep the bugs away.
Darrel Grob

.. no one got hurt!
.. your best friend was by your all day side.
.. something you saw made you go, “Wow!”
.. everything worked, and nothing broke.
.. the Erie Canal was open.
.. the River System was at normal pool.
.. the Atlantic Basin was quiet.
.. the sun and the moon rose and set at their respective appointed times!
.. no one got hurt!
Peg and Jim Healy aboard Sanctuary

The yard bill is less than four figures.
Bru & Sandy Brubaker