Allergic to the Boat??????

Whatever doomed June’s cruising, it continued into July. Two out of the next three boat trips were cut short because my eyelids and lips went berserk again. All three allergic reactions occurred on the boat, not at home. Doctor visits, prescription creams and ointments, benadryl, an EpiPen just in case, but no one could figure out the cause. After eliminating the new face sunscreen, I thought perhaps it was a soy allergy because I had made and eaten a recipe with soy chorizo prior to the first two episodes. But not the third. Our season was evolving into 1-2 days on the boat and then a return home to recover for a week. Then try again. The only “comforting” thought was that the weather has not been good – stinking hot, rain, and wind or smoky skies.

A bright spot was Ceci’s annual dance recital. She works all year long for this one showcase and enjoys every moment.

After the dance recital we decided to make a s short trip to Watch Hill in late June.

Al noticed some interesting action in the sky. It did not really look like a plane’s typical exhaust. As we watched, it became apparent that someone was practicing sky writing. At least we suspect it was practice since he/she did it twice.

Sitting at anchor in a harbor always provides entertainment. The entertainment was on the water now.

The good news – no allergic reaction while we were at Napatree. The bad news – too many flies and a distinctly bad odor wafting our way from the inner pond at the very end of Napatree Point. We decided to head home.

Three days later, back out we go. Our destination was Montauk which is only a little more than 2 hours from SYC.

I had such nice plans for our stay in Montauk. The beach, a trip to the lighthouse, relaxing. Alas, not this time. Monday morning I awoke with funny feelings on my face, my eyelids and my lips. Here we go again. Al and I debated whether to stay or go home. In the end, afraid the reaction would worsen, we headed home. I looked awful and I felt awful. With the cream and Benadryl, it looked better the next day and back to normal in a week. My doctor gave me a prescription for an EpiPen just in case the allergic react spreads to my throat. Trying to figure out the cause was a challenge. Not the sunscreen, that was clear now. Maybe a soy allergy?

Don and Cindy were back in Sea Cliff negotiating the sale of Limerick. Yes, this summer has not been what we expected. We decided to drive there for a short visit before they returned to North Carolina.

Our next boat “trip” was going to be a short one, just over to West Harbor for a couple days and nights.

Tom and Sue, on Sequel, their Catalina sailboat, dinghied over to say hello. We had met waaaay back in our Catalina days and then met again years later. They knew Rob and Anita (Pub Trawler, a Mariner Orient), whom we had met when we had our Mariner Orient. Isn’t the world a funny place?? We invited them over to have a shared dinner on Kindred Spirit. It was a really pleasant evening with good conversation and lots of boating talk, of course. I forgot to take photos! 🙁

And then…. it happened again. I awoke at 2:00 am and could feel my eyelids swelling and my lips tingling. We laid awake trying to answer the question, “What is different on the boat from life at home?” I have duplicates of everything for the boat, nothing different. Except…… the Systane gel eye drops for night use that I sometimes use. I have severely dry eyes and need to lubricate them constantly but I only use the Refresh brand. This year, this once, I picked up the Systane gel drops for the boat. That was the only thing I could think of that was different. Warning to anyone out there – Systane uses different ingredients and some people are allergic. And yes, I did google it and AI it and all that stuff.

The next morning we headed home AGAIN. Another boat trip cut short. I saw the eye doctor the next day. It was a definite allergic reaction, but she did not seem convinced that it was the Systane.

At this point, it is either the Systane eye drops or I am allergic to the boat. All three episodes were on the boat, three out of four boat trips. It can’t be an allergy to the boat, right?????