So on 3rd April 2011, I leaped off of the yacht after racing & thought I'd landed squarely on the mooring pontoon that we'd pulled up alongside to. Upon landing I felt this weird sensation in my right foot, like someone had grabbed hold of the skin on the top of my mid foot, pulled it really tight to one side & then let go. It wasn't pain exactly more of a sickening sensation.
This was the first time I'd sailed with this crew as I'd been filling in for someone, as the only girl member I was trying to look gutsy & professional :) So I hopped along the pontoon, still with the mooring line in my hand, at this point one of the guys enquired if I was OK, surprisingly I managed to respond without swearing & merely said "Oh gosh, I think I've just broken my foot".
I managed to sit down & took my boot & sock off to plunge my now throbbing foot into the water. I felt cold, clammy & a bit nauseous. The rest of the crew went about tidying up the boat, flaking sails & stowing sheets etc. It then became apparent that walking anywhere for me was an impossibility, my foot had swollen quite magnificently, despite the cold immersion, so I was deposited unceremoniously into a sail bag trolley, along with my gear & after pausing whilst they photographed me, I was pushed back up the pontoon to the marina bar...........
After a necessary post race pint (for the rest of the crew I might add, strictly coke & Nurofen for me) a discussion followed it was then decided that as I lived in Tunbridge Wells & the Marina was at the Hamble, the skipper would drive me back to A&E at my local hospital. I reasoned that at least then If I had broken anything I'd be able to get a cab back to my flat & would be home......
If you are reading this & going through something similar, feel free to contact me, it's great to hear from other people & swap tips & stories etc !
