The big news this edition is that our 12 month search has come to an end. Chimere has a NEW 50% partner in an all-round great bloke … Barry! Stay tuned for the next exciting MSM-chapter in the years. Big things are planned.
Chimere is close to going back in the water after a few months TLC up on the dry, with a new berth waiting for her at Westernport Marina, Hastings.
Check out the article on MSM in the November edition of Cruising Helmsman and there will be a wonderful concert on Tuesday 22nd November in Ringwood North featuring a visiting group of Vanuatu women.
Click here for your invitation.
Thank you again for your interest and support and we welcome any questions and comments you may have.
Smooth seas, fair breeze & countdown to the next MSM mission
Read our latest newsletter in pdf format here, 2011.10 MSM Member Update
This is a genuine, private invitation to purchase a ½ share in the yacht Chimere.
For the past 6 years, Andrew and I have jointly owned Chimere and in 2009 and 2010 we used her to provide remote-access transport to volunteer medical teams amongst the islands of Vanuatu; featured on this MSM website. Changing personal circumstances require Andrew to sell his share and as a result I’m seeking a new partner. Ideally, the buyer will be based in Melbourne, be enthusiastic, easy to get along with, experienced and interested in furthering the work of MSM.
Chimere has proven herself to be a solid, reliable, expedition-ship; she’s in good condition, and well equipped.
For more information contact Robert Latimer or see the ad
See more images of the Chimere
As skipper Bob said about the rough, wet and unbearable 10 day sail across the Tasman and Coral Seas in April …
“If it wasn’t for the MSM flag flying above us and our mission to do some good once we got over here in Vanuatu, we could just as happily have turned around and gone back home!”
There are certainly times when things get tough. When the burden of the mission gets on top of you and you ask the question … “is it all worthwhile?”
Then you experience something like the miracle of Mareepea -- a woman with Parkinsons Disease, confined for months to a matress on the floor who is given back the ability to walk. And you share her joy of re-gained mobility, of simply walking outside by yourself, of feeling the sun on your face and taking in the view from the veranda steps.
Then you realise, amidst the busy-ness, the deadlines, the late nights and the hardwork, that YES!! … this is what we came for, we were meant to be here, at this village, at this time, right now.
Yes, there is much need. And no, we can’t help everyone. But we could help Mareepea. And she can now walk again
Checkout the 2 minute video of Mareepea and her story by Dr Graeme Duke below.
The story is as follow…
During the running of the routine VPOB eye and medical screening clinic at Melsisi on the island of Pentecost, the local Nurse Edwige asked us to see two patients in the small adjacent hospital. MId morning we had a break from the screening and decided to go with the local nurse and a couple of our VPOB nurses and doctors to see them.
After seeing one woman we went to the room of the other. Mareepea is in her 60’s (I think?) and had been bed-bound for several months, being moved by her son (Freddy) or the nurses to a wheelchair for trips to the bathroom. She was otherwise confined to a mattress on the floor and the same room to eat, drink, sleep and live. Edwige was concerned because she had lost weight, was weak, could not walk, and had the shakes. She was worried about the possibility of a stroke or epilepsy. Could we take a look at her?
When we saw her it was clear from her tremor and her facial features that she had not had a stroke, nor did she have epilepsy -- she was suffering from Parkinsons Disease. You may know someone with this condition -- a degenerative neurological movement disorder that affects the small part of the brain that controls posture and muscle tone. This condition leads to tremors, difficulty with balance and moving, especially walking. It is usually treated in this country by expensive drugs taken daily that are readily available to us but not available in the village and it can be difficult to find the right dose without a specialist.
So the usual drug treatment was out of the question, especially in this remote village. She appeared doomed to spend the rest of her life lying on her mattress on the floor. I explained this to the nurse, but not the patient or her son, and then had a thought… Did she still have any strength in her wasted limbs?
Her arms and legs were thin and clearly she was frail. If I could only get her to stand still and support her weight? I suggested we help her up onto her feet and find out. It took two of us to achieve this. She seemed to have some strength in her legs to hold her weight but only with us supporting her balance and some of her weight. I asked the others to support her for me. I had spied a waist high bedside table in the corner of the room. I carried it over and asked her to hold on. She had just enough strength in her arms to hold her balance and in her legs to support her weight, but not enough to walk.
I told her we would let her lie down again and I would go away and think. Several of us had already had a silent prayer for this poor woman. I went straight to Rob and asked him could he make a 4-legged walking frame, out of wood or anything. I had asked the nurse -- there were no walking frames in the hospital, nor the school, nor the whole village. It might just work, but could be a waste of time. I described to Rob the rough dimensions for the frame: not too short to make her bend or tall to make her stretch, wide enough to fit around her, but narrow enough to get through a doorway. Oh yes, and light-weight so she could move it but strong enough to support her weight. Rob said “Sure”, got excited, and went off to search for raw materials. He came back with a broken, unused, old aluminium chair frame. Would this do? Yes, possibly. Will it hold her weight once you have bent it into shape? “OK Matt lets go back to the boat to get our tools”.
I went back to the screening clinic now in full swing. 30min later they returned with their boxes of tools from Chimere. We were discussing the design when Robyn Hides, another doctor who was having a break found an old metal set of bedside drawers that had been discarded behind a shed, came back to say: What about this? Perfect! We would saw off the drawers, leave the 4 metal legs and maybe it would work. Rob, Matt, Mike, and I set to work. I keep leaving the medical and eye clinic to come back and inspect progress and help and interrupt and interfere. It took several hours of hard work. Rob and Matt and local assistants removed the drawers with the hack-saws, then filed back the sharp edges.
Rob went back to his mud brick clinic, and me back to the medical clinic. Meanwhile Matt filed the legs to make them safe, fixed two hand-grips to the horizontal bars with twine, and Mike sewed a basket to the front of the frame, and printed her name onto wide-surgical tape to label the whole contraption as her’s!
By now it was mid afternoon. We took the finished product into the hospital, brought Marypea out of her room in the wheel chair and explained what we had made. It was her’s to keep. She produced a huge grin but still appeared dubious, but clearly willing to try anything. We helped her to her feet and placed the frame in front. We explained how to hold it close, move slowly, and be careful not to fall over. All these instructions had to be translated into Bislama by the son and nurse. As Chesterton once wrote in another context: “There are an infinite number of angles at which one can fall, but only one in which you can stand straight!”
She gripped the handlebars and took a couple of shuffle, lifted the frame and placed it a little further in front, then took 3-4 more shuffles. Then her face lit up a big smile. Smiling doesn’t come easily to Parkinson’s patients because even the facial muscles are affected. Down the corridor she hobbled with a dozen on-lookers chatting and cheering, some giving advice or instruction, and her son in the background watching with surprise. She only walked 20m but it was more than what she had walked in several months at least.
Now she had freedom, the ability to walk, and can regain her muscle strength with exercise and not be house-bound (or hospital-bound) for the rest of her life. About a hour or so later we saw Marrapea slowly navigating the ramp to the front of the hospital supported by Freddie. Marrapea was mobile! Slowly, but surely Marrapea came up the ramp and looked across the bay and saw her village for the first time in months.
Join us for a time of celebration, thanks and reflection including films and discussion featuring Medical Sailing Ministries (MSM) and the work of the Vanuatu Prevention Of Blindness Project
WHEN: Sun 17 October 2010, 4:30–6:30pm
WHERE: North Ringwood Uniting Church,
4 Dickson Crs, North Ringwood, Vic. Aus.
There’s always the tidying up !! And that’s what consumed this week-end just past. Sorting out good from bad, cleaning, packing away, removing … you name it, we did it. Then, when all that could be done was done, there was the final drive out of the CYCA, where we’d been generously allowed to tie up for a couple of nights, to Chimere’s new mooring around at Middle Harbour.
Now for those of you not familiar with the Sydney waterways, (like me from Melbourne), Middle Harbour is what you face as you enter the Heads. If you sail left you end up at Sydney Cove, the Bridge, Opera House and all that and if you go right you land at Manly. As the name suggests, Middle Harbour is kind of … in the middle. The only problem with Middle Harbour, at least for those boats with a mast, is that there is this bridge! The Spit Bridge, which has a clearance of just a few metres above the water. Fortunately though, the bridge has a big hinge on one side and a few times each day the traffic each way is stopped, the bridge is lifted and the boats on each side are allowed to pass through.
On Sunday, our opportunity to pass came at 11:30am.
So there we were, milling around with a flotilla of other craft waiting for the lights to go green. It’s kind of a watery version of the running of the bulls, but with no bull of course. Out came the boats from the other side and then the call went up, “she’s green!!”, full throttle let’s go.
This is not a place to be late. Not even a little bit late. I could imagine the bridge-master delighting in closing the bridge as a distant yacht is seen racing in the direction of the pass. He’d probably yell something like … “Sorry mate. Gotta keep the traffic flowing. You’re too late. She’ll be open again in 3 hours.”
As you pass under the bridge you could almost feel the tension of the Sydney motorists as they sit in idling cars, the ever-increasing queue of traffic disappearing up the road in both directions.
Then almost as soon as the last boat’s mast is safetly clear of the raised bridge platform the sound of the bridge being lowered can be heard.
A very special thanks to David and Helen off the yacht Obelia who have been supporters of MSM right from the beginning. They found us the mooring here on Middle Harbour, are moored just near us and even sailed out into Sydney Harbour to escort us through for the 11:30 Spit Bridge deadline. Thank you for making it all so easy for us.
So the MSM Vanuatu 2010 mission is now officially at an end. It’s a time to review the work of the past few months and begin to plan for the future. We really would value your comments and suggestions. Please email them to admin@msm.org.au
For those in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon, 17 October, a Vanuatu Celebration function is being organised where stories and video of the mission will be presented. You are most welcome to come along. Contact MSM for more details, or keep an eye on this website.
Thank you to everyone involved with this years mission. The volunteer crew have done a wonderful job, along with those helping out in the “back rooms”. Thank you Liz for doing such a fantastic job on keeping the website up to date. To the spouses and family of the volunteers, Thank You for lendng them to us and for your support and encouragement. In most cases your loved one was returned to you in good condition …
… Oh, while I’m on at topic, a special mention and thanks to Andy Black who copped a broken bone in the hand on the first day of Mission 1, in May, after earlier enduring the horrible 14 day delivery voyage from Sydney. We can also thank P&O and the crew of Pacific Dawn (who just happened to be at the same island on that day) for providing much need medical attention. It’s good to know that after being flown out a day or so later, Andy’s hand is now showing signs of recovery; but it’s been a slow, frustrating time. A very special thank you Andy!!
To the Vanuatu Prevention of Blindness Project, their local Ni-van team members and the many Australia volunteers involved, it was wonderful to be able to assist you again this year and you do an amazing job under some very difficult conditions at times. Keep up your good work. As we have seen and documented on this website, what you do is truly life changing and is transforming people’s lives.
Finally, to the people of Vanuatu, we continue to be touched by your openness, generosity and resilience. We enter your world as strangers, but we leave as friends. We come to give, but in fact we take away more than we bring, through the effect of your smiles, laughter, faith and love. Tank Yu Tumas!!
Smooth seas, fair breeze and Mission 2010 finally comes to an end.
After a horrible few days of beating into high seas and strong winds Chimere has been guided safetly home by her gallant crew of five – Bob, Rhod, Tony, Carl and Rim
We’ll be hearing more from skipper Bob and maybe some of the crew later, but this is just a brief note to report that all is well as they prepare for the standard Customs and Quarantine inspections.
Stay tuned
Robert Latimer
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Some of you may recall the MSM Missions discovery of a very sick baby Rowena with a ‘hole in her heart’. In your prayers please thank God that the Mater Children’s Hospital in Brisbane has now agreed to undertake her assessment and heart surgery, and that ROMAC has kindly agreed to provide financially, for all her travel and medical costs! Please ask God that the final agreement documents and the visa applications will be processed without delay. Please also pray for her safety during the air-flight from her village in Abatwuntora on the island of Pentecost to Port Vila, and then to Brisbane; and for her parents Anika and Livingston who are very anxious and extremely grateful for this unexpected help.
Rexlyn is a 14yo shy but delightful and intelligent girl in the village of Tanbok, Pentecost Is, who was also mentioned (unnamed) in an earlier MSM post. She had become deaf from chronic ear infections, making life and schooling difficult. No treatment is available and there are no ENT specialists in Vanuatu. Both ear drums are perforated and so she cannot hear. Thank God that He had already arranged for a specialist ENT team from Melbourne to be in Port Vila this week. Thanks also that Don MacRaild was able to get a message to Rexlyn’s father Rev Willington (local Anglican Minister) to go to Port Vila to see the specialist. Rexlyn arrived in Vila last week and was seen by the specialist today. She is booked for delicate micro-surgery on Thursday. Please pray that the delicate graft to the ear drum will heal and she will regain her hearing.
PS If you would like to hear more miracles, come to North Ringwood this Sunday morning.
Chimere’s insurer, Club Marine, has again stepped forward and provided extended Blue Water insurance at no extra cost. Blue Water insurance is an extension to the basic coastal waters policy and covers the extra risks of sailing far from home.
Join us for an evening of musical entertainment and island warmth featuring the choir of the Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Union (PWMU) – Pt Vila, Vanuatu
North Ringwood Uniting Church
14 Dickson Cres, North Ringwood
Tuesday 22 November 2011
7:30pm – 9:30pm
Cost: Adult $10, Children $5 (Under 18)
Click here for your invitation.
Download information (pdf) about our 
