Cape May and regaining sight

7/26/2026 

Hello! 

Update: We are still in Cape May, New Jersey, at Utsch’s marina. I have a follow up at Will’s Eye Hospital on Wednesday, July 29 in Philadelphia. It is very exciting to report that I am regaining vision in my left eye, as expected. The vision is returning from the top; it started out as a sliver, increases every day and is pretty clear. After this week we plan to move north to Rhode Island and Massachusetts. We will visit people, visit some lovely New England harbors, relax, have fun and hopefully have some family join us. We may leave the boat in New England, but either way, we plan to be home in St Petersburg for the winter. Even before we started this trip, Al said he wanted to be home for the holidays. I thought we were going to go sailing for several years. In retirement I have learned that plans are fluid and can change easily. 

Changing my first impression of Cape May and recuperating from eye surgery: Some locations we visit I love immediately while others I have to warm up to. At first my impression of Cape May was of an overcrowded tourist town. We went to the tourist traps on our first day of sightseeing, the shops on the Washington Street Mall and the Fish House restaurant on Sunset Beach at the most crowded time of day. But, in the past week or so I have discovered the appeal of Cape May. During a memoir writing class on Monday, I met some locals including the Poet Laureate of Cape May, Sylvia Baer, who led the class. She has published several books. There were such nice people there and the class was right on the water at the Convention Hall. Afterwards I had a chance to look out at the ocean, listen to the waves and walk on the Cape May promenade. The promenade is a wide sidewalk running along the beach between the sand dunes and the road. Large beautiful Victorian houses still line the road across from the beach. I could picture how lovely it was long ago. Being a beach lover that helped me see the charm of the “shore” as they call it here. Plus I discovered a restaurant, McGlades, that seats you right in the dunes. I will be going back to the beach before I leave. Al and I always hit the historical sites to get the feel for a town. We went on tours of the Victorian Physick Estate house, Congress Hall, the Harriet Tubman Museum and Fisherman’s Wharf. We also visited the Cape May lighthouse. Cape May has a central cultural group, MAC, that runs the tours and museums and was the force that started the restoration of the town. This is a charming small town with interesting history and some very nice people. 

It doesn’t sound like it from the description above, but I have also taken a lot of time to rest. It’s surprising how long it takes time to recuperate from surgery on such a small body part. My left eye gets tired and just occasionally painful. I also have found it tiring to have clear vision in one eye and very poor vision in the other eye. I have rested when I needed to and eaten a lot of good food which I know is helping my eye! 

It struck me this week how debilitating this injury was. All activity stopped except the basics like eating and dressing for several weeks and has returned gradually. Just this week I was straightening out an area in the galley, making things organized and attractive. It’s something I really like to do and hadn’t done since before the injury almost a month ago. Illness can take away the part of ourselves that makes us who we are as a unique person. It can rob you of the energy to do things that truly feed your soul. I am fortunate and extremely thankful to be returning to normal but hope I remember this observation when helping others in the future. 

I believe that will be all for this week. 

Thank you for reading and thank you also for your words of support and encouragement. It has been incredibly helpful and meaningful. 

Love and Peace, 

Fran Lima

Philadelphia, Wills Eye Hospital and back to Cape May

7/12/2026

Hello! 

Update:

We are on the boat in Cape May, New Jersey, at Utsch’s Marina. We moved to a hotel in Philadelphia on June 30^th after learning that I was to have eye surgery the next day. The procedure was a vitrectomy and repair of retinal detachment. It required me to lie on my right side for 5 days and follow up with Wills Eye in one week. We stayed at a downtown Holiday Inn Express until the day after the follow up and then took an Uber ride back to the boat. 

The current state of my eye and how it happened

The vision in my left eye is expected to return in several months, 2 to 6 depending on what I read. The eye looks completely normal, but when the ophthalmologist puts up one large letter on the eye chart, I cannot read it. I can see light and different colors. I love being in a familiar place like on the boat but venturing out and walking around town is a little tricky. Lots of people have vision in only one eye so I’m sure I will adjust to this hopefully temporary situation.

We raised the anchor early on June 26^th and put the fore sail out to help our speed down the Delaware Bay. At 9 am we decided to furl in the foresail. I loosened the sheets (ropes on the sail) on port and starboard. Al held the furling line to pull it in by hand, which rolls up the sail on the front stay. The sail was out on the port side and that sheet flapped wildly due to the wind. I leaned towards the wench to pull in the flapping sheet and was hit in the eye by the sheet. It was a pretty hard hit. After a minute I opened my eye and could see black streaks as if black ink was swirling in water on top of normal vision. My vision got worse as the day went on and we both knew I needed to get help quickly.

I have never hurt myself so severely. What I am trying to figure out is why I let both sheets go at the same time. If I had slowly released the port sheet while Al pulled in the furling line this would not have happened. I do not believe things happen for a reason. I believe that there is an explanation for things that happen and the important part is our reaction and response to things that happen. The best explanation I can think of is a lapse of good judgement at the moment. I’m also trying to determine if there are any other lessons and take them to heart. Life goes on and there are many worse things that can happen to a person. I am determined to carry on, enjoy the challenges and joys that life offers and always hope for the best.

Thank you again

The kind and encouraging comments posted were so helpful. I can’t thank everyone enough for reaching out and staying in touch. It means so much to me and I’ll never forget it. I could not have come through this without friends and family and also and especially without Al.

Philadelphia, not a bad place to be for America’s 250^th birthday

Our plans to be in New York City for July 4^th were scraped but we found ourselves in quite an interesting and appropriate place. The surgery went smoothly on July 1^st at Wills Eye Hospital. It is probably by design that they have the eye patient stand up in the recovery room when ready and walk out of the hospital. It made me feel almost normal. The hotel was comfortable, had free breakfast every morning and a television of course. We don’t have TV on the boat, so it was fun to watch one of my favorites, Law and Order SVU plus learn about soccer. The hotel was in Midtown Village, an area with a variety of good restaurants. First, we ate every meal in the hotel room, Al doing the fetching. I was allowed to sit up for meals. Grandma’s Philly was across the street with delicious Thai food. We had to sample the Philly Cheesesteak at Uncle Gus’ in the Reading Terminal market.

The hotel was just a few blocks away from the main historic sites.  On July 4^th Al set out to see something and ended up in the line for Independence Hall. Meanwhile a high school friend, Marilyn Meagher, came to visit me. She happened to be in town with the Pinellas County marching band The Second-Time-Arounders. If you know Marilyn, you know what a treat this was because of her incredibly buoyant and fun personality. She also brought me a Philly cheesesteak. We talked and laughed during her entire visit and there was even food left over for Al. Independence Hall turned out to be very popular on July 4^th; Al waited in line for over 5 hours. He said it was very special to be on that day. On July 5^th, Al went to the Museum of the American Revolution. After I could move around, we went to Elfreth’s Alley, a well-preserved historic street dating back to 1736. There was one house for sale there which of course I wanted to buy. On July 8^th, around 5 pm, we were walking near Independence Hall and happened on the National Park Service employees handing out copies of the Declaration of Independence and conducting a public reading.  We learned the original reading was on July 8^th, 1776, at noon. It was very inspiring and we plan to frame the copy for our home.

Thank you for reading. The journey continues!

Love and Peace,

Fran Lima