What about our Medicine?

[Clay Smith]

Some of you may remember previous posts I made back in May of this year in which I was considering a 1986 Pearson 36-2 and then had switched my interests to a 2000 Hunter 420 due to a hard grounding of the Pearson. After paying for a survey on the 420 the surveyor found a lot wrong with that 420. That coupled with the fact that I absolutely couldn’t stand the broker on that boat who was supposedly representing both the buyer and the seller, it appeared to me that the only person he was representing was himself. So I declined further pursuit of the 420 as much as I loved the center cockpit design. I then found a 2004 Hunter 466, I didn’t immediately like this boat as it was an aft cockpit design and I really liked the center cockpit on the 420. The 466 though a little higher priced, had a lot more going for her as she had an all new navigation sweet, chart plotter, auto pilot, and radar (Ray Marine Navionics). Also she had a 2 year old main sail as well as a Genoa, spinnaker and storm jib. It came with a West marine RIB dinghy and 8 hp two stroke yamaha out board engine. If I paid just for those items alone on the 420 the bottom line would have been much higher than the 466.The surveyor on this boat showed much more favorable results than the 420. So I closed on the Hunter 466 on July 5th 2023.
So in the last almost month I’ve been sailing her a lot on Lake Ontario and learning as much about her as I can. When I’m not sailing her I’m working on her to make her more beautiful. Buffing and polishing mostly, as I said earlier there was very little to address with the different systems on board.
Let me get to my point, it has been my dream to learn as much about sailing as possible this year and 2024 and then Sept.1 2024 our plans our to dismast her and take her to the Atlantic for Coastal cruising via the Erie Canal. Our dilemma is this, my wife and I both take medications that we need, and while coastal cruising off of the east coast of the U.S. obtaining refills shouldn’t be an issue. But what do we do if we decide to take this dream further and actual go to the Bahamas, Carribean, etc.. Surely there exists cruisers out there that have these same issue. Our insurance doesn’t cover us if we are out of the country. Any help or suggestions would be regarding greatly appreciated regarding this matter.

 

[dlochner]

The medications issue is fairly easy to manage if you stay in the US.

We had our physicians write scripts for a year and we had them filled at a national pharmacy instead of our usual regional pharmacy (Kinney's). The scripts were for 90 days which gave us a good window. We then planned our itinerary to land in a town the pharmacy we chose (CVS). Once in the CVS system any CVS pharmacy could fill the script.

Of course CVS couldn't quite figure out that we were mobile and they kept auto filling the script at the last pharmacy we were at. Not really an issue, just meant calling them and informing them we had moved on.

 

[JamesG161]

You can ask your Doctor to increase your fill size and him get to refer Doctor too.

Congratulations on great Blue Water boat the H466!!

You will love the Aft design, for more Deck space and it swimming/fishing platform.

Jim...

PS: If you need help on the In-Mast furling, I am a master of that mechanism.
PSS: Your Owner's Manual is here
H466

 

[JamesG161]

then Sept.1 2024 our plans our to dismast her and take her to the Atlantic for Coastal cruising via the Erie Canal

One other SBO member did that too. I have not seen him active for the last 2 years.

Jim...

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

medical Insurance is easily had and reasonably cheap compared with equivalent US coverage. PM me if you need options.

As to scrips, most national med insurance will allow “vacation fills” for up to 6 months in advance although most cruisers typically return for visits to the US more frequently.

The more problematic issue is cruising with a dog.

 

[JamesG161]

The more problematic issue is cruising with a dog.

Not to bad on H466.
One couple put down outdoor carpet on the swim platform and harnessed the dog's PDF.

When done, you can use the shower located there to wash down and feed the fishes.

Potty Training again.

Jim...

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Not to bad on H466.
One couple put down outdoor carpet on the swim platform and harnessed the dog's PDF.

When done, you can use the shower located there to wash down and feed the fishes.

Potty Training again.

Jim...

I was referring to quarantine rules, e.g., Bahamas and Caribbean

 

[dlochner]

If your physician is reluctant to issue a year long script (4 90 supplies) you can ask about a Telemedicine visit. Finding decent wifi or using a phone is pretty easy.

 

[jssailem]

Congrats Clay. Quite an adventure in the boat buying process. Happy days to put the experience in the rear view mirror.
Fair winds and following seas ahead.
Enjoy the journey.

 

[dLj]

Outside the US the restrictions on medications change. Depending upon where you are going, you may be able to simply walk into a pharmacy and buy the medications you need without a script. My primary care physician has told me that in some cases that doesn't happen and she will fax/email/whatever a prescription to the pharmacy and in her experience she says that usually will work. She has worked with clients that are traveling quite a lot and she says that has worked without problems. Of course, it may depend upon where you are, not saying every country in the world has been tested this way....

One of the difficulties in stocking up before going is that US insurance companies have different policies as to what they consider "vacation" time periods. 6 months, 4 months, 3 months are all time periods I've seen imposed by the insurance companies. So walking into your pharmacy with a, say, 1 years script from your doc may be met with - can't fill that - insurance says X months max for a vacation dose. Then, there are limitations on how often you can do the "vacation" dose. You may not be able to do them back-to-mack. The good news though, is most other countries will simply sell you what you need pretty much right over the counter. You will have to pay for them out of your pocket, but the other good news there is they are usually much less expensive then in the US....

The US is a bit crazy when it comes to prescription drugs... (IMHO)

dj