Scooter cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. “I’m going to hold you to that, Mrs. McGhie. Or should I say Cap’n?”
* * *
Thank you for reading Overboard on the Ocean! I hope you enjoyed it. Turns out Mollie has one more murder to solve before she heads to the Bahamas. Curious what happens? Check out the next book in the series, Murder Aboard the Mistletoe, at your favorite retailer HERE.
Mollie’s Sailing Tips
Since Mollie and Scooter are getting ready to set sail to the Bahamas, I asked Mollie if she wouldn’t mind telling us about what keeps her up at night.
Mollie grinned. “What keeps me up at night? Our cat, that’s what. Mrs. Moto seems to think that pouncing on me at three o’clock in the morning is a great idea.”
I cleared my throat. “Actually, I was wondering if you were worried about anything related to sailing to the Bahamas which is keeping you up at night.”
“What am I not worried about? There’s so much that can go wrong.” Mollie took a sip of coffee, then pointed at the tray of cookies. “Go on, take one. They’re from the Sugar Shack. Penelope makes the best snickerdoodles.”
After nibbling on a cookie, I tried to get Mollie to focus on the subject at hand. “So, what would you say is your number one concern?”
“Well, I know Scooter is worried about running out of money. Boats are money pits, you know. I’m less fazed by that. I think the financial situation will work itself out. What keeps me up at night is the thought of one of us getting sick or injured and then dying. Also, I worry that we’ll run out of chocolate.”
“Dying on board your boat because of illness? Statistically, do you think that would really happen?” I asked.
Mollie cocked her head to one side. “Honestly, with my track record, it would be more likely that someone would get murdered aboard our boat than die from illness. But I do worry about what we would do if someone got really sick, and we weren’t near medical facilities.”
“Have you done anything to prepare for that situation?” When she nodded, I asked her to share her tips for dealing with a medical emergency at sea.
Dealing with a Medical Emergency at Sea
Tip #1 – Be sure to have readily accessible chocolate. If someone gets injured, quickly eat a few M&M’S or the like. That will help calm you down so that you can provide first aid with a clear head.
Tip #2 – Learn first aid before you leave port. Even better, take a course in wilderness first aid or offshore emergency care so that you’re better prepared to provide care far from shore.
Tip #3 – Be sure that you have a fully stocked first aid kit and check it regularly.
Tip #4 – Stock up on basic over-the-counter and prescription medicines you take regularly. You might also want to speak with your physician about having preventative prescription drugs on hand, such as antibiotics and painkillers.
Tip #5 – Review your medical insurance policy. Will you be covered if you’re offshore or in a different country? Should you get supplemental insurance so that you can be evacuated back home if necessary for medical treatment?
Tip #6 – Double check your chocolate supply.
Tip #7 – Think about how you’ll contact emergency medical support. In certain areas, your cell phone and VHF radio might suffice, but in other areas you might want to look into getting a satellite phone or a personal locator beacon.
Tip # 8 – When you get too stressed out about the possibility of a medical emergency at sea, take a few minutes to stroke your cat. That’s always soothing.
Author’s Note
Thank you so much for reading my book! If you enjoyed it, I’d be grateful if you would consider leaving a short review on the site where you purchased it. Reviews help other readers find my books and encourage me to keep writing.
My experiences buying my first sailboat with my husband in New Zealand (followed by our second sailboat in the States), learning how to sail, and living aboard our boats inspired me to write the Mollie McGhie Sailing Mysteries. You might say that there’s a little bit of Mollie in me.
It was bittersweet writing Overboard on the Ocean. This will be the last full-length novel in the Mollie McGhie series. (Don’t worry, if you need one last Mollie fix, there’s a Christmas novella planned. We couldn’t let Mollie leave for the Bahamas without one more murder to solve, could we?) I’ve grown to love Mollie, Scooter, Mrs. Moto and all the other regular characters who inhabit Coconut Cove. It’s hard to say goodbye to them. But who knows? Mollie and the gang may appear again one of these days in a spin-off series.
I want to thank Duwan Dunn, Greg Sifford, and Scott Jacobson for reading an earlier draft and providing their insightful and thoughtful feedback. Their support and encouragement means so much to me. They’re the best! Many thanks as well to my editor, Alecia at Under Wraps Publishing, for being so easy to work with and for her great suggestions.
If you’d like updates on new releases, my current projects, sales and promotions, and other fun stuff, please sign up for my newsletter at ellenjacobsonauthor.com/newsletter.
About the Author
Ellen Jacobson is a writer who travels around in a teeny-tiny camper with her husband and an imaginary cat named Simon. Her Mollie McGhie cozy mystery series, featuring a reluctant sailor turned amateur sleuth, is inspired by her own sailing adventures and misadventures living aboard sailboats in New Zealand and the States. Her Smitten with Travel romantic comedy series is inspired by her life as an expat in Scotland and New Zealand and love of exploring new countries and learning about new cultures.
If you would like updates on current and future releases, please see her website at: ellenjacobsonauthor.com.
You can also follow along on Twitter: @Ellen__Jacobson and Facebook: @EllenJacobsonAuthor.
Also by Ellen Jacobson
The Mollie McGhie Cozy Sailing Mystery Series
Robbery at the Roller Derby (Prequel Novella)
Murder at the Marina (Book #1)
Bodies in the Boatyard (Book #2)
Poisoned by the Pier (Book #3)
Buried by the Beach (Book#3.5)
Dead in the Dinghy (Book #4)
Shooting by the Sea (Book #5)
Overboard on the Ocean (Book #6)
Murder Aboard the Mistletoe (Book #7)
The Mollie McGhie Sailing Mystery Collection: Books 1-3
The Smitten with Travel Romantic Comedy Series
Smitten with Ravioli (Book #1)
Smitten with Croissants (Book #2)
Smitten with Strudel (Book #3)
Smitten with Candy Canes (Book #4)
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