It’s a common conversation: “Boss, I just changed the oil and mailed off the oil samples for an analysis. I also noticed the engines are due for their 1,000-hour tuneup.”
We as captains take such good care of the boss’s boat, their tackle, and maybe even their cars and pools, so why don’t we take better care of ourselves? Quite a few captains have passed away in the past couple of years due to health problems that might have been prevented by a simple health test.
The sad part is most of us get a physical only when we renew our captain’s license every five years. We think that’s enough to give us a clean bill of health. And what about the rest of our crew? We think we are invincible when we are young, and we know without a doubt that none of those ailments will ever happen to us.
And just FYI, that rudimentary captain’s physical doesn’t even include a blood test. It’s sad, but we fail to realize that a blood test is similar to an oil sample: The inexpensive test can give us an indication of any cancer markers, as well as tell us about our prostate health, possible low testosterone levels and many other things we should be keeping an eye on. One of those is our mercury levels, which can indicate whether we are eating too much fish with high levels of mercury. So just remember, that quick pinch in your arm that feels no different than a sabiki hook pricking your finger could save your life — come on!
And because we all…
