Caution, open flame!

Parkinson and forgetfulness

By Renate Rüger, June 19, 2026

Where does the autopilot get its power from? Peter looks at me questioningly. “The connection runs under our bed. Don’t you remember?” I say. “The fuse there blew out.” We are currently discussing with our electrician Chris how and where we can install a replacement autopilot. Peter looks at me questioningly. Under the bed in our cabin? He shakes his head. Chris can now place it. “Oh yes, I once replaced a fuse there with an automatic circuit breaker.” Peter can’t remember. Even though we spent days searching the entire boat for that fuse in Roatan and even spoke with Lagoon Germany. Scenes like these are becoming more frequent lately. Is Peter developing typical Parkinson’s dementia? We will have to discuss this with the doctors during our vacation in Germany in August.

Parkinson's: Peter is becoming increasingly forgetful. — Peter is increasingly struggling to remember names and places.

Where does memory go?

More and more often, Peter simply cannot remember. For him, this is much more serious than the Parkinson’s-typical tremor, which he manages well with medication. For years, Peter has had trouble remembering names. Well, I and others also have that problem as we get older. But with Peter, it’s pronounced. Frank becomes Andreas, Sylke becomes Maria. This sometimes causes confusion, as do countries. For example, when Peter recounts an experience from Colombia in conversation, but always talks about Mexico. “Sometimes I don’t remember where I was yesterday,” he says.

How he once sat alone in the dark in the dinghy in front of our Amira in Caye Caulker was devastating. Speechless, he crouched there like a heap of misery. He had wanted to meet other sailors on the island, but then couldn’t find the two channels through which one has to navigate in shallow water to avoid running aground. He reported that he had driven back and forth to find the spot. Like many Parkinson’s patients, Peter suffers from orientation problems. Already in Curaçao almost two years ago, he suddenly took the wrong direction to get from the Amira to the dinghy dock – even though he knew the route inside and out.

Parkinson's: Peter often loses his orientation. — Do I have to turn right or left now?

The matter of the six eggs

And suddenly an egg explodes: This happens in Utila while we are ashore. We had just sat down in a café after clearing out when Peter flinched. Oops! Did I turn off the gas stove? he asks. There’s a pot with water and six eggs on it. And he grabs the key and rushes to the dinghy. From the café, I watch him go to the Amira, disappear inside, and not reappear for a while. When I’ve finished my coffee and Peter’s hamburger, which he ordered, is already cold, I get nervous. What happened on our Amira? Nothing bad, Peter replies via phone. The water in the pot had evaporated, the eggs had all turned black, stuck to the bottom of the pot, and one had exploded. Lid and egg parts flew into the air, scattering everywhere in the galley. He had just “cleaned everything up.”

View of the Amira at anchor in Utila. — I sit in the café and look at our Amira. Peter is rushing to her; the pot with eggs is still on the stove.

Forgot gas grill

I think of the empty gas grill with its lid, which was also left on during a shore excursion, and the times Peter forgot the gas flame after taking a pan off the stove. What if I hadn’t seen the gas flame, if the Amira had rocked with a wave and something had fallen into the flame? A fiberglass boat burns quickly. Something like that is different from when Peter forgets to close a hatch again and it rains into the boat. It’s getting serious.

Lessons learned

Yes, this too is Parkinson’s or the dementia often associated with this disease, we think. Peter forgets a lot, simply cannot remember many things. I have to be all the more vigilant, control more, which neither I nor Peter like at all, of course. But from now on, there will be inspection rounds on the boat when we leave our Amira. And after every cooking session, not only will the gas stove be turned off, but the gas will also be cut off with an extra switch.

Peter has to admit that he is becoming increasingly forgetful. That hurts. — Peter wants to be open about his illness and honest with himself. This includes admitting that he is becoming increasingly forgetful.

Painful admission

For Peter, all of this is terribly painful. He wants to be open about his illness, honest with others and especially with himself. This includes admitting that he is becoming increasingly forgetful, and at the same time, the fear of appearing like an “idiot” to others. Ironically, strangers or casual acquaintances usually don’t even notice that Peter has Parkinson’s. As long as he takes his medication on time, he trembles relatively rarely – at least as long as he doesn’t have to tighten many screws or fill several glasses with wine or water. The temptation to suppress other Parkinson’s symptoms is great. Being confronted with his increasing forgetfulness in such a concentrated way is then doubly worse. “But it’s important,” Peter says. Because otherwise, he wouldn’t truly perceive how the disease is progressing. He quickly suppresses individual incidents. He doesn’t notice that they are accumulating. The decline due to Parkinson’s is insidious, but steady, which should not be underestimated. “That’s why it’s good that we are documenting all of this now,” Peter says. Even at the risk of others misunderstanding. Regardless of the incidents: We are doing well and will cross the Pacific – with or despite Parkinson’s.

More: PARKINSON & OUR STORY