Monthly Archives: May 2015

Anchoring and the AUTHORITIES

28 Thursday May 2015

Posted by in Sailing/Boat Handling, Trips

≈ 5 Comments

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For a number of days this past week I was in and around Narragansett Bay. On a good wind, the boat and I went the 25 miles or so from Noank, Connecticut to Dutch Harbor, Rhode Island, and had a sweet night anchoring in the tiny south cove on Dutch Island, protected from the northwest wind. It’s a little roly, open directly to the south and out the bay, but it was great to be out of the wind. I’d never been in to that particular spot, and it was a treat.

The next day, it was up to Wickford, to be out of the new south wind, and the strong northwesterly forecast for the next day after that, and hopefully some visiting with friends. There’s a great cove, well inside that harbor, with moorings and enough water on the edges for comfortable anchoring. The first night was fine, and half the next day. It’s beautiful in there, with marsh, and trees, and egrets working in the shallows.

That second afternoon, a big gray inflatable with an enclosed center console and the word “police,” in big letters, pulled up. I was at the edge of a large number of unoccupied moorings, with a couple of boats two or three moorings away (see photo above), with enough swinging room to avoid even touching the empty mooring buoys. Alas, I was still busted. With a small craft advisory in effect for the northwest wind, the officer informed me that there was no anchoring in Wickford, except for outside the breakwaters (miserably uncomfortable from boat wakes, in any conditions). At least three times, he said that this information was posted on the town website, and that I was breaking the rules not only by anchoring within the harbor, but also by anchoring within a mooring field. Having been in here without problems a number of times before, it had not crossed my mind to look at the town website…

This was all very disconcerting, and more so when I brought up about the weather of the moment and was told something about how many times he hears that. He must have seen the worry all over my face, at the prospect of trying to move the boat effectively onto a mooring or into a slip in that amount of wind, because he relented, and said that I could stay until morning. This in spite of his having received TWO complaints! One wonders from whom – there are houses scattered along the shore, and very small amounts of boat traffic, being at the far inside end of the harbor – perhaps the folks on the workboat out tending to moorings were unhappy? Or at the marinas, in view down the way?

IMGP8529After the police boat left I did two things: called my friend Sarah, who lives up the cove, and got on the town website. Sarah very kindly chased around and made arrangements for use of one of the local yacht club moorings, which I moved to early the next morning when the wind had eased up.

The town website was fascinating: rather than a prohibition on anchoring, it stated that “No person shall anchor or moor a vessel in any anchorage, mooring area, or mooring field in a manner or in a location which under the circumstances existing creates a probability of damage to other vessels moored or anchored nearby.” http://www.nkpolice.org/Old%20Site/Harbor%20Division%20New/Harbor%20Ordinances%203.htm#Sec.%207-81%20Thoroughfares;%20designation;%20moorings,%20anchoring%20and%20swimming%20prohibited; ( Sec. 7-106. (c)) There’s also, very reasonably, no anchoring allowed in channels.

The above implies not only that general anchoring is okay, but that anchoring in the mooring field is okay. Geez. The same webpage also talked about transient town moorings available just inside the breakwaters (a lovely spot, where I have anchored in the past), available for free with a 24 hour time limit. So much for the information available on the website. I’m told, by the fellow from the yacht club, that now those town moorings are $25/night; it was striking to me that the officer didn’t mention them at all. When I went by the next day, they were all unoccupied…

It had been a couple of years, before this recent visit, since the last time I was in Wickford. Rules change, but also, when I’d been there before it had generally been in the middle of the season, with the harbor jammed full of boats. If somebody really paid attention, they could have noticed that I was anchored (in this boat, or in the little Peep Hen SERENITY), but for the most part I think that my presence blended in. Ironically, now after such a long, late winter, there is loads of room in the harbor, but now is the time that I get kicked out! I debated going into a slip, which I’ve also done on a few occasions, when I’ve stayed several days at a time for both shore support and repairs, and even for hurricane Sandy. This time around, it was Friday of Memorial Day weekend when I was given notice, and if I had acted quickly I’m sure that I could’ve made arrangements for a Saturday arrival. Visiting would have been easier, if I had done that! Only the upcoming hot weather forecast dissuaded me.

Instead, next day, after a breakfast stop at that nice mooring, I caught the north wind back down the bay to Dutch Harbor (which runs about 10° cooler than Wickford when the weather heats up). About the time I arrived, as predicted the wind shifted south, where it was expected to stay for days. Heading for another favorite anchorage, I anticipated being well protected from that strong south wind. No deal. In exactly the spot that lets a small boat get close enough to the shore to not get bounced around, the area is now outlined in buoys that are labeled “conservation area” and “no anchoring.” Anchoring is available, but out so far from the shore that in a 15 knot wind through the night one is pretty much guaranteed a miserable time. Rats! Having so recently had that police experience, I wasn’t keen on inviting another one, especially in the face of specific signs, so I passed it by.

Instead, since I was likely to bounce around no matter what, I rented a mooring, which achieved also having launch service, so that folks could come visit. There are no slips in Dutch Harbor. The wind blew like they said, the boat bounced, and I made plans to get out of Dodge. Suzanne came early the next morning, bringing supplies that were to have come the day after that with Amanda and Alaina. Amanda and her sister had been planning to come for a sail, after all that work on rigging the boat, but then had car trouble and had to postpone. In the end, both that and other visits were sadly missed, but Suzanne and I got a bonus hello, when she made that quick run on Sunday morning. Then off I went, with hopes for my third regular anchoring spot in Narragansett Bay to be more successful.IMGP8542

This next one, fortunately, was indeed better, and I arrived towards evening after a nice, feisty sail of 10 miles or so (okay, so four hours were spent tacking against the current, to get the 3 miles out of the westernmost arm of Narragansett Bay – but it was still fun). This new spot was near the mouth of what’s called the Sakonet River – actually a long bay, the easternmost arm of Narragansett Bay – where there’s a beach that extends perfectly for protection from southerly winds. There are some moorings, and when I arrived, three or four boats were at anchor. As I approached my favorite corner, close up to the beach for least bouncing, a little ways away there were some of those stick bouys that can mean so many things. I didn’t go close enough to read whatever they might have said… Sometimes you just don’t want to know.

After two nights and a good rest, on leaving I was happy to see that indeed those buoys said nothing about anchoring. But they could have. It’s a frustrating thing, to see so many good anchorages blocked off, causing unnecessarily difficult nights for those in small boats. Stage Harbor, in Chatham, was the same way a couple of years ago. With a perfect tree-covered bluff over the curve of the harbor, sheltering from prevailing winds, anchoring is only allowed inside a wide-open sand spit. Safe, but pounded by the wind, in perfect sight of sheltered peace, with plenty of room available for small boats with a shallow draft. I don’t understand the reasoning for these rules, in harbors were there is indeed plenty of physical space. Perhaps there have been abuses of hospitality. Regardless, there are legal debates ongoing about who has jurisdiction over the water in those perfect coves; it’s possible that towns have no legal standing in establishing these kinds of restrictions.

While all the concerned parties sort that out, my primary solution is to go north, beyond the crowds. Thank goodness that’s still possible! Downeast Maine is calling, loudly. Soon, I say, soon.

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Creek Anchoring

19 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by in Sailing/Boat Handling, the boat, Trips

≈ 2 Comments

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Those favorite creeks, that I like so much, are a little tricky for anchoring. It’s been a progression, developing a routine that works in a way that feels satisfying and reliable. There are narrow shores to contend with, a deeper middle, current reversing with the tide, and overhanging trees. All keep things interesting. A lot of different strategies have been tried, over the course of my many creek visits, and nowadays there’s a routine that has been working quite well.

First, what didn’t work:

1 – anchoring with a single anchor in the middle of the creek. 15 feet deep in the middle, enough anchor line to hold the boat also lets the boat swing into the bank. This is not a problem until the boat is visiting the shore when the tide starts to go out… This is still not a problem during the day, when it’s handy to just push off from the shore. Sleeping through that, however, would not work out so well.

2 – anchoring with a bow anchor and a stern anchor. It has to be said that I tried this with a lousy stern anchor (too small, too light, bad shape) that had no chain. Of course it pulled out of the soft mud, leading to problems mentioned above. Wind and current catching the boat crossways because of the bow and stern anchoring arrangement did not help, and even with an improved stern anchor, I’ve been uninclined to try things that way again.

3 – two anchors from the bow, with substantial slack in the downstream anchor line (with or without slack, this is technically called anchoring Bahamian style). The anchors are set by letting down the first one, sailing extra far downstream and setting the second one, and then pulling in the line on the first anchor until the boat is somewhere in the middle. This keeps the boat from going where it doesn’t belong, but the slack in the lines leads to complications, including the slack line sometimes hanging up in the rudder, and the boat turning repeatedly with the tide, twisting one anchor line around the other one with each reverse of current (naturally the boat turns in complete circles, rather than twisting and untwisting itself first one way and then the other). The completely twisted lines hold the boat in place just fine, but are a fair amount of work to untangle when it’s time to get the anchors back. Snagging of the slack line between the rudder and the hull – or anywhere else – is a problem one would rather not have, that leads to both stress and aggravation. This is not the point of anchoring in the creek!

Finally, the prize-winning combination:

Two anchors from the bow, set as described above in number three, with two modifications. First, there is not a lot of slack in the anchor lines, once the boat has been pulled back to the middle between the anchors. If you set the anchors at some distance from where the boat eventually rests, so that the anchor line scope (ratio of depth to line length) is quite generous, there is no problem with steady pressure on the two anchors. In addition, I’ve started using a kellet on the primary anchor line.

A kellet, also called an anchor sentinel, is a moderate weight – about 5 pounds in this case – attached to the anchor line with a big carabiner (or some other slidy thing), and to the boat with a string/light line that controls how far the kellet can slide down the anchor line. This weight pulls the anchor line farther under the water, and adds tension but allows the line to stretch out if there’s a big bunch of wind. Conveniently, it keeps that primary anchor line out of the way of passing motorboats, which is also relaxing. Ordinarily a kellet is used to make an anchor more secure on less anchor line, though that wasn’t my primary purpose in this situation. I wanted it for tensioning of the two-anchor system, while still allowing for movement in a pinch, as well as for sinking the nice new primary anchor line out of range of passing boat propellers.

On this boat, which has a long shallow keel, and the rudder attached at the back edge of the keel, this whole arrangement of moderately taut anchor lines means that when the boat changes direction with the tide or the wind, the keel and the downstream anchor line lie alongside one another, preventing the boat from turning beyond the anchor line. There is not enough slack for the line to catch above the rudder and make problems, and even more beautifully, the boat cannot turn in a circle! When it’s time to leave, there is no unscrambling of the two anchor lines at the bow. I was a very, very happy camper, when I discovered this.

I left the most recent creek sooner than I was expecting to, running to the coast to avoid extremely warm temperatures, so I did not get photos of this arrangement in action. They might have been very boring photos anyway. The significant bit is that each line was in a bow chock, leading toward the anchor on its respective side. Something about how the boat landed, during anchoring, meant that it made sense to move the starboard, primary anchor line to the port side, and the port secondary anchor line over to starboard, to prevent crossing. This had to do with the wind direction across the creek, and letting the boat go crossways between the anchors in the direction that it wanted to. Making that adjustment helped everything to settle in well.

Other tidbits are that it’s helpful to notice a mark on shore when you drop the first anchor, and then again when you drop the second one. If the boat drifts a bit during anchoring, it can be hard to keep track just by checking the amount of anchor line that is out. It’s also a good idea to look at overhanging trees, while deciding where to start putting down anchors. Masts and trees do not go well together! Ideally, there would be enough space so that if an anchor did drag, none of those trees would be a problem. I wasn’t so good at this last, in this recent creek visit. Happily, the anchors stayed put, but if the more northerly one hadn’t, things might have gotten interesting. I’ll know for next time.

When it’s time to leave, the process goes in reverse, letting one anchor line go loose while retrieving the second anchor, then pulling all that extra line back in. It can take some time. Working with the tide, rather than against it, can help…

The funniest part of this recent experience is that when it was time to leave there was some funny oil on the surface of the creek, broken up in small but numerous patches. It didn’t go by in a few minutes, so I decided to go ahead with the anchor retrieval process, having a tide to catch. This moved anchor line and chain through those bits of oil, and as it came up I checked my hands – fish! Somebody up the creek must have been cleaning a substantial amount of their catch, or maybe an osprey was tearing apart a particularly large and oily meal. The next time I anchored, there it was again on my hands, eau de fish, and I noticed that the inside of the boat had a faint tinge, when first coming back in from outside. The tub for the primary anchor line is in the enclosed locker under the starboard cockpit seat, and there is a mostly covered opening from that locker through into the cabin. Now a week later, it seems gone, or maybe I’m just completely used to it. Visitors will have to tell!

In the process of retrieving those anchors, a good 200 feet of the primary anchor line got that special fish oil treatment. But it was still worth it, to be so nicely snug for days, with the boat held just so between the narrow banks of that quiet creek.

Noise

10 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in Junk Rig, Trips

≈ 8 Comments

IMGP8389Over the course of time I’ve gone to some pretty substantial lengths to get away from noise. This past week has been no exception, but the process has yielded some interesting information. After the boat went in the water on May 2, a little over a week ago, I stayed for several days at my friends’ dock in Deep River. The plan was to be at that spot until everything was organized and in order with the boat. It’s a handy place for receiving visits and for doing the remainder of the necessary projects before really setting off.IMGP8387

Deep River is a little noisy, with a combination of occasional machinery and young adults who like loud engines (boats or trucks). There is even a steam train that runs alongside the river carrying tourists, with attendant engine/track rumbling, whistles, and whooshing releases of steam, as the train stops to load and unload passengers for the riverboat at the nearby town dock. In spite of all of this, ordinarily there are lovely pauses in the activity, and the surrounding wetlands are often peaceful, filled with birds and their songs. At night, it generally goes completely still, making for good rest, and for gathering of resources to go forward with the next day.

This year is different. The first couple of days were fine; being so early in the season, the train had not even begun its regular schedule. Then on Tuesday some kind of substantial engine started, with the varying rhythm of a generator, a little through the trees from Warren and Margo’s dock. Once started, that engine never stopped. Day and night, something to do with a sewer construction project on the adjacent street. This was in addition to piledriving at the neighboring marina, where they were making repairs from the exceptional winter ice. I could deal with the piledriving; it was intermittent, and at three in the afternoon they all went home for the day. The generator, or pump, or whatever it is, was another story: constant, loud in the daytime, idling all night long, until it geared up again to full, raucous force when the folks went to work in the morning. By the second night of this I was making plans, and at 0600 on Thursday morning, early to catch the southbound tide, I was off.

IMGP8390This departure was ahead of schedule, and not everything was in order. But there was enough. All the fussy little lines were not in place for the junk rig, but happily, in the very light morning breeze, that didn’t matter! Halyards put the sails up, lazy jacks held them when they were down, and tack hauling parrels were in place, keeping both sails oriented correctly on the masts, front to back. Also crucial, sheets were in place for hauling the sails in or out.

Most of the batten parrels on the mainsail, on the other hand, were not attached, but the top two were in place, which was helpful. I remembered friends telling me that they once forgot to attach the batten parrels and went sailing, with general success. The redundancy of the junk rig is a beautiful thing, meaning that if one part fails (or is otherwise unavailable), there are plenty of others to keep things in order until there is a chance to make it better. Some of the various lines for this rig were still coiled, hanging from their attachments somewhere up the sail. No matter: off we went.

IMGP8399Down the river a little ways there’s a small island, with a tiny yacht club on the shore behind it. A friend had once invited me to tie up there if I needed, and with a plan for shore support on the following morning, I headed in that direction. The friend indeed came through (thank you David!), and by the end of the day on Friday, Amanda and her sister Alaina had been and gone, with many more rigging lines in place afterwards, and the mast wires run through the deck seal, so that the anchor light could work. Supplies had come and gone, and I was in business. There are a couple more shore support visits to be done, but the necessities are in order for being off the dock.

The most beautiful part of this accelerated schedule is that now I’m anchored in my most favorite creek! Amanda and Alaina cast off the dock lines on Friday afternoon, with a good southwest breeze and the current going back up the river. By half an hour later I was inside Selden Creek, setting the anchors. Here I’ve been ever since, resting and getting things in order, and happily away from the river traffic.

Now and then folks pass by, in kayaks or small motorboats, sometimes stopping for a chat, but otherwise it’s me and the birds, and a beaver that likes to whack its tail on the water as everything is getting dark in the evening. The owls have been busy calling, and with the leaves just starting to come out, once the light comes up in the morning it’s easy to see the gorgeous colors of the spring warblers. It’s great to have a rest, in the beautiful stillness.

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2015 Launch: One more time!

03 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in How Does This Work, Trips

≈ 4 Comments

Yesterday, May 2, Melissa and Richard came to Holyoke with their truck. Next thing you know, the loaded boat was trailing behind that truck down the street toward Connecticut. A few minutes after that, Suzanne and I, with our wonderful helper Amanda, were off in the van, all of us headed for the boat ramp in Deep River, Connecticut, about an hour’s drive south of Holyoke.
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In the parking lot at the Deep River town ramp the last bits of stuff went in the boat, and the masts went up.

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IMGP8342Suzanne and Richard, mainmast going up

IMGP8345Richard and Melissa finish stepping the mainmast

IMGP8352Warren had been busy processing honey, and brought one of the frames with the last bits left in it – big treat!

Amanda and I settled in the cockpit, Melissa drove the trailer into the water, and when the boat floated free we used the little electric motor to back out into the Connecticut River. The tide was high around 1100, just before we did this, so the current was slack, and the breeze calm, making it easy to maneuver the 200 yards to our destination. By ten minutes later we were snug at Warren’s dock.

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In a couple of days Amanda and her sister will be back to help with the rigging – I expect to be here for a week or so, getting things in order. It’s a beautiful spot, and this early in the season there’s not too much traffic, even with this lovely bit of warm, sunny weather. Leaves are just barely starting to come out, but the flowering bushes and trees in town were beautiful on the way in, farther along than anything at home in Holyoke.

This year’s departure has been different from previous ones. I spent most of the winter sorting, giving away, and making a dent in packing the remainder of the somewhat ridiculous collection of stuff in my apartment. If all goes something like according to plan, this time next year will see a spring launch in Maine. In the meantime, it’s lovely to be floating so early in the season, and I’m looking forward to watching the leaves come out, and gradually working my way north.

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IMGP8372The forward rake of the mainmast, especially noticeable in these two pictures, has to do with the junk rig, and helping the mainsail swing out when running downwind.

Many thanks to Amanda and Suzanne for the photos!