Cruising Outpost

Didn't know this was here, been kinda busy...LOL I have a third anchor, a friend needed extra fenders and extra docklines so he drove the hour down here and we traded for the weekend.

The newest anchor, a 35lb Danforth is out there 150ft or so, and I hand pulled myself forward to put enough slack in my others so I could set just that one in particular. I kept easing it back and giving her some juice every time she settled in until I was full throttle in reverse and she didn't move. I don't think that anchor is going anywhere.

All the canvas is down, the cat is pissed, her playground is gone, but it was nice not to have "upstairs neighbors" banging around playing last night.

Everything is off the deck, except left over rode which is lashed to the spinnaker pole(which is miserablely stuck to the deck by a frozen clamp... grrr!) in case I need to play more out in a hurry(Not that there is enough room but if the boat behind me disappears I can let out another 100 feet!). He is on a mooring but just set up and anchor on deck, he is making me nervous! LOL

The dinghy is lashed bow and stern to the stern of Knotti Girl with 56lbs of water in a jug strapped to the floor of it. I left the outboard on it in case I need to make a hasty retreat and the guys on shore know if they don't see the dinghy to come pick me up on Carrot Island when it is all over. That poor lil 5hp motor couldn't make it to the dock with a 45mph wind directly on the nose if it had to. And thats exactly where it will be coming from.

So I guess everything that can be done, has been done. I have a ditch bag, a 2 spare bilge pumps, tools and anything else I might need set out where I can easily get at them if I need to in a hurry.

Sodas, chips, cookies, sandwich provisions and ice have all been restocked.

I've got 3/4 of a tank of fuel and I am going to check the oil as soon as the motor cools down from running it to set the anchor.

Now, what did I forget?

BEER!!!!

Someone asked about where and how I am going to set a third anchor. But you have to know my original set up to understand soooo.

Here in Taylor creek the tide runs east to west and vice versa. Which also the way the summer thunder storms that can pack such a punch usually run, west to east. So that is how I set the anchors, up current drop the first, set it, then drift back playing out twice the desired amount I wanted out and dropped the second anchor. Hand pulled myself back and then carefully set the second anchor. I was lucky there was very little wind that day. It worked out to 135ft on the smaller 26lb Danforth with 5/16th chain and 90ft of the larger 35lb CQR with 35ft of 3/8 chain.

This storm is different, the winds are predicted to be out of the NE to NNE switching around to the west after it passes by. Well being that one anchor runs west and one runs east the logical thing was to set the third to the north. Thankfully there was a NNE wind today, so I was laying on both of my anchors the way I would be with out the third. So after setting it I played out enough rode so I was riding on all three.

Now when the wind switches around to the west, I will have to do some adjusting possibly, and I may have a mess to clean up later with three anchor lines out there BUT the way they were set up before didn't seem like it was going to enough given their angles, almost 180 degrees from each other.

I am also going to be dealing with opposing current and wind. Yep, it could sloppy! Chaife gear is in place and I will be checking it every hour...

There is beer but no one to drink it! I don't drink!

Probably shouldn't have said that.... (Harry Potter fan sorry!)

get one of those GO cameras. I'd love to see you hop into your dinghy under Hurricaine conditions.

It would be an amazing feet that would definitely be worthy of video!! LOL

I was walking out collapsed docks with missing boards and climbing over wrecked boats during Irene last year, because some fool decided to stay on his boat and it ended up ON TOP of the dock. So climbing into the dinghy during a hurricane wouldn't be the first stupid move I have made. Probably not the last either! Well maybe it would be! LOL

Oh, ok. Bahamian moor then third anchor into the expected wind. That's fine. It is a narrow river with too many boats.

Thanks for explaining.

have fun!


Mark

Twisty and I talked yesterday at length. I think she was fine before the third anchor but that extra bit of security will help.

What Twisty really needs is a Bullet for decent wifi. *grin* Skype kept dropping out.



Thanks for calling Joe. Between boat show and Sandy I'm really backed up. 100 voice mail messages in the last two days so I'm way behind.

I sent Twisty the contact information for the SSCA Cruising Station closest to Beaufort (about halfway up the river to New Bern).

For those who aren't familiar with SSCA I highly recommend the organization. It's only $55/year for access to lots of resources and discounts. We just announced a new partnership with ActiveCaptain that will bring the best of both organizations to cruising sailors (power and sail). The old L&A were big supporters of SSCA; I assume Cruising Outpost will be as well.

Please say Auspicious referred you when you sign up. Holler if anyone has any questions.

_________________
sail fast and eat well, dave S/V Auspicious
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It's funny Dave today the winds are directly out of the North and the "Waterford"(100ft Motor Yacht) is dead in front of the wifi antenna and me and my connection is fine. I wonder if someone left their radar on or something. I have found that radar kills the signal faster than anything else.

So far so good here, winds just starting to get gusty now been checking gear every couple hours, will increase that to every hour as things get worse.

Thank you for all your help yesterday Dave!!!!!!

Twisty,

Good luck to you. I've been off the board mostly due to the lack of wifi due to Hurricane Issac that flooded the marina office. I probably have more hurricane stuff than any boat out there. 5 complete & over-sized for my boat, anchors and rodes. Katrina kinda brought out the OCD in me in regard to hurricanes. I never ever want to lose another boat. You are just too far away from me.

If they distribute MREs following the storm, get a case and squirrel them away on board. They are OK as emergency rations. I've eaten my share.

And good luck you and everyone in the storm's path. I think this storm may have a large storm surge and be a major rain event. I don't think it will be a big wind event as long as you can get a little inland. Strip the sails and everything else you can remove topside. Use the largest ground tackle you can find with as long lines as possible. Remember chafe protection. Leave some spare line at the bitter end so you can play out more line and distribute the wear on lines. And remember, your neighbor's boat can be a bigger hazard than the storm if his boat is not adequately prepared. Get away from him. And don't assume you can predict the wind direction. It sometimes only takes a few miles difference from the projected path to give you a complete change in wind direction. And remember the backside of the storm can be just as bad. Do not be complacent at any point. At the height of the storm, no assistance can come to your rescue. See if you can get a friend to ride it out with you. You must be prepared or get off the boat ahead of time. Also trees and other debris may be floating around and can foul your ground tackle.

_________________
Bruce
S.V. Far Horizons
Island Packet
http://svfarhorizons.com
"I am what I am, and that's all that I am" Popeye the Sailorman