Seamanship and Navigation, November 2023

Windlass wisdom, It's you, not your anchor

Seamanship and Navigation, November 2023 It's you, not your anchor By John Kettlewell We all have a tendency to blame the hammer when we hit our thumb with it. It's the same with anchors. You sail into a beautiful but crowded harbor, drop the hook while looking forward to celebrating with an evening cocktail, only to find the darn thing isn't holding and instead of that Marguerita you have to pull on a mucky chain. Sometimes this process is repeated several times until something goes right and you have a solid bite, or you give up and look for a mooring. > READ MORE Related articles from Ocean Navigator archives Ocean Navigator November/December 2023  Click the cover to view the articles in the November/December issue of Ocean Navigator.  Anchoring techniques By Robin Urquhart We have learned many anchoring techniques the hard way. One of the worst occasions saw us wrap three times around an old mooring block during current changes in La Paz, Mexico. After hours of troubleshooting and a dive into brackish fast-moving water, we sailed around three times in a counter-clockwise direction and were freed. If we had turned the rudder from one side to the other after each current switch, we never would have had the problem in the first place. On another occasion, we rolled so violently in swell that we didn't sleep a wink and I was tossed from the bed. > READ MORE Windlass wisdom By Ralph Naranjo The best of offshore voyaging sailboats benefit from a set of intertwined design priorities that are linked to the job at hand. Structural integrity and operational reliability are two of the more important factors, and they apply to a wide range of attributes from hull scantlings to the fitting out process itself. The old adage "one size fits all" is best set aside, especially when it comes to adding gear such as the right anchor windlass aboard a long range cruiser. The growing trend toward installing look-alike hardware aboard both weekenders and long-distance voyaging boats defies the "job at hand" rule. Their anchor windlasses should be as different as a hatchet and an ax. > READ MORE Copyright © 2023 Maritime Publishing, All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from Maritime Publishing Our mailing address is: Maritime Publishing 3980 Sherman Street San Diego, CA 92110 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.