Tanbark Sails on the Horizon

In a world where everyone motors their sailboat (even to downwind destinations), it's nice to see sails raised on the horizon. These weren't your regular "white triangle" off in the distance though. 

These were tanbark sails! Boosts don't come with tanbark sails, so the owner had to make a deliberate choice to go with tanbark. These tend to be people who actually sail their boat! 

When he got closer, we could see that he also has a cutter rig. As quickly as he appeared on the horizon,  he left just as quietly since we were sailing on opposite courses. 

Snubber

Anchor snubbers are a very important, yet over looked part of ground tackle. Ground tackle, in its simplest form, is the equipment needed to attach the boat to the bottom in a secure manner. 

Most people think of this being anchor and rode. When the rode is rope, this can be the extent of the gear required.  

The rope will offer elasticity in the system, reducing the shock of the boat rising and falling back during rough anchoring conditions.  

When all chain rode is used, as it is preferred due to the increased weight and reduced risk of chafe, more equipment must be included to make the ground tackle system work properly. 

All chain rode offers no direct elasticity, as the chain will not stretch when pulled. It does offer some indirect elasticity, thanks to catenary, which is the parabolic curve that forms in the chain as it travels from your bow roller to the anchor. As the boat pulls back from a large wave pushing on the vessel, the chain will be pulled back under tension. This force them needs to lift the chain up, reducing the catenary as the chain becomes a straight bar. Once the wave passes, the chain will fall once again and catenary will develop again, losing the potential battery for the next shock.  

If the force exceeds the stored elasticity in the catenary chain, a strong lurch of incredible force will develop as the boat is snapped by the taught rode. All of this force can dislodge the anchor, causing it to drag, and damage the deck gear.  

Chain stoppers are easily bent by this amount of load, and risk ripping or if the deck if overloaded. If no chain stopper is present, all of this load is transferred to the windlass gypsy, running the risk of damaging the gypsy and the gearing inside. 

If the bow roller is open, the chain can also fall out of the roller and cause serious damage as it saws on other parts of the boat. If the roller is captive,the chain will not be able to escape, but the forces on the roller are still extremely high!  

The solution to the chains downfall is to use a nylon snubber. The nylon snubber offers the elasticity of nylon rode while the strength and weight of chain is still present everywhere else. The last section, connecting the rode to the boat is then completed in nylon rope.  

The nylon snubber is attached to the chain rode and to the bow cleats, which are very strong and ate designed to take such abuse.  

If the catenary chain is drawn taught, the snubber will still protect all the deck gear while offering elasticity and avoiding the shock load. This also helps ensure the anchor is not lurched and un-set. 

Bow roller design is also unimportant, as the snubbers takes over the last connection to the bow. Open rollers are no longer at risk of losing the chain. Captive rollers are no longer at risk of being bent.  This is all thanks to the nylon snubber.  

As the boat swings around, the nylon snubber pulls on the rode and transfers the force to the cleats. The section of chain between the windlass, chain stopper, and roller, are all slack since all the tension is diverted to the lines of the snubber. 

When it comes to snubbers, I have seen many different styles, but I prefer the simplest for a few reasons that I will go over.  

Connecting the snubber to the chain can be done by chain hook or by knot. Chain hooks are uncredited convenient, simply slip it on the chain as it runs out and cleat the other end. The chain is instantly captured at the end of the snubber. The problem is the hook can easily slip of the chain, rendering the snubber ineffective.  Some companies, like Mantus, have come up with chain hooks that can not easily slip off to negate this problem. The fact that they came up with a better chain hook means that chain hooks were slipping off enough to need improving.  

I prefer to tie a knot at the end of my snubber. A good knot will not slip off of the chain like a chain hook, and will hold securely until untied. I prefer a magnus hitch for my snubber since I use both tails, but a rolling hitches would also work.  

One last advantage to tying the snubber is you result with two tails. A chain hook only has one tail. This means that a chain hook snubber will pull the boat towards the side the snubber is run through. If it runs through the port chock, the boat will be pulled so that the port side is facing the wind and seas. This also means that all the force is directed onto that one chock and cleat. 

When tied, there are two tails, meaning two snubber lines! The lines can be set equally so that the resulting pull is even and the boat faces the weather bow on. This also reduces the force on each snubber line by half, as the load is now shared between both lines. 

On a final note, snubbers should be made of Three Stand Nylon, not double braid nylon. Double braid is not as elastic as three stand, and in a situation where elasticity is desired, choosing the least elastic option would be silly.  

My snubber is 3/4 inch three strand nylon tied with a magnus hitch and secured with both bow cleats, forming a bridle to the chain rode. This may seem like overkill, but it holds us through all sorts of weather and is easy to untie when we are ready to leave.  

Until then, we know our ground tackle is well set. 

Waking up in Harness Creek

After a long day of sailing, we made it to Harness Creek. This quiet creek lies around 3 miles up a river that is scattered with shoals and erratic winds. You might ask yourself why we would struggle so much to get here when there are plenty of other creeks on the Chesapeake Bay that are far more accessible. 

Once you experience the peace and tranquility of this creek, you will be willing to struggle and push to make it to this creek! Not a whisper of wind disturbed the waters in this creek, transforming this anchorage into a dream world.

As wonderful as this creek is, it is also a wonderful launching pad to further adventures and journeys.

How to Spot a Cruising Boat

When you see different boats in an anchorage, how do you know which one is a liveaboard cruiser? 

By the amount of junk on their deck!

When your whole world is in the boat, your deck tends to accumulate items that are needed but are too large to fit inside.

Our deck at anchor holds:

Sails
Sculling Oar
Hammock
Anchors
Fenders
Sofas
Gangplank
and Spare Lines

The sails are located on their stays, flaked and rolled up on the foredeck.
The hammock is strung between the mast and inner-forestay.
The fenders are deployed for friends that are coming to raft up. 
The gangplank lives on the port side-deck.
The sofas are positioned in their most comfortable locations.
And the lines are coiled and stowed on the davit arms.

All together, Wisdom looks a bit different from the weekend coastal cruisers that come out for the afternoon. 

While all this gear may seem like it clutters the deck, it does make for a comfy living situation! While underway these items are all secured and put away, but when anchored for a few days in a quiet and relaxing creek, they seem to pile up into a comfy home afloat.

Getting Off a Shoal

We decided to leave Oxford, Maryland at 7am, during peak high tide so we could ride the current out of the small creek we were anchored in. 

The plan was to raise the anchor when the current stopped flooding and drift out of the creek as the tide began to ebb. This small, narrow creek experiences a 2 foot tidal variance between high and low tide. Such a strong tide also produces a very strong current! The forecast for the day called for "no wind" until 10am, when it would then build to 2-3kn of wind. We figured that we would drift along with the current for the first few hours of the day, and once the wind came along, we would begin sailing! 

We went to sleep with our alarm set for 6am to give us plenty of time to ready the boat in the morning to raise anchor. When the morning came, there was a very strong wind blowing right up the creek! We decided to wait on raising the anchor until the wind either lessened or changed direction.

At 730, it changed from a headwind to a cross wind on the narrow creek. This would allow us to sail out of the creek on a beam reach while still riding the current that was flowing with considerable force.

I was working alone since Maddie woke up with a fever and was not in any condition to help with setting the sails or raising the anchor. I began by raising the mainsail a little bit, then pulling the rode. As we reached the anchor at the end of the rode, the boat began to sway side to side as the bow and sail fought against the wind. I waited until we were pointed on the tack that would take us out of the creek before un-setting the anchor. 

We were aiming the right way so I quickly cranked on the windlass to raise the anchor off the bottom. We were on our way with a partially raised mainsail, taking us along on a beam reach! Just then a puff of wind hit the main and turned the unbalanced boat into the wind, sending us right onto a shoal! 

The tide was going out, so I knew the longer we waited, the harder it would be to get us off the shoal and into deeper water. I explained the situation and Maddie came out to give me a hand with getting off the shoal. I got in Tooth and set the transom of the dinghy under the anchor of Wisdom. Maddie lowered the anchor into Tooth, along with 100 feet of chain. 

I proceeded to row towards deeper water with the anchor, letting the chain fall out of Tooth as I went. By having the chain in Tooth, I was able to row away from Wisdom with more ease. The alternative of taking the anchor away while letting chain out of the sailboat would be much to difficult. The weight of the chain will bog you down and not let you row very far from the ship. I do keep a foot on the chain to avoid it from siphoning out the side. I steadily control how much chain goes out on each stroke to make sure the anchor is set as far away from the boat as conveniently possible.

Once I get to the end of the rode, I drop the anchor over the side of the dinghy and row back to the sailboat. Once on board, I begin cranking on the windlass to drag the boat over to the anchor. At first, the chain came in easily; once the chain was drawn tight, I needed to switch over to the low speed winch. The boat slowly pulled forward as the chain was brought in one link at a time. Once the keel was off the shoal, the chain went slack and the boat was easy to pull up to the anchor. 

Maddie offered to stand at the helm this time to avoid a repeat of what had just transpired. The anchor came up, the main was raised, and Maddie took the helm to get us going. Once I was back to the cockpit, Maddie returned to the bed where she proceeded to sleep the fever away.

With Maddie's help, we were able to get off the shoal in under 10 minutes. I know she was not feeling well, which makes me appreciate her help in these tense moments all the more! If you run aground, consider using a kedge anchor to get you free instead of calling a tow boat. By the time they get to you, the tide can be out, leaving you in a much more difficult situation. Acting fast with a kedge anchor will get your boat free before the situation can worsen.