Jeff: How about joining us on one of our trips. We visit the Mobjack Bay rivers and occasionally go north to Deltaville or beyond.
As for the anchor. I use a small Danforth which has seen a lot of use over the years. It is very reliable and always sets in the Chesapeake mud. If you put the engine in reverse and can't drag it then it is set! I must admit I don't even set an alarm on the gps when I anchor. Just go to bed. It would have to be a huge storm to move us. And then my backup anchor (you do have a second anchor, right) is a 22 lb Danforth, which is big enough for a 40 ft boat. The crab pots don't belong to the home owners. They are regular crab pots put there by commercial fishermen. The crabman had left a nice gap for me to get back into my slip when I came home. So I didn't have to do the weave as I pulled in. We had planned to go to Cape Charles and then to the East River but got away late so decided to go to the North River and then the East River. The sailing was great. Good wind but man was it hot packing up the boat Monday afternoon. Mark Tamblyn -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jeffery L. Sheler Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 4:12 PM To: [email protected] Subject: catalina27-talk: Memorial Day Weekend What a perfect sailing weekend on the southern Chesapeake! Beautiful weather, placid harbor on Sarah's Creek off the York, nice breezes coming and going. Now, if only I could get the hang of anchoring... Saturday night, the wife and I dropped hook just off the point entering the northeast branch of Sarah's Creek, a picturesque spot directly across from the York River Yacht Basin. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and grilled some steaks and had a leisurely evening, turning in around 11 p.m. About midnight the breeze picked up out of the southwest, and about an hour later my wife peeked outside and announced we'd drifted a hundred yards or so. We fired up the engine and moved ahead near our original anchorage and dropped the hook. Unbeknownst to me at the time, when we drifted backward we had snagged a crab pot. They were everywhere. It's almost as if the waterfront homeowners deliberately and strategically place them in front of their property to discourage itinerant mariners from blocking their view. Anyway, it became beknownst when I put the engine in reverse to set the anchor and the engine shuddered and conked out. It was a sickening sound. I put it into neutral and it immediately restarted, but it died as soon as I engaged reverse. I knew then what had happened, but at 1 or 2 a.m., I wasn't about to go undersea diving, so we settled back to bed. After sun-up I went under and cut the line that had wrapped itself tightly around the blades and shaft. (Note to self: Keep a swim mask or goggles on board for such adventures in the future.) Now, at this point, any seasoned sailor worth his salt would have known to reset the anchor properly, now that use of reverse had been restored. Not me. We enjoyed a beautiful day at anchor, did some reading, took a cooling dip just off the stern, explored the creek with our dinghy, had dinner at the marina and again settled in for what we hoped would be a more restful night. The wife turned in early, having been deprived of a good night's rest the previous night. Just to be safe (I thought), I stood watch, waiting for the night breezes to kick in just to be sure the anchor would hold. A couple of scotches and a clear moonlit night made it a most enjoyable watch. The breezes arrived again around midnight. It was not as stiff as the night before, but enough to bring the anchor rode taut. Satisfied and sleepy, I went below and immediately fell asleep. A half hour later my wife jostled me awake. Again we had drifted and now were perilously close to another anchored vessel. It took me a few moments to orient myself and begin to ponder our next move. My wife was a step ahead of me. "Start the engine," she ordered. "We're moving to the marina!" And so we did. We took the first empty slip we could find and tied up, and settled in for a secure and restful sleep. Did I mention I'm something of a newbie when it comes to anchoring? This was my first attempt with this boat. I had done it a few times with my previous boat back in the 1980s and I thought I knew the drill: Drop anchor (it's a Danforth), let the anchor and chain settle in, back up until the anchor sets, put out more rode to keep the line as flat as possible. When I got home, I revisited the manuals. What I had failed to do was to stay in reverse long enough to actually bring the boat to a stop. If properly set, the boat should spring forward slightly when you shift from reverse to neutral. I had just put it into reverse, backed for a couple of seconds, and considered the anchor set. Lesson learned. So our weekend was a bit more of an adventure than we were planning for, but enjoyable nonetheless. Now we're looking forward to our next anchorage and a shot at redeeming ourselves. Jeff Sheler s/v Windsome C27TR #6594 Hampton, VA
