To the Mooring?

[Ian McColgin]

I've been ready to sail out for four days now except that we've had southerly winds and I can't get off the dock.

No engine and all.

This morning was looking ok - light northwesterly - but now it's pouring, a bit of thunder and chilly with me fighting a cold. So here I sit . . .

[T.A.R.]

hang in there Ian it's supposed to be No. most the weekend.

[mattb]

I no nothing about your boat, but in the past I have dropped an anchor well to windward and warped off the pier. I guess it depends on how bad you want to go

[Ian McColgin]

The wind is good today. I have kedged out from some docks, but my spot in the Hyannis Inner Harbor is really tight. A southerly makes it at least very difficult to tack out past Hyannis Marine and later to tack past Dunbar Point. An easterly makes getting past Fish Hills rough.

Plus it's a busy harbor and the ferrys get a bit frantic is stuck behind me.

A 20 ton 3 masted 5 sails vessel is not like tacking a little boat. Under sail to keep weigh on I really like to have a turning radius of 200'. I can put her back and forth more or less in situ by backing the mizzen but then I'm not getting weigh on and she just slides from side to side.

Fell into that problem tacking in last year. The channel past Dunbar is maybe 200' wide. I entered the channel with a good bit of speed but by my 5th short tack, we were pretty stalled. I gained no weigh through the water and my tacking was really simply to keep control, not make sternway due to the wind, and stay within the channel while the tide carried me in.

Anyhow, the rain's letting up and I'm off to see what's what.

Midday update - Aground at the slip. Either that or the bottom growth is worse than usual. It's half tide, so this really shows how the two steamships are creating a dramatic shoaling in here. Taking a break for the tide to rise a bit.

[ 04-23-2004, 12:40 PM: Message edited by: Ian McColgin ]

[gert]

whats warping?

[Meerkat]

Just curious Ian, but don't you weigh the anchor and then fall off until you've gathered way? (I'm not trying to correct your use of weigh - I'm curious to know if it is correct usage?)

[Hwyl]

Originally posted by gert:
whats warping?Generally pulling the boat with ropes to get it in a better position, but usually and in this case: Taking the anchor out (usually in a dinghy, dropping it and then pulling in the anchor rope (warp) until you've pulled yourself into a position where the boat can proceed under it's own power.

[Donn]

AKA "kedging"

[Ian McColgin]

Well, I didn't get off. By the time all felt right the time needed to get there and all would put me too late to pick up Mary Ellen at the bus. So tomorrow AM. Maybe I can get some snaps.

I may be misspelling the two uses of weigh - Weighing anchor has little to do with determining its mass and getting under weigh - way?? as spelled more often now but there's good authority for getting under weigh . . . One would surly write that after 'getting under weigh," one is then "making way."

Remember, I am also Commodore of WIMPP (World Institute of Maritime Perfectionism and Persnickitiness) -- except in matters of spelling.

So, did some warping. I was at the inside (north side) of the second finger in. The fingers point east and the main dock runs north and south along the west side of the fingers.

First goal was to get Grana around to the south west corner of the dock so's I can (tomorrow, assuming the wind holds northerly) sail off.

I laid a nice long line around from the corner past a boat on the outer finger, across the water to my finger and to Grana - outside everything.

With the nice northeasterly breeze it was a snap to just shove her out and let the wind and the warp turn her. A little guidance and she arced around and nestled into the place I had in mind for her. SInce I had the bow and stern lines hanging ready at the rail, it was easy to secure her just as she lost momentum and before the wind could give her more ideas. Total trip was about 500'.

Tomorrow's plan is to dangle her off the corner of the pier while I get the mizzen, foresail, and forestaysail up. Maybe main, we'll see. Jib later.

I'll have a nice doubled spring so when ready I can back the staysail a bit, drop the bow line and once she means it about pivoting off the wind on the spring, up goes the jib and off we go.

Maybe.

Breaking out the anchor under sail is something I like to do very easily. The gear is so heavy and I am so lazy. So I go at it from a semi-heave-to. Jib down, staysail backed, foresail a tad free and mizzen flat. In that orientation she'll just hover after I have the anchor up and down and hover on while I get it up, cleaning the chain and all. Give me time to sip my coffee as I wander back to the cockpit.

Remember, she's a 20 ton boat. Not like you create momentum reeling in the hook. Which with a hundred feet of chain out is a lot to drag back aboard.

She can be broken out on the fly - it's fun even - but that takes a nice strong crew with really hard hands and nerves of steel. We did it once from Plymouth harbor when a strong wind had the breakwall just 50' to leeward of us and any errors would have been bad.

Kedging is pulling forward by anchor, either because you're aground or because it's a flat calm and that's the way to get going. Since I often sail alone or with a short crew, and since I have one chain rode and one nylon rode rigged up in the bow, I usually kedge by taking out the anchor on the nylon about 300', drop that, pull up ot it and drop the all chain hook just to hold while rowing out again.

These are big boat tricks. In some ways it is very satisfying to have the engine busted and have a good excuse to show off. I am also on with friends about overdependency on motors so I really have to, from time to time, reestablish my chops.

[ 04-23-2004, 04:36 PM: Message edited by: Ian McColgin ]

[Donn]

I think when it refers to motion of the vessel, it's way...under way, making way, etc..

I think kedging and warping are the same thing, and neither imply moving forward. They're just named for different items. Warp, for the line you haul yourself around with, and kedge for the keg that was used to mark the location of the anchor. Either can be done by hauling the boat toward the fixed object, be it an anchor or a tree, in any direction.

[Hwyl]

In the books I've read the "kedge" is a small anchor especially for kedging. Generally there is no such animal because these days the best anchor for the job is "the best anchor for the job" and even a 65 pounder will fit in a dinghy. I guess the only time I've dealt with such a thing was when I ran Defiance (Aage Nielsen Murray Peterson "coaster") which had the fisherman type anchors "catted" they must have been more than a 100 lbs.Thnk goodness for an electric windlass If I had to warp (don't tell anyone) I'd use a 22lb Danforth so I guess then technically it was a "kedge", but in any other guise it would be a 22lb Danforth.

I'm not however disagreeing with Donn, kedging and warping are the same if an anchor is involved.

Good luck with Rana tomorrow (I can be there in about 3 hours)

[ 04-23-2004, 05:42 PM: Message edited by: Hwyl ]

[John B]

3 hours... wish I could say that .on second thoughts thats 6 hrs round trip only an hour or so on the boat... hmmm she and Ian deserves more time than that eh.
have fun. I'm on Iorangi again today with both a pre and post war skipper plus one other post war crew.

[ 04-23-2004, 06:54 PM: Message edited by: John B ]

[Lulworth]

Because what Ian is talking about is so much more impressive if you have a picture in your mind of the boat, I offer the following picture of a local Marco Polo:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid113/p7e97bd2a2fb8432f4fb7103b4fe693b3/f8e661fc.jpg

Three masts, lots of mass, and no engine. Impressive.

David.

[Stu Fyfe]

You really need to see the area Ian's in to appreciate how difficult this is. He's got the Nantucket Ferry and dock to his west. There's not much room in that corner of Hyannis Inner Harbor. What's up with the engine Ian? I thought you had some power in there. If you really get stuck tomorrow, give me a call.

[Ian McColgin]

So yesterday morning just after I made my congrats to Stu, down went the forum. Here’s the report of Saturday’s going home.

Ah, the Deutz. I ain't no monkey wrench sailor! It’s from 1942. But I'll get around to it.

Anyway, how it actually went.

For a view of the inner harbor hit:

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=11&x=984&y=11528&z=19&w=2

If this transfers right, the inner harbor is at the lower right. If you look up along the east side past the many docks of Hyannis Marine you come to the little "Hospital Cove" and my dock is just across. You'll see the four fingers pointing east.

So, about 0900 I set Grana back as planned and was just raising the mizzen when the wind backed to a westerly. I had time to strike the mizzen and warp Grana back in place along the west side of the main dock - bow still pointed north - before she wrapped around a motor boat occupying the south face of the dock.

Think.

About that time a friend called and offered help. So, we stretched a line from the dock across to the "public" dock next to the ferry and twitched Grana's bow out to point her into the wind there. There was a good 4’ from my bowsprit to the rail of the fire boat and maybe 3’ from my boomkin to my home dock. I sometimes wonder how I go in there and turn around when the engine is running.

Started getting sails ready again but then it fell dead flat followed by a further backing to southwesterly. At this point I felt that I might not gather weigh rapidly enough to keep from making leeway into Hyannis Marine. So we set Grana back on the dock, but now with the bow pointed south, and Mary Ellen and I repaired for a luxurious brunch.

Nice place overlooking the other side of the harbor now owned by one of Mary Ellen's HS pals. Back in the 60's when Mary Ellen was a kid she worked the place in the summer. At the time it was run by Greeks who had an illegal game going in the upstairs – imagine the innocent child of a local gorcery store owner blundering into that one Sunday morning, especially since her Dad at that moment had a bad hand - but that's a whole'nuther tale.

In the midst of brunch my pal Ray, whom I'd helped put on dolphins for the OB on his inflatable, happened by urging great day for a sail, we'll fire up the inflatable and tow Grana to a place to hoist and on and on.

Plan.

By 1300 we'd run around from Englewood in the inflatable. Those dolphins really do work and the little rubber bubble actually planed smoothly with two of us big guys aboard. This dink has the air keel so the bottom did not burble with changing water pressure as much as an unsupported bottom, but it’s still a pretty weird feel.

By the time we got to Grana, the wind was back northerly. We just shoved her off with a line around the bow and to the starboard forespring cleat. Out we drifted, spun on her nose, and ready to set the sails. Up go mizzen and fore and I was just getting the forestaysail up when I saw that we'd got on the port tack, foresail sheet was not running freely, and we were set to spear the motor boat on the end. Ray got out on the bowsprit but I was able to get the brakes on (backed foresail) in time.

As we shifted to starboard tack I got the forestaysail up and backed it while Ray walked the bow line aft hanging on hard. That pivoted us nicely. But it took all of Ray’s strength to hang on long enough that we’d clear the outermost dolphin on the ferry dock. Looked a little close there. Don’t know why snubbing the line on the cleat right there didn’t occur . . . All’s well as ends well.

When alone I have the bow line and a stern line separate so I can do this part without walking and without muscle.

And off we went.

Glorious sail out with the wind gradually building to maybe 15 kt. We fooled around a little. Shot the mooring on the second try. Hay, last year I missed six times before I had the feel back.

We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon on the mooring. One more friend came by on his kayak and the tour boats put us back in their rap. Mother Ocean had her obligatory first taste before I issued a ration of the Highland’s Finest to all hands.

So there we are, pride of Hyannis Port and first boat back on her hook.

[Ian McColgin]

I was going to edit to add a bit but something was going wrong. Anyway, if you click to that arial photo, the ferry dock was not built at the time. If you can follow the road down to the water, coming in a tad west of the dock going out with the 4 fingers, the current ferry dock goes from about that distance again to the west. It's about 90' from dock to dock.

[ahp]

When I kept a boat in the Five Mile River, Rowayton, CT, a fellow sailor had a Yankee One Design, about 30 LOA with no engine of any kind. The distance to the Sound was about one mile, The channel was narrow, with boats moored bow and stern on either side, and the wind was usually dead ahead.

There usually a bunch of outboard powered urchins hanging around. If you slipped one a two or three dollars they would tow you to mouth of the river. The Coast Guard wasn't looking.

[NormMessinger]

Where in the aerial photo does Grana lie now?

[ 04-30-2004, 12:51 PM: Message edited by: NormMessinger ]

[rbgarr]

Unless I'm mistaken, GRANA lies 2km SW of her winter dock just to the NE of this breakwater which shelters (and actually forms) Hyannisport Harbor. The Kennedy 'compound' is located at the landward end of the breakwater.

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image. aspx?t=1&s=11&x=980&y=11522&z=19&w=2 (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=11&x=980&y=11522&z=19&w=2)

[ 04-30-2004, 03:19 PM: Message edited by: rbgarr ]

[Lulworth]

Those satellite images really put it all into persepective. So how far do you (Ian) row to go ashore? It looks like about a mile of potentially pretty rough water unless you visit the Kennedys on the way. Do I recall correctly that Ian commutes to Boston or some such far off place while living aboard? A row must make a delightful start to the day but whoa, that's a commute! Anyway, I stand in awe!

David.

[Ian McColgin]

No longer commuting, happily retired. Fooling with boats and living simply for a bit.

It is about a mile. If you start at the shore edge of the breakwater and look northerly you'll see that there is a house with a pier right where the road take a sharp turn. That's Sam Barbor's studio and house and I keep the dink and dory there.

It can be a real work out. Hence my constant carping on how to feather an oar.

Seadog Magic

Chatham amused itself by sending the fog
Rolling out with the tide on a southeast wind.
Just fifty oar strokes extinguished shore lights.
I rowed up the wind dodging thickly moored boats
And found Grana in that blackest night
Because she called to me in silent love.

Well, mysticism is fulfilled materialism and sea dog tricks.
To know ahead while rowing I crane side to side,
Glancing through the corner sight that works at night,
Listening to the slap and tickle of waves on hulls,
Smelling each wood or glass or metal odor,
And feeling Leeward dance on waves refracted.

The fog occludes the trivialities of sight
To liberate each sense with magical delight.

[ 04-30-2004, 06:27 PM: Message edited by: Ian McColgin ]

[Alan D. Hyde]

"The fog occludes the trivialities of sight" is a good line, Ian.

Well said.

And as true as it is piquant.

Alan