Where has common sense gone?

[Maine Sail]

Last night we were anchored in a beautiful and idyllic Maine cove with only four other boats. Each boat had plenty of room to swing and there was room enough for at least eight or ten more boats. About 7:45 p.m. a very salty, but very ragged and rough looking Pearson Triton, hailing from MA, entered the cove and attempted to anchor.A little background is necessary here to help set the stage. First each boat in the harbor was oriented in a North / South direction with the bows heading North. Now anyone with common sense, being a boater is not a pre-requisite in this scenario, would assume a new boat to the harbor would set anchor, and back down in a bow North stern South direction. Correct?Well not this crew! We were down below reading, and having some wine, when I heard the first grunts of what sounded like an Atomic four with no hint of a muffler. I lifted my arse from the settee, and poked my head out, to see the comings a goings. I was just in time to see the guy on the bow drop the anchor no less than 15 or 20 feet off my bow! It was a rather benign and calm Maine night so instead of saying anything, or making a scene, about the guy dropping his Danforth knock off across my anchor rode, and within spiting distance, I just sat back with my glass of red wine and took in the show.For over forty minutes they would back the boat North, away from mine, in the opposite direction of the wind and current, and then stand on the bow, in amazement, as the boat slowly drifted back towards my boat, right where the wind and current wanted it. They would then fire up the motor, and back her North again, only to repeat this process over and over for a total of five times. To say the least it was a surreal situation!!!How is it that people like this are even on the water? How is it that in a cove with LOTS of room left they chose to drop anchor 15 feet off my bow and directly over my rode which is fortunately mostly chain so it was on the bottom? How is it that with three adults on board no one registered any sort of common sense, a light bulb went off, they had a epiphany or, gasp, noticed the direction of the other boats?Each year the quality of boaters gets worse and worse even here in Maine where fog, lobster pots, ledges and rocks are the norm. I hate to imagine what the rest of their trip will be like but it can't be a pretty picture.I don't actually know what happened to them because after close to an hour they finally gave up and motored off into the sunset possibly to torment another boater in another cove....Is it me or are more boaters more clueless today than even just a few years ago?????

 

[higgs]

It is not you

In the old days, we learned how to sail on day sailors with a center board. Then we moved up, incrementaly, to a 25 ft keel boat, which was a good sized boat back in the early 70s. We also learned how to maintain and fix our boats ourselves, without hiring the boat yard to do it for us. Things have definately changed.

 

[Rick9619]

Hey Maine Sail, take a look at general aviation

I got a VFR ticket so here I go. Kind of similar to I read Sail magazine. Lets go to Hawaii. Scary, as long as the big sky/ocean theory holds true.Cheers

 

[Ross]

First of all common sence is not as common

as you might wish. And next you must realize that you don't need to be smart to have money. And next you must admit that some people couldn't pour sand out of a boot if the instructions were printed on the heel. I have a friend who says that a sure sign of insanity is a person tha repeats endlessly a failed effort in hope of different results.

 

[Calif. Ted]

Avalon on Catalina Island has the easiest

mooring system in the world in an attempt to combat this lack of boating skill. All you have to do is STOP the boat at the pick-up stick, and yet it is an endless source of entertainment. Usual is for hubby at the wheel to approach at about 5 knots with wife on the bow, she makes a brave attempt to grab it as the boat flys by & the skipper goes into full reverse. It's only nervewracking if the mooring is next to you.

 

[Jenni]

mooring lines

Hehe all you have to do is put hubby out front with the boat hook to grab the mooring lines as you breeze by. I have almost been pulled off the boat by a good gust of wind when I was walking my mooring lines up to the front of the boat. When you are trying to hold on to those mooring lines you get a real respect for just how much mass and momentum these boats can build up.

 

[Alan]

Maine Sail

You are exactly correct. There are as many idiots in charge of boats as there are driving cars. Many with less seamanship skills than a toddler. I have no love of big brother sticking his nose in on my avocation but I am becoming a bigger fan of licensing skippers. Any fool can buy a boat and many do. Bare boat chartering requires a resume of your experiences and skills. Ownership should carry the same minimal standards.

 

[Jenni]

Pleasure craft licensing

Actually now in Canada you are supposed to have a pleasure craft operating license before you take a boat out on the water. Which I admit is a bit of a joke, but at least it ensures that you have some basic idea on what side of a buoy to put your boat and who has right away.  As to licenced skippers I just shudder to think of the federal government adding another layer of regulation on to boating. Renewable yearly with proof of emmisions testing and proper discharge permits.

 

[MoonSailer]

too many people

300 million and growing in the usa.In the old days there was no one around to see you screw up. Now everywhere you go there is already someone there. Everyone has to learn unfortunately the waterways are full of people. Don't worry in a few years those idiots will have some experience and they will be complaining. And every time we have a "problem" someone says let's pass a law!!!I do agree that more people are starting out with larger boats and their screwups have greater consequences. But a new law will instantly make all better...not!!

 

[Bavaria 38E Owner]

It makes for good happy hour...

entertainment. I was sitting nicely at anchor in a protected anchorage in about 10-15 kt of wind with my G&T and friends when a boat sailed up near, headed up into irons, then dropped the hook. As the boat fell off the wind it started sailing b/c the "sailors" had not yet dropped the mainsail or freed the main sheet. It sailed over its anchor, evidently catching the rode on its rudder, was brought up short, and as it began falling off again, the "sailors" for some reason freed the main sheet just in time for the sail to fill with a wind gust, allowing the boat to begin running downwind with the main fully out dragging the anchor by its rudder. Within a short time the boat sailed past a channel-marker buoy and fouled the trailing anchor on the buoy mooring chain; the boat stopped facing down wind with the mainsail still up in 15 kt of wind. They finally got the sail down, and made several breath-hold dives over the stern to assess the situation. We could see chain fouling the rudder from trying to raise the anchor, getting most of it up (but not the part hooked on the mooring chain!). They finally cut it free and motored off to somewhere else. The "funniest show" I've ever seen at anchor. I somehow don't think that a sailing license would have helped!!BEO

 

[KorculaChris]

Maine Sail, they obviously knew you...

for the experienced mariner you are. If you were anchored there, it must be a good spot, and you park cars in lines or rows, don't you? ;D Nothing in the book told them they had to point the same way as everyone else...and what are wind and current? My dad taught me as I was growing up and I'm doing the same thing with my daughter. So that as an adult, there are things you just know. I guess that skipper's (I hesitate to use the term)parent is to blame, and THAT fits right in with the current 'caregiver' mentality in society.Rant over. *x

 

[Scott B]

speaking of anchoring - Rocna report

Maine Sail, had our first real test last week with the Rocna anchor. Anchored out for a week. Although we didn't get any real high winds the anchor held without any dragging. Set it 4 different times and held well when I backed it down. Dug into very heavy seaweed, pulled up a 4-5 ft. diameter ball of seaweed when we were leaving. I set a Danforth off the stern to keep boaters from pushing the boat towards shore with their wake at the cottage we stayed at for a couple of days, and had to set it twice after dragging.One thing I did observe was the "dancing" the boat did at the end of the chain (50 ft.), I'll have to search some more to find ways to reduce this as well as the amount of wind it takes to start shifting the chain on the bottom.

 

[Tim R.]

Rocna

What size Rocna do you use Rodd? I would assume that would be a good choice for my girl. Tim R.

 

[Maine Sail]

Tim..

I'm using the 15kg or 33 pounder. The Manson Supreme is very similar but not as well constructed. I have 100% set on first try with my Manson and no drags but needed a bigger anchor with the new boat so I chose the real McCoy this time and not the knock off. I never did try setting the Manson at 2:1 but I know it does set on 3:1. The price of the Rocna's came down enough so that it was less pain full than when they were first introduced. I can loan you my Manson 25 to play around with so you can get a feel for how they set and hold. The 25 is actually border line for your boat but you would get a feel for the characteristics. Heck the Manson 25 has as much surface area as a 35 CQR, a 35 Delta or a 35 Spade so I don't understand why it's borderline but both Manson and Rocna are very conservative in their ratings. I have lots of anchors you can try Spades, Fortresses, CQR's just let me know and you can come pick one up any time..

 

[Tim R.]

Bruce

I am very happy with my Bruce. It has only broken free once at Jewell. We had 15 knots from the SW that turned to N at 15 knots some time in the night. The boat swung, the anchor broke free and reset with about 20 feet of drag. Came up the next morning full of mud. I think I was using about 5:1 scope. Like you, though, I am always looking for something better!Tim R.

 

[Maine Sail]

Before my...

Before my new generation anchors like my Spade, Manson and Rocna the Bruce was my most reliable anchor better than my Fortress, CQR and Delta. We once rode out 45 knots steady gusting to 55+ on a 10:1 scope and only dragged about 70 feet through the night. Of the seven boats anchored 5 dragged anchor and three of them wound up on the "hard". The Bruce is a reliable anchor but has limited holding power unless you have room for a lot of scope but it does set relatively well and re-set relatively well..

 

[oldiesrocker2001]

It's a shame..

It's a shame that common sense doesn't prevail when a sailor in particular needs a LOT of it just to get where they're going. The boating safety course (now required here in NJ) only covers anchoring techniques to a small degree, but even that small amount would have helped the crew you encountered. Surely he couldn't have thought everyone was anchored by the stern-dangerous in all but the most protected and slow current lakes....

 

[Bill Roosa]

Common sense vs responsability

Well I have resembled some of the folks talked about here.After reading Chapman's Piloting cover to cover we set out to relocate our 30' Catalina from Gangplank Marina in Wash DC to Bollies marina in the Middle River MD. When I told the whole story at the club meeting I had them wetting their pants with some of the antics. Even won the "Old Kedgers" trophy for best story that year. We clearly did not know what we where doing.Anchoring the first night in the Potomac just north of the Occoquin around 10:00 PM. We where motoring at about 3 knots in the channel. Not wanting to "back down" the anchor my "common sense" told me I could use the boats momentum to do the same thing. The wife was calling out depths and I was at the bow with the plow. I had correctly routed the rode under the bow pulpit and had calculated that when we get to 10' of depth we would be a proper distance from both the channel and the shore shoal. So going for a 5:1 scope I'd need to pay out 50' of rode, tie off the rode to the bow cleat and let the boat momentum set the anchor. Well the wife called out 10' depth, I told her to idle the engine and shift to neutral which she did smartly. I dropped the anchor and watched it stream aft. A couple of things went through my mind in rapid sequence, 1) sure hope that rode does not get fouled in the prop shaft or rudder, [note to self "back away from the anchor when setting it"] 2) am I standing in a loop of the rode and about to do the Popeye thing where the rode tightens around your ankle and drags you overboard? 3) If I reach down and try to stop that rode from paying out of the locker I'm going to get my fingers squished when they get to the cleat (which it was running through nicely BTW) [note to self "have the rode measured out and cleated off BEFORE you do it this way"] 4) I sure hope that the other end of the rode is actually attached to something solid in that anchor locker. Go ahead and laugh, I think it is pretty silly looking back on it. The 200' of rode payed out nicely and was attached to the boat at which time the boat did a rapid 180 and the anchor set. A successful anchoring with 20:1 scope!!! We found out the next morning that the spot we dropped anchor was a cable area (clearly marked on the map) and that the Potomac is still tidal in that area, but that is another story.I guess the take away is that all this stuff was obvious to me as it was happening but "common sense" did not help me anticipate it. I think this is one way to acquire common sense but not necessarily the best one.

 

[Cap'n Ron]

Humility Highroad

Bill, Sooooo refreshing to see some truthful humility and downright humerous andecdote for a change from all the 'SKIPPERS'...I call them owners.Bill, from your posts you are a very practical guy, and this stuff is not academic, but practical in a very real sense.Sure, there are a few pages of Chappies that are good, but the rest ( I grew up on this stuff, memorizing Chappies) is good for toilet paper! John Rossmanieres "Annapolis Book of Seamanship" is farrrrrr superior. Sure, John is talking from racing experience and racers are arrogant 'know-it-alls' but MAN can they sail?What!I have seen, and done many a 'anchor on the run' saved my ass in the ship moorage just outside of the throat entering Galveston Harbor one dark night with a failed engine too. That fancy stuff, overconfidence too is usually just trouble.I use to, oft stilldo too, anchor from the stern, then easily walk the rode up to the bow...now remember it need NOT be tight, and you have complete control of that, just stop the yacht and pay out scope. If you are singel handing a stern drop is best and stop the prop, but you can make sure it isn't fouled anyway.A 35 # CQR was good for me in all but the very worst conditions for many years in sand, rock, weeds and mucho coral.A danforth ( Fortress is a glorified danforth) is okay IF THE WIND AND CURRENT STAY IN THE SAME DIRECTION AND THE VESSEL DOES NOT CHANGE HER HEADING! in mud and sand, but

 

[cat38skip]

Common Sense !?!?!?!?

Where has common sense gone ????for the most part it was never there !!! Common Sense is a rare gift from the gods - most people barely have technical training !!!!