Sailor Sam's, a marine products store, sent me an email thanking me for my recent order. I did not order anything, however; once I opened the email, it was obvious that Dave was the big spender.
He'd bought an anchor. For the record, we already have five anchors. When I asked him why we needed another anchor he dodged the question with the statement, "I bought us
Peace of Mind, because we need THAT."
An anchor can be, and often is, a lifeline. Dave tells me he's had more than one bad experience with anchors not setting or holding during big changing wind. I asked for an example. He shared an experience he had aboard our 23 foot Coronado, Keewatin, while he was sailing north of Captiva Island in Florida. He was running ahead of a thunderstorm and sought refuge in a gunkhole. As he rounded a blind corner to enter the anchorage, he realized that four boats were already inside. There was no room for him. He was forced to anchor immediately, while still in high wind and couldn't get the CQR plow anchor to bite into the hard sand. Keewatin was slowly being driven into the other boats. Eventually, Dave was able to throw a Danforth over the stern. That held long enough for him to get the plow anchor to bite. He added a third anchor and kept the engine idling just in case he needed it to power against the wind. He sat there for two hours stressed over the uncertainty of those anchors holding in the intense conditions. The experience made a huge impression on him.
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| Plow Anchor |
How many anchors are too many? Generally, boats carry two anchors; a smaller, lighter version that is meant for short, daytime anchoring and a main anchor, or storm anchor meant to hold fast overnight or in inclement weather.
Mystic came with two 25 pound plow anchors. One is a true CQR, built by Lewmar. The other is a 25 pound knockoff of the CQR. Both are marginal in size to hold a fully loaded 35 foot boat weighing 16,000+ pounds when fitted for cruising.
So, even though we are a little anchor heavy, I'm glad that the 45 pound Mantus arrived safely with Peace of Mind and free shipping. It was delivered today in a battered box. I felt sorry for the delivery guy who had to schlep that thing up a dozen stairs to get it to our door. I'm pretty sure there was swearing involved.
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| Mantus Anchor |
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| Mystic's Windlass |
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| Side view of Mystic's bowsprit and windlass |
2 comments:
LOL, Beth. You should know by now that Dave never buys anything randomly! I cannot remember when he did not research a planned purchase carefully, checking for price, quality, and practicality. You were doomed in questioning the anchor purchase. :-) Love you both!
I wasn't actually questioning the purchase; I was asking for the story that led to the purchase. It's like a dance, where I get to follow his thought process and learn from his moves and reasoning. I've lived with Dave long enough to know that he does all the leg work before he commits. I like that about him!
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