My very life was often in the hands of this 8 pound piece of metal. I spent many sleepless nights hoping I could depend on it. Sometimes it would appear to fail, but it never did.
…..When I boated a lot on Lake Superior, mostly in the Apostle Islands and Isle Royale, anchoring out was the only way you could stay on the Islands overnight, there were very few docks. We'd take week long trips and there were no "safe" places to be. I rigged up alarms to detect anchor dragging but with wind shifts it was unreliable.
My boat was not big, but my main anchor was rated for a 36 foot boat and my backup anchor was rated for a 24 foot boat, and I usually used them both. I didn’t feel they were any too large. They held fast (usually) thru some violent weather and big waves. It's hard to visualize how powerful and violent huge waves can be. I still have and use those anchors and I look at them with great respect. Someday I may frame one and hang it on the wall.
"Everyone needs a good anchor to depend on" - Bert . . . . . . The anchors are "Benson" Danforth type anchors, cast alloy... a great anchor.
Here’s an example - Lucky rescue, 16 foot waves, 85mph winds.
"Superior, they say, never gives up her dead, when the winds of November come early..."**
ReplyDeleteYep, I think I'd hang one on either side of my fireplace.
**from the song The Wreck of The Edmond Fitzgerald
Ye olde Danforth style lightweight anchor. It is suprising that a light weight anchor like that could hold so much. I have never seen one with such artistic flukes, though. I presume someone else other than Danforth made it?
ReplyDeleteSheesh ... I missed the last line ...
ReplyDeleteCould it be the cold or the darkness that causes our strange idea of fun , in this area .
ReplyDeleteBamBam - Hmm, Yes, I think they'd look good on the fireplace.
ReplyDeleteDusty - It's the only cast anchor I've ever seen.. but it's a good one. Yes it is amazing, just 8 pounds holding thousands of pounds. It wasn't always easy to find sand bottoms... rocky or stoney sometimes... couldn't always tell what was down there.
ranky - Those trips had their bad moments, but always worth it.. so beautiful.
I always did enjoy your great lakes stories. Yes ... one day frame them like you would a knife collection. It would be cool.
ReplyDeleteMoon - So many stories... I've forgotten so many of them. I probably will frame them someday. They are kind of like a "friend" to me.
ReplyDeleteI've anchored an 18' sailboat offshore some of the small islands down in the Florida Keys a dozen or so times. The anchor was always just as important as the sails. Sometimes we'd anchor offshore for the night, or just anchor during the day so we could swim to an island or play with the dolphins. Charts and a good spoter on the bow were very important, waters could run shallow, lots of sandbars, and lots of coral rock to look out for. It's fun to boat between the Florida coast and the small Key islands, because it's a relatively safe haven. But I would always get a little antsy once past the outer Key islands, when we'd get into the fathoms deep international shipping lanes. Fun times! I miss sailing.
ReplyDeleterecon - Sounds great sailing off the keys... I've never done that...not even anyplace warm. I wish there had been GPS back then. That was another concern, it was often foggy or with poor visibility and the compass spun in circles in large waves and was no help. It's amazing, but we always got to where we intended.
ReplyDeleteI'm readin ALOT of metaphors here.....
ReplyDeleteLover - WHAAAaaaaaaT - who me? Did you ever see my chainsaw blog?
ReplyDeletehttp://bertthemensachicken.multiply.com/journal/item/192/060628_Male_Bonding
Nupe.....should I peek?
ReplyDeleteLover - Well, you gotta be in the right frame of mind (a bit warped maybe?).
ReplyDeleteI"m plannin to get a bit warped soon. I'll just wait until then.
ReplyDeletelover - have another drink for me too (I don't think you drink, do you?, I don't).
ReplyDeleteMy chair broke... my 1974 Mustang computer chair. Tomorrow I have to weld it back together... there is no other chair that will do. I'm sitting on a plastic chair and It's awful. I've tried all sorts of other office chairs but I keep going back to my very comfortable 1974 Mustang chair. It has seat belts too.
I have always wanted to see the Great Lakes.
ReplyDeleteI have only boated on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The others are boring (except the cities and canals). Lake Superior is the ultimate boating experience. An extreme challenge boaters and boats of all sizes. The scenery is outstanding. It feels like you've traveled back in time several hundred years, very primitive. Everything is natural and wild. It's just you against the sea, you're usually all alone. The water is so crystal clear and pure and just above freezing year round (except maybe in shallow bays and then only the top 2 feet). I love Lake Superior.
ReplyDelete