Monday, May 29, 2017

my love, in gaelic


The light fog lifted this morning to reveal the stoutly built "a RÚN," a Kaiser built boat meant for blue water sailing.  Sliding across Craford Bay I was photographing her when I noticed the owner was behind the dodger photographing me.  I rounded up to speak to say hello.  Her homeport told me she was headed to Philadelphia, the man aboard said he and his wife/spouse/partner (not sure which) were coming back from six months in the Bahamas.  How nice.  I asked him about the cutter's name: a RÚN.  It is a gaelic term of endearment - "my love."  In fact next year they will be sailing a RÚN to Ireland.  I wished them a good and safe journey.


I had Spartina on the Elizabeth River for three days, each day providing variations on weather.  Saturday was sunny and comfortable, but with shifting winds.  No complaints, it was a pleasant sail made enjoyable by the lack of summer heat and humidity. 


Sunday was overcast but with steadier winds.  The oldest daughter, a builder and original crew member of Spartina was on board, as was later in the morning the Pilgrim.  A touch of light rain that disappeared quickly, it was fun to have a crew on board.


Today was fog and low clouds giving way to blue skies and puffy white clouds.  Steadier wind in the morning then dropping off in the afternoon, a nice day to sit back against the coaming and nudge the tiller with my knee.


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I also tried out for the first time my new five pound Manson Supreme plow-style anchor.  With just five feet of chain the anchor quickly buried itself in the mud/sand bottom of Craford Bay.  It will do even better when I use the anchor and chain with a five pound mushroom anchor as a sentinel for overnight anchorages.  The only reason I was able to buy the $150+ anchor was a tip from Kevin M who sent a note to several sailing friends about a clearance on Manson anchors - my five pounder costing $30 plus $10 shipping, not a bad deal at all.  

When I ordered the new anchor I did not know at the time how badly I needed new ground tackle.   I mean you can't wear out an anchor, can you?  Switching the chain from the old to new anchor on Friday I looked inside the old ten pound navy style anchor to see that the pin that holds the flukes to the shaft had corroded/worn down to the point to where it was less than 1/32 of an inch wide.  Wow.  I needed a new anchor.  Thanks, Kevin.





6 comments:

JimB said...

Was that a Kaiser Gale Force? It looked bigger in your photo than 34'. Any idea of the length?

Steve said...

I can only guess that it is a Gale Force. According to the info that I find 34' 8" is the biggest boat they made. steve

recyclethis said...

My wife and I are new to sailing and purchased a 14-foot O'Day Javelin about a year ago. I Came across your amazing blog while researching opportunities to "sail camp" along the Potomac River from Pohick Bay to the Washington Sailing marina, just north of Old Town Alexandria. We're avid back-country hikers and I've been drawn to the idea of camping on the water since we started sailing. Thank you for the wonderful posts, it makes our idea seem not so far fetched.

I'd love to hear any suggestions you may for someone getting started or suggested resources.

Steve said...

If you are hikers/campers then you are already ahead of the game. I would look at the Everglades Challenge web site. They do expedition style racing which involves more endurance than camper cruising but a lot of the gear they use is perfect for camper cruising. Also take a look at Small Craft Advisor. Maybe think about visiting the small craft festival in St. Michaels in October, lots of camper cruisers there. Good luck. steve

Amos said...

Thanks for that tip on the anchor; I ordered one.

Steve said...

It's a great deal. All credit to KMac. steve