Anchoring & snubber lines

We like to anchor out. It is usually quiet and peaceful, not to mention there are no slip fees.  I thought I would take a moment for our non boater friends and explain some of the practical issues.

 A beautiful sunset on Little Shark River explains in more than words why anchoring is so appealing.

When we drop our anchor we usually put out a large amount of scope (length of the line) and in our case, we only use chain. The general rule of thumb is 5 to 7 times the depth of water. In 10 ft then it would be typically 50 to 70 ft of scope/chain. We like to put out 110 to 120 ft of scope/chain. This helps in several ways, first it adds weight that helps hold the anchor and, if for some reason the anchor comes loose, it will help the flutes (curved sides of the anchor) dig back in. For example when we anchored in Bull Creek, Ga., there was a 5 ft tidal range, a 2-3 kt current and 25 knot winds and we held great. We think of it as extra protection.

When we drop the anchor our habit is to gently back up until the chain  becomes taut, thereby allowing the anchor to dig in.

Once the anchor is set we set an anchor watch. Here is a screen shot of what it looks like.  We set a radius around the boat (the faint dotted larger circle you see) at a certain distance using our chart plotter; if the boat goes outside of this circle an alarm sounds letting us know the anchor has come loose and we are dragging. In this case you can see how the boat swung on a radius around the anchor, changing with the wind and tides. This was our anchorage at Little Shark River, Fla.  The boat swung well inside the radius and so an alarm never sounded.

We also use a snubber line which you can see here. The anchor is attached to a chain and then to the windlass and has no elasticity in it.  As the boat moves around in the wind and tide, it can form stresses on the whole anchor system. A snubber is a line attached to the chain and boat which takes the stress and shock of the movement off the windlass and makes it both more efficient, quieter and reduces jerky movements. The line acts as a shock absorber. You can see in these two pictures the snubber line and slack chain coming off the boat. Later that day as the wind calmed down the snubber line was less taut as the pull declined.

There are many other factors to consider such as the composition of the bottom and how well a certain type of anchor will hold. The many types of anchors for different conditions as well as the physical circumstances of wind, wave and current are also considerations.

 On the more glamorous side of things, here is Jeannie spraying the chain and anchor after we hauled it up and got underway.
You can see that the bottom of Little Shark River was muddy and smelly. It's a tough job but someone has to do it.

When we were thinking about which way to go south through the Keys our first choice was Hawks Channel. This is the preferred route for most vessels our size and draft. It is a route that travels the western boarder of the Keys on one end and a coral reef on the eastern side. This tends to smooth out the waves from the ocean and eastern winds. You are off the coast by several miles,  it is an easy but not particularly inspiring trip. There are few areas to stop but it is more direct. Our goal was to go to Marathon which is the middle Keys and the heart of a big winter boating community.

The other route is the ICW from Miami south inside with the Keys to the west. It is typically traveled by smaller vessels and shallow drafts. Friends of ours, both professional captains and who have extensive experience in this area, suggested to us one night at dinner that we should really consider the inside route. The trip would be much more interesting and scenic with interesting places to stay and areas to poke around. We would need to be mindful of our speed as not to squat the stern so we should look to go about 7kts or less vs our usual 8.5-9 kts. After some thought (maybe a few min) we decided to go for it. Our first stop was a very memorable Boca Chita.

So with this decision made and all the seriousness required we headed down the skinny waterside. Jeannie and Joanie fully on board and prepared for the challenges that will arise.

Here Captain Dieter is helping us navigate down the waterway

Boca Chita Key

If there is a wow this is on the list. Boca Chita Key (http://www.nps.gov/bisc/planyourvisit/bocachita.htm )  is absolutely wonderful. It is south in Biscayne Bay and is a national park. It is accessible only by boat and at low tide has a 4.5 foot depth at the entrance. Inside the basin there is more than 8',so we had to time our entry to a high tide.  There are no hookups for water or power. You must pack your trash out. There is only a part time ranger there during the daytime  They charge a small fee using an honor system.

While the Miami city skyline was visible on the horizon....we felt remote and removed from the big city; a small piece of what was old Florida, only softly touched by human hands.

Joan & Dieter, good friends, joined us on the trip from Miami to Naples, such delightful people energetic and full of life. Great to have them on board while we shared this special moment.

Seabright looking good sitting in the basin, I am sure if boats could smile there would be one there on the bow in approval.

As we walked around the island there were incredible sights. This piece of drift wood reminded us of a howling wolf. I am sure we heard him during the night?

Such fascinating sights as this sponge shaped as a bowl, seems like an artist's touch.

 

The mangroves were remarkable for their beautiful arrangements. Very tropical. The waters reminded us of the south pacific islands.

 

Here the small and delicate flowers were thinking it was early spring after the recent chilliness.

Some shelling of course and great views. Be sure to check out our track on the SPOT link above or by clicking here http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0YbgAe68AMPZoLxpBHQYaVI86IlerZvb3

 

 

The Miami Boat Show

If the size of the crowd was any indication, this was a successful show. The crowds were out and about  looking at the many boats and having a good time. The weather was sunny but a bit on the chilly side.  By chilly, it was a high in the 68 degree range. The locals told us how cold and unusual the weather has been.

Outer Reef was showing our boat along with Filene, a 63 Outer Reef. There were, at times, a wait to get on board. All in all a pleasant crowd.

For a few days it was a bit windy. On one day the forecast was for 20 kts with gusts to 30+. We were surrounded by high rise buildings so the wind was not quite as strong.

This fellow, a green heron, stayed perched on a piling just off our starboard bow. If you look closely his eyes are closed. When people came near he would hop to the bow line away from them and move to the top of the piling once they were gone.  We enjoyed his company.

This interesting fellow named his boat Mental Floss and was in the brokerage show. That is the same name as John Tullner's  (Jeannie's brother) boat. Very clever. From time to time we all need a bit of mental floss.  Hi Johnny and Eileen!

We did not stay on the boat for much of the show, rather we went to the convention center and the broker show on Collins Ave. We walked around quite a bit enjoying the sights. We came across this unique car. You can rent them and there is a programmed audio tour and built in GPS. It runs on a moped motor. Quite an interesting way to see the town.  

We are headed to the Keys next......

On to Miami and the Boat Show.

After traveling outbound on the New River we waited in the large commercial turning basin for Filene. She is an OR 63 that was also going to Miami and the Boat Show. Jeff Druek , the President of Outer Reef was captaining her with mate Robert and we were planning on traveling together. We had originally planned an outside run but changed at the last moment due to high winds and 6' seas on the nose. Just not in the mood to slog through a building gale on the outside so we decided to travel down the ICW: a nice, but bridge laden route with troublesome shoals especially near Haulover Inlet. Apparently there have been a number of groundings where the inlet and the ICW intersect. Jeff, who has local knowledge of the area, had us hug the greens as we traversed this section of the ICW.  Both Seatow and TowBoat US have boats stationed here to pull the unwary boaters off the sandy shoal.  They make a good living but fortunately we were going to hit it on a rising high tide so were happy and confident about it and made it through without incident.

After starting down the ICW just south of the Port Everglades turning basin was this cargo area. This was where Seabright was off loaded after arriving from Taiwan in June 2009. The boat was lifted by the gantry crane off the cargo ship and directly into the water. From there it was driven to Marina Bay for commissioning.

We found three waterside bars & restaurants under construction as we went down the ICW. This was urban living along the waterway. With so much construction it says something about the local economy.

We saw this boat, dingy and many Pelicans and felt so sorry for the owner who will have one heck of a clean up after this group used his boat as their home.

It is funny to see the many Billy's along the waterway. Our son should open a restaurant. This was right up along the ICW.

We have gone under so many bridges as to have lost count., but  sometimes the structures are interesting, unique and have character. We admired this one with a friendly bridge tender to boot!

 

 It is always amazing for us to cruise down the waterway next to a highway and so close to homes. After so much open water and broad expanses these types of scenes never fail to surprise us.

 

 

 

Brother can you spare $200m(+inflation)

We went past Octopus in Port Everglades the other day on our trip to Miami. For a private yacht this thing was really, really huge. We thought at first it was a cruise ship it was so big.

In Port Everglades/Ft Lauderdale an area known for mega yachts, Octopus puts them all to shame. When built in 2003 it was, at that time, the largest private yacht. Now,sadly (sic) it is the 3rd largest. Oh the shame the owner must feel to have been outdone in the matter of a few years. I guess the 2 submarines and 2 helicopters will have to salve the soul.

This beastie is home to almost 70 crew members and has an estimated annual operating budget of $20m.

To read more here is a link that will both fascinate and illuminate, http://seafever.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/megayacht-octopus.pdf   enjoy.

New River & the Wiggles

Our destination was Marina Bay which is up New River and the trip mileagewise was not bad. We had groused about the need to go to Ft. Lauderdale which is busy, crowded and expensive. But in the end it was a very very productive stop over. One of the challenges is traveling up New River. For the Captains who run this river all the time it is not an issue, and maybe humorous, when they watch those of us (me) who do not travel these waters often.
The New River is like  interstate traffic on a country two lane highway. It is small and twisting with the turns and sections having names like tarpon bend, the wiggles and little Florida. Boats line the waterway and boats are going up and down ranging from small dingys to megayachts under tow. On top of this is the Jungle Queen (JQ), a large 4 deck tour boat that runs this waterway. Throw into this interesting mix a strong current and half a dozen bridges and this is white knuckle boating.

The bridges are as interesting and challenging as any we have seen. This is the Davie Blvd bridge and as you can see turns slightly to the port with little room for holding still. It can be a difficult area when the current is "ripping". Coming outbound yesterday we waiting for about 10 min. with 4 boats including the JQ behind us. We twisted and turned forward and aft to stay in tight alignment and away from everything. The last bridge is a large span across interstate 95 and rail above and through. For a total of 6 spans. There is a 45 degree narrow turn underneath the bridge which is the only bridge we have seen like this.

New River also has some fascinating homes that line the waterway. Everything from fabulous estates found in Little Fla to high rise condos & hotels to ramshackle homes about ready to fall down, all within a short distance of each other. So much humanity in such a small place. Also dotting the waterway are marinas of every stripe and color and some gi-normous boat yards that cater to the mega yacht crowd. Here we are a humble small boat and we are happy about it.

There are real characters along the way and we found this to be a one of a kind.  I wish I could've stopped for a haircut but it just didn't work out.

Off the waterway are many numerous channels with homes and boats closely packed.










While at Marina Bay we had a most productive time with the never ending list of projects. Of note we had some warranty work done small things but necessary. Also we installed a linkpro battery monitor by Xantrex  http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/274/p/1/pt/7/product.asp
This helps us with both battery health and charging rates and status. We also had  a screen enclosure fabricated and installed for the aft deck made of textaline. This will helps keep the bugs out and make this area a bit more private and livable in the warmer months. We took on fuel for what seemed like at good deal $$ wise and did a handful of chores on our own. While we grumbled about having to go here we had a most productive stay.