To all our Members: This newsletter is being sent to you via regular mail.It can also be found on our website (www.cooperriveryachtclub.org).We hope you like it and welcome your feedback as we strive to make the Cooper River Yacht Club one of your first choices as an organization where you can have fun, meet a lot of interesting people and learn more about the many boating activities in the Charleston area. Future editions will be posted directly on our website and mailed copies will still be available for those who desire this – please contact John Holmgren - secretary - JH@ZephyrEnterprises.com) if you have a preference for mailed copies.
The Scavenger Hunt was a great success as can be seen from Scott Bartley’s report and we raised approximately $150 thanks to all of you who were a part of this annual fun event. Your Board has agreed to donate this entire amount to help needy families at Thanksgiving via a local hospice. The hospice will assure us that the money is put to good use. To augment our donation we are asking all Members to bring canned goods to the October meeting at the Power Squadron on Saturday October 25th. Our goal is to make the Scavenger Hunt an annual event that makes a significant contribution to local needy families and we hope that you will join us in this endeavor.We plan on contacting all of our generous sponsors so that they will know that their donations are being used beneficially. Lauther and Priscilla Parker did a fantastic job with preparing the Low Country Boil – it was great.
The October meeting had to be moved to October 25th since our original date (October 18th) has been “taken” by the Cooper River Marina for their annual customer appreciation day. We felt that we had no choice since a lot of our Members will attend the CRM festivities. On the 25th our food theme will be pasta and whatever you want to go with it (desserts included) – be creative!
Another area for the October meeting is to develop a slate of officers for next year. Now that we have established the Power Squadron as our permanent “home” we no longer have to worry about the weather and the space provided is almost perfect for a group of our size.
The slate of officers will be voted on at our December meeting.If you are interested please contact me (bhill78110@aol.com) and I will explain how each position dovetails in with the rest. It’s a great experience!
We intend to “jazz up” our website to encourage return visits – in this era the internet has become so pervasive that this has of course become the main means of communication. In order to help us in this regard we welcome your comments since you are all of our “customers” and as the saying goes – the customer is always right! Please e-mail John Holmgren with your comments.
Thanks …….. Brian Hill - Commodore
Welcome to New Members
The following people have recently joined the CRYC:
Steve Ireland and his fiancée Angela
Steve is an avid sailor and has a 28ft Columbia “Straggler” anchored in the AshleyRiver. Steve and Angela are going to be married on November 1st.
Tom and Tina Agee
Tom and Tina have a 27ft Catalina “Blue Eyes” at the Cooper River Marina
Scott & Beth Bartley
Scott and Beth have a Macgregor 28 “QiQi Ambersam” which is stored at the Charleston Yacht Club. Scott organized the highly successful Scavenger Hunt a month ago – well done Scott.
Scavenger Hunt Questions / Feedback
Beth and Scott Bartley did a terrific job of organizing all aspects of the Scavenger Hunt.However, they ask for your opinion and feedback to help make next year’s event even more successful.Here they are.
Would you rather have the event take place in the spring at the start of the boating season or perhaps in the fall at the end of the season?
To have all of Saturday on the water, would you like to get the questions on Friday evening and return them Sunday afternoon?
Were the questions too hard, too easy or just about right?
Would you prefer more navigational and general boating rules questions or should they be only related to locating objects?
Do you have any other suggestions to make the event better and more fun?
Please direct your response to Beth and Scott.
Use of a Sentinel Anchor
"If you have reason to doubt that your main anchor is going to hold in a heavy blow, you can increase its holding power by sending a kellet or sentinel down the anchor line....reduced the maximum anchor load nearly 50 per cent"Piloting Seamanship and Small Boat Handling, Charles F. Chapman
Using a sentinel anchor weight is more effective than letting out more rope or chain when it blows. However, it is most important that you do not take any shortcuts when anchoring. You must anchor securely with the recommended size of anchor for your boat and let out the correct amount of rope or chain warp. Try this! Hold your fishing rod and reel by the tip end. This usually light piece of equipment is now quite heavy to lift up. It is simply a matter of leverage. On the recommended anchoring scope of 5:1, it takes a horizontal force of 147lb to lift a 30lb (13.6kg) weight off the seabed and 98lb to lift a 20lb (8kg) weight.
Why is it more effective? Rather than having chain spread across the seabed, this is a concentrated 20 or 30lb mass of weightand the forces on the boat have to overcome and lift it, before exerting any pressure on the anchor. This DOUBLES the holding power of the anchor and reduces the working load on the anchor by 50%.
Also, a sentinel anchor weight reduces the swinging circle by holding the chain into the mud or sand bottom and creates incredible drag resistance. When you let out extra rope or chain when it is blowing, you increase the swinging circle and this can lead to the anchor rolling out and dislodging.
Recognized anchoring expert Earl Hinz, says in "The Complete Book on Anchoring and Mooring" that the wind creates yawing (swinging) and swaying, the waves create pitching and heaving, and the anchor restraint is involved with surging. Surging of the boat sometimes as much as doubles the loads felt from the wind drag alone. A vessel snubs when her bow lifts to a sea and the chain is pulled taut with a jerk.
These actions all raise the anchor shank and give every reason for a skipper to question the integrity of the anchoring system and worry about dragging.
The secret to using an anchor weight is to have it off the seabed at all stages of the tide. It acts as a spring to absorb shock and dampen all the sudden actions on the boat and ground tackle that are normally transmitted through to the anchor and can be the reason it dislodges. The sentinel anchor weight reduces the risk of your boat anchor dragging. It:
Changes the angle of pull on the anchor to horizontal rather than vertical when it is blowing. This helps the anchor dig in - giving you extra security and peace of mind.
Acts as a spring and reduces the boat’s overall motion while anchored. It also reduces the snubbing each side of the swing in wind gusts and when the bow lifts to the sea and the chain is pulled taut with a jerk. This fore-aft see-saw motion sometimes felt in surge is normally transmitted through to the anchor and can cause it to dislodge. Life on board is also much more comfortable
It reduces the swing of the vessel considerably. This can cause the anchor to roll out and dislodge. This reduced swinging circle is especially beneficial in crowded bays and for high winded vessels. (Ben Hines, the owner of a 75 ton, 50ft, steel Cape Horn trawler says 'it reduces the swing by about 50%')
It keeps your rope or chain warp almost vertical and out of the way of other boats moving about in the bay, especially at night.
Why is it more effective? Rather than having chain spread across the seabed, this is a concentrated 20 or 30lb mass of weightand the forces on the boat have to overcome and lift it, before exerting any pressure on the anchor. This DOUBLES the holding power of the anchor and reduces the working load on the anchor by 50%.
Also, a sentinel anchor weight reduces the swinging circle by holding the chain into the mud or sand bottom and creates incredible drag resistance. When you let out extra rope or chain when it is blowing, you increase the swinging circle and this can lead to the anchor rolling out and dislodging.
Recognized anchoring expert Earl Hinz, says in "The Complete Book on Anchoring and Mooring" that the wind creates yawing (swinging) and swaying, the waves create pitching and heaving, and the anchor restraint is involved with surging. Surging of the boat sometimes as much as doubles the loads felt from the wind drag alone. A vessel snubs when her bow lifts to a sea and the chain is pulled taut with a jerk.
These actions all raise the anchor shank and give every reason for a skipper to question the integrity of the anchoring system and worry about dragging.
The secret to using an anchor weight is to have it off the seabed at all stages of the tide. It acts as a spring to absorb shock and dampen all the sudden actions on the boat and ground tackle that are normally transmitted through to the anchor and can be the reason it dislodges. The sentinel anchor weight reduces the risk of your boat anchor dragging. It:
Changes the angle of pull on the anchor to horizontal rather than vertical when it is blowing. This helps the anchor dig in - giving you extra security and peace of mind.
Acts as a spring and reduces the boat’s overall motion while anchored. It also reduces the snubbing each side of the swing in wind gusts and when the bow lifts to the sea and the chain is pulled taut with a jerk. This fore-aft see-saw motion sometimes felt in surge is normally transmitted through to the anchor and can cause it to dislodge. Life on board is also much more comfortable
It reduces the swing of the vessel considerably. This can cause the anchor to roll out and dislodge. This reduced swinging circle is especially beneficial in crowded bays and for high winded vessels. (Ben Hines, the owner of a 75 ton, 50ft, steel Cape Horn trawler says 'it reduces the swing by about 50%')
It keeps your rope or chain warp almost vertical and out of the way of other boats moving about in the bay, especially at night.
The alternativeswhen it is blowing hard and the anchor's holding power is in question... You can get in the dinghy and set two anchors and hope the wind does not change direction
or attach and lower your dive belt, a home-made lead weight, bucket of rocks or a heap of chain in a sack...
the principle is exactly the same. These methods all keep maximum chain on the seabed.But:
do you really want to be in the dinghy or on the bow using wrenches and shackles when it is blowing a gale and the boat is pitching and rolling?
should you really risk using your second anchor in case of further difficulties?
These weights can be twisted on or off in less than a minute.Speed is really important if you have to move the boat in a hurry.
