BLUEMOMENT

......... when another yacht drags onto you at 1am? Is it acceptable to enquire of the ‘dragee’ which flavour of anchor is being used?

We anchored off the southern shore of Inchmoan during Saturday afternoon by dropping the chain on the run parallel to the shore from west to east and digging it in using reverse once the boat had swung round, joining one other yacht sheltering behind the big trees near the western corner.

During the evening, the gusts would sometimes veer such the wind came round the corner of the island so that we were blown parallel to the shore with the other yacht directly upwind of us.

Everything was quiet when we, the grandchildren, Joan, and I, went to our bunks but I was awoken by the racket of the demented budgie which has added to the noise of the VHF cable inside the mast in high winds ( BTW – how does the wind get inside the mast to cause the cable to rattle? Noise is probably worse inside than out.) I lay for a while listening, then thought that I heard a noise like an inflatable rubbing the hull, then I definitely heard the chain graunch.

Found my glasses and stuck my head out through the fore hatch to reassure myself but was shocked to see a transom just in front of the bow. By the time that I climbed out, she was starting to overlap with us so I started fending off whilst shouting for Joan to wake up and come out and help. We knocked and shouted till we got a response from the other single crew, then I held on to the other yacht whilst Joan dropped our fenders into place and fetched a line from a locker which I used to tie us bow to bow.

At the time I found it slightly incongruous that I in a tee shirt and knickers with Joan wearing a skimpy set of PJs were sorting things out whilst the other crew took the time to don oilies and lifejacket but with hindsight maybe he was right.

Luckily the wind backed again so that we were sheltered so got some clothes on but still no LJs or our engine started – the key wasn’t even close at hand. The other crew pulled in his anchor chain; it was the type where the link looks big in relation to the wire diameter so not very heavy.

After ensuring that he would be OK, I walked the other yacht to our stern and cast her off so that the crew could re-anchor. There still wasn’t any wind so I think that he had to dump the anchor and a pile of chain and use his outboard to stretch and set it.

The wind returned and I got up a few times to check the situation, I could just see a couple of Mobos which were beached upwind of us and the other yacht now well down wind of us. With daylight, the wind became constantly strong, and I eventually became fed up of the racket from the BM budgie at 06.30 and dropped it.

Both yachts were still in position at breakfast, though we then moved to a more sheltered position as the grandkids wanted to dinghy ashore.

This might have made a better story if I had more facts – I think that the other yacht was a 22’ Newbridge Venturer and the anchor was a small ‘plough style’.

Ash

I've not had much experience of nocturnal manouverings so I'm not really up on the vagaries of etiquette.

A couple of thoughts though:

I thought "whatever you went to bed in" was the correct attire, I would create a stir, LOL.

I'm fairly laid back and "merde happens" and it's best to sort it out rules in my book. If it's someone elses problem and I was freezing my nuts off scantily clad keeping things under control while the crew who were causing the problem took ages getting wrapped up warm I would think they were taking the Mick. A bottle of something as thanks would help make me feel better.

I'm a bit anal and leave the keys in the ignition when we are aboard, just in case.

I've just reread my post - and of course - I anchored off the northern shore.

My night attire at home would be a birthday suit but on the boat I dress for such eventualities!

The keys would normally be more accessible, though not in the switch. We had been ashore twice during the evening so the keys had been put away. If the grandkids hadn't been asleep in the saloon then Joan wouldn't have exited using the fore hatch.

At the time it didn't feel as though we were taken advantage of - it was only the next morning when Joan and I were discussing events that we thought of the difference. Joan thinks that we should have been more like him but she wouldn't have been able to hold on to the other boat when the wind was strong and without the fenders there would have been scratching at the very least. My first worry was that the other yacht would get stuck beam on across our bow.

If we hadn't caught her, the other yacht might have grounded / reset her anchor on the shoal patch. If she had missed that then she might just have caught the eastern end of the island and if she missed that then she would have gone a long way.

The other yacht was still anchored when we moved - we anchored in Osprey Bay but it was too windy for Joan and the gkids in the dinghy so we then anchored in the Haven within sight of the other yacht. Her skipper didn't call past when he left.

Before we left the Haven early Sunday afternoon, I put out a "Radio Check" call to Clyde Coast Guard - very pleased to get a "Received Loud and Clear"

Ash

Ash, I think the Vega was designed to funnel air down the mast to the bilge via the hollow compression post?
So the noise you hear is the price to pay for a sweet-smelling yot.

sahona wrote:Ash, I think the Vega was designed to funnel air down the mast to the bilge via the hollow compression post?

Almost - the theory is that the air in the mast heats up and rises and so creates a circulation. The Vega doesn't have a compression post - a supposed 'weakness'. The beam which supports the mast does have a hollow section, with little holes into the forecabin, which leads into the mast. The bit that I've never understood is where the air is supposed to escape.

The bit with the bilge - a fibreglass duct runs along the inside of the hull under the waterline - the supply of air runs from the aft vent through this duct and into the saloon - the air is cooled by the water.

Ash