Posted by jlambert3@canada.com on February 18, 2003 at -1:00:48 from 24.84.34.215 user John.
In Reply to: Re: Anchoring posted by Laurence Monkhouse on February 17, 2003 at 13:16:25:
Laurence,
Agree with you completely about sail. From the point of view of the Coast Guard, rescue services, etc., however, sail is not the thing. They would rather have a sailor with a handy engine to get him out of tight spots rather than depend on the fickle wind and the tide to drift him free of snadbars and so on. At least in my part of the world, the wind is fickle and there are plenty of sandbars waiting for the unwary sailor whose engine will not start.
I remember one particularly horrible day when we were at the entrance to English Bay (Vancouver)in a calm. We had sailed out to meet the U.S. Coast Guard training ship "America" coming on a good will trip to Vancouver. We spied her in the distance bearing down upon us. Her sails were furled and she must have been hitting about 25 knots. She was accompanied by three naval escort vessels. Since my mainsail was flopping about doing nothing I decided I had better motor out of there. My outboard would not start. I cranked and cranked, while my crew made nervous sounds. Suddenly a huge amplified voice roared out over the water: "Get out of the way there! We're coming through. Start your engine and get out of the way!" Couldn't the silly fool see I was doing my best? Well, it didn't start and the "America" roared past, her rails decorated with middies grinning or scowling down at us. We were left in her rocking wake and the silence descended upon us. Engines are useful sometimes, especially when they work. Some good will trip.
John