Well, the windlass broke. The good news is, we got our anchor down and are stuck in the ground here. The bad news is, we are here until the new windlass arrives (from California - what else - I guess it is good it isn’t coming from New Zealand) and is installed. We tried to get parts and repair the old one, but it was just too old, the parts don’t exist anymore, and that wouldn’t cost enough money!!! So, we’ll support the economy of Connecticut for awhile. Did some windlass research at the Essex library where they have internet access - again - a terrific amenity in the towns we have visited. Having gotten that squared away, we treated ourselves to dinner Tuesday night in the famous old Griswold Inn. It was surprisingly good!
On Wednesday, we went kayaking - needed the exercise after all the emotional trauma of the windlass. And boy, did we go - for 3 hours in the 90+ degree heat, we explored the Connecticut River and Selden Creek. The latter was recommended to us as a hurricane hole should the need arise. Hurricane Bill is churning in the Atlantic and we still don’t know if it will come this way. JUST IN CASE, we are preparing ourselves and the boat. Of course, when/if it comes, we have no way to lift the 88 lb. anchor and 100 ft. of chain so that we can get ourselves to safe ground. But we met some people who said they would help. Let’s hope Bill just goes away.
For us land-lovers who don't know what a windlass is, I did a quick search on the Internet.
ReplyDelete"Windlasses are sometimes used on boats to raise the anchor as an alternative to a vertical capstan"
(ref: wikipedia.org)