Hello Bob!
Sunday June 04 1995, Bob Hirschfeld writes to Robert Sminkey:
 BH> delivery of a MacGregor 26, which will primarily be used in the
I wish I had the time right now to get out on the water and the cash to pick 
up a boat of at least that size   My wife made my buy a new house 
instead :-(
 BH> rocky (boulder-strewn, in some instances). The region has the ninth
 BH> highest tides in the world (23 feet difference between low and high at
 BH> full moon). That would make overnight anchoring an interesting problem.
Where I grew up and learned all that I know about boats we had peak 32' 
spring tides (Darwin, on Australia's north coast), although 27-28' was more 
like the usual most days.  I believe that it's number three on the all time 
tide list, after whatevr the bay in Canada is and Broome, also in Oz.
Sailing in those sort of conditions has some interesting problems, not least 
of which is the one you mention with anchoring.  In many areas there are 
extensive mud flats, in a trailable you'd anchor at high tide, let the tide 
go out and you'd settle on the bottom, if you tried the same on a beach you 
could wake up and find yourself quarter of a mile from the water :-)  Not a 
problem if you timed it right for an overnight stay though.  Fixed keel boats 
had more problems, they would have to stand off a considerable distance at 
low tide or tie up at a dock, of which there are very few.  For this reason 
rubber duckies sold well anongst most local yachties.  In recent years 
marinas have been built with a lock at the entrance to allow a constant depth 
inside.  The local yacht club, of which my father was Commodore, used the 
tide range to their advanage - they got hold of a pile driver and had four 
large telegraph poles driven into the beach just below high water.  The idea 
is you tie alongside them at high tide, let the keel settle onto the bottom 
and then you'd have about 4-5 hours to work on the hull.  Cheaper than a slip 
and the poles are still there some 25 years later.
Once or twice I've heard of a visiting yachtsman who would tie up at the 
local dock, not realise/not believe that the tide was about to drop 30 odd 
feet and moor allowing only his/her usual amount of slack.  They would come 
back to find their boat against the side of the dock suspended by the mooring 
lines well clear of the water.  I personally think these stories are 
appocrophyl, but they sound great :-)
The area saw a lot of fighting in WWII and there are a large number of 
Australian and US wrecks even in the harbour itself, Darwin was attacked 
repeatedly by the Japanese and the first attack rivaled that on Pearl Harbour 
in it's execution, results and lack of preparedness on the part of allies. 
There were amazing similarities even down to the fact that approaching 
Japanese airplanes were mistaken for friendly fighters due that day.  There 
is some good diving to be had on many of them, although conditions are 
difficult.  Because Port Darwin is long and narrow and has a 28-32' foot 
tidal range currents are very strong, up to 6-7 kts at their peak.  This 
means that diving is limited to a short period of slack water at the top and 
bottom of the tide.  The mud bottoms everywhere mean that a lot of silt is 
picked up by the current and visibility is far lower than what one expects in 
tropical waters.  These currents can make even a short passage intersting, 
you have to make pretty generous allowances for the current when moving 
across it and at times it can be impossible to make way against it, 
particularly as you are in the horse lattitudes and the winds are often light 
to non-existant.  Charts of some areas were both hard to get, not fabulous in 
the detail they covered in places and often based on real old surveys (up to 
100 years in one notable case).  Large uncharted wrecks or coral heads were a 
constant worry.  However despite this cruising along the local coast was a 
joy, and trips to Indonesia were a regular feature of both our family's and 
yacht club's calendar.
 BH> So far, the fishing village where I'll be trailer-ramp-launching has
 BH> no private boat marina (an engineering feat, someday, because of the
 BH> tide magnitude).
Just check out that the ramp goes far enough out so that you still have 
decent hard standing under your car when you are launching/retreiving at low 
tide.  A marina is possible, see above.
 BH> I know I'll need lots of chain and anchor line to ride out the radical
 BH> height change every six hours,
It depends on how deep the water you'll be anchoring is.  If you intend 
anchoring in water that's already quite deep then the change is not that 
great (say 100' to 120')  It's anchoring in shallow water that will give you 
fun. Make sure it's not going to dry on you, particularly on rock.  If you 
have plenty of swinging room base your calculations on what the water under 
the keel will be at high tide and then just accept that the extra chain/line 
at low tide is a bonus, remembering that your swing radius is going to be a 
lot more at low tide.  If you don't have the room to swing at anchor in a 
wide arc then
consider a bow and stern line to hold your position, you then tend to move 
sideways, or at least in a sector rather than a circle.  This can get 
uncomfortable if the wind and current are against you.  If all else fails 
you'll be regularly resetting your lines to hold your position.  If that's 
overnight then it's a pain in the ass, but it's often the best way.  If the 
tide times are right and the beaches suitable careening on the shore is often 
a viable option.
Bye for now,
          Jackson
--- FMail/386 1.0g+
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