tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8173108274185173540.post6132723049954382908..comments2023-12-14T01:33:12.065-08:00Comments on The Fake's Progress: Ah, technologyMichael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514899759538419921noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8173108274185173540.post-42005694145337452902010-06-02T19:38:59.923-07:002010-06-02T19:38:59.923-07:00Hey Flak --
Actually the current *does* reverse ...Hey Flak -- <br /><br />Actually the current *does* reverse in my part of the Hudson, though the ebb is longer and stronger than the flood, of course. Particularly if it's been raining up in the Adirondacks, as it often does. <br /><br />The current reversal is how the mooring pennants get wrapped around each other and fouled on the mooring chain. <br /><br />Dragging an anchor is a nasty experience. It's happened to me once. Makes me feel a bit better to hear that it happens to the Navy, too.Michael Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514899759538419921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8173108274185173540.post-14000663540034280882010-05-29T03:47:20.200-07:002010-05-29T03:47:20.200-07:00At least the current always flows past your moori...At least the current always flows past your mooring in the same direction. This is not always the case. Back in '69-'70 we anchored Asheville (PG-84) in a tidal river, the Son Cua Lon. The current was swift most of the time but stopped completely with the tidal shift. Almost every night when the current reversed, the Asheville began to float down the river merrily dragging its anchor. Nothing ever scared me as much as strolling out to the stern with a flashlight and seeing the bank about 40 feet away and closing fast! A moonless night during the midwatch with practically the entire crew asleep. <br /><br />If you google map search "Năm Căn, Cà Mau, Vietnam" you will get a nice satellite image of the river. It is the blue line running through the label "Khanh Binh". You can see why the tidal shift kept us on our toes.<br /><br />The solution for us: a bigger anchor, something from a navy salvage yard about 6-8 times as heavy as our standard issue anchor. We used to transfer this behemoth to the gunboat that relieved us and get it back when our next turn arrived.<br /><br />http://brownwater-navy.com/vietnam/Seafloat.htm has a mislabeled picture of our river (Cau for Cua).<br /><br />I enjoyed your blog, Nasty Mike. See you around the SMBIVA comments. <br /><br />FlakAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com