Getting the cat out of the box
Below is a photo of the mooring ball that our boat is secured to. With the wind blowing us away from it, the ball is currently out in front of the boat, just the way it was intended to be. Unfortunately, at periods of slack tide and no wind, that ball hides like a cat in a cardboard box, burying itself between our hulls. This, alone, is kind of annoying as the sound of it banging against the hulls is louder than you can likely imagine, especially when you are trying to sleep. It becomes more than an annoyance though because the pennant, the line that runs from the ball back to our boat, is so long that the ball actually reaches all the way back to where our engines are located. Having that hard plastic ball beating against our outboards is decidedly not cool!
At 4:00 AM this morning, Rebecca and I were both on deck trying to “get the cat out of the box.” For the record, it took a bit of work. Fortunately it was dark and no one else was awake on their boats to see this going on as I suspect that the sight of the two of us wrestling with the ball, sans clothing, might have looked a little amusing. No, there are no pics of this taking place (we hope)… you’ll just have to use your imagination, or not. 🙂
The view from our bow last evening. Spectacular!
Note: I have written on numerous occasions that we prefer to anchor as opposed to taking a mooring ball. This has not changed. Unfortunately, here in Nevis, we are not permitted anchor, or so I have read. We paid $20.00 US ($54.00 EC) to use a ball for a WEEK. That, at least, is better than the $30.00 US PER NIGHT they charge in the BVIs.
A simple way to shorten the line temporarily is to pull it in, then tie a butterfly loop in it. Just make the loop fairly big. It is very easy to do and it undoes relatively easily.
http://www.animatedknots.com/alpinebutterfly/index.php?Categ=boating&LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com
But you probably know that! 😉
Mike
Thanks. Yes, there are several ways to shorten it. We might have to do that if we stay on these balls.
We usually run our bridle lines directly to the mooring ball keeping them short enough so that the ball won’t hit the hulls. Seems as if their pennant is really long maybe relying on the scope to hold the mooring down?
We might end doing something similar.
What he said. I use 2 lines and tie the ball so short that it cannot reach the hulls. Annapolis in the summer is like that (no wind, can’t anchor).
We typically do as well, unless there is a pennant. Then we typically use it. Right now we are not using the pennant though and have attached directly to the ball.
That picture of the rainbow spanning Nevis is just absolutely amazing.
I thought so too!
thanks for the suggestion