BLUE GOOSE CHARTERS
Chesapeake Bay
Bareboat Diesel Trawler Yachts
Baltimore Harbor, Maryland

TAILS FROM MOTHER GOOSE

PROLOGUE. This section contains a potpourri of observations on various nautical related items and issues, as seen through the eyes of none other than Mother Goose, the owner of the Blue Goose Yacht Charter Service, along with his wife (and real boss) Alexis. The reader may even find some of the information to be useful. The exact meaning of the word, "tails", in this usage is not entirely clear, even to the author, but nevertheless, somehow seems appropriate.

ANCHORS AWEIGH. It goes without saying  that anchoring is a very basic and important aspect of successful trawlering. At first, this subject seems deceptively simple. On the other hand, there are several factors that seem complicated or at least confusing, like which anchor(s) to use, what kind of rode to employ, etc. Here again, one should seek refuge in the pages of CHAPMAN PILOTING. One could also review the "Anchor and Docking" section in the latest West Marine Master Catalog. In addition, the curious reader might take a look at what Mother Goose has to say on the subject elsewhere on this site, in the Discussion Section. See Anchoring Guidelines.

MERMAIDS. Mother Goose really likes mermaids. He even has a collection of them in the marina office. You will see them here and there throughout this web site, including at the bottom of each page. The latter  was designed by a very good friend of Mother Goose, during the early formative days of the site, and must, therefore, remain as a traditional item, regardless of the status of the ongoing web site upgrade. In fact, Mother Goose and the current webmaster got into it over the mermaid issue. He claims that there are no mermaids in the Bay, and, therefore, should not appear on this site. Well, what does he know? If you look at several of the old oyster can labels from Baltimore and the Bay, for example, you will see that mermaids have been very much a part of the Chesapeake tradition. So keep your eye out when you are on the Bay. Any photos submitted of real Chesapeake mermaids will be published, as appropriate, on this site. All of her important parts should be covered, sort of. Either single tail or split tail examples are acceptable. The mermaid below is, of course, a single tail version. The Starbucks Coffee logo is an example of a split tail mermaid.

SURVIVAL AT SEA. The other day, as I was paging through my World War II edition of "Safety for Seamen", published by the War Shipping Administration, two things came to my attention. The first was what to do after your ship sinks and you’re out there bobbing around in your raft. The publication advises "not to waste time heading for what you think might be a busy shipping lane. Head for the beach, and pick out something big to steer for, like a continent - something you can’t miss. Don’t waste time hunting for islands, unless they’re a great deal closer than the continent. Columbus found a continent with only a compass and not even a map." (Map?) Anyway, now you know why we won the war. The second interesting item was on the inside of the back cover, "As long as there are ships to sail, there will be men to sail them." Hmmm. Things sure have changed since then. Getting back to the boat sinking thing, nothing annoys Mother Goose more than when a client returns from a charter without his or her trawler.

CANADA GEESE. What follows is a minor point but one that Mother Goose considers especially important. It’s right up there with being able to tie a bowline, and sets you apart. Getting this right makes you appear to know what you’re doing out on the water, even when you don’t. Look! You know those big birds that you see flying all around the Bay, in the vee formations, honking and stuff, especially in the Fall? They’re called Canada Geese. That’s Canada, NOT Canadian. So please don’t call them Canadian Geese anymore. Let’s get it right. Thanks.

KNOTS. As you would probably agree, learning to tie knots properly is a very important part of boating. To me, when a client has a good handle on this skill, it is a sign of a good mariner. Four of the many little things that I always look for during a charter checkout are (1) how the clients fasten fenders to the vessel (and whether they call them fenders or bumpers), (2) how they tie a line to a cleat, (3) how they coil and hang dock lines aboard the vessel when getting underway, and (4) how they handle a dock line with an eye splice around a piling. It still astounds me when some individuals try their very best to get that pesky eye splice over the piling (darned if the eye isn’t too small!). Of course, all they have to do is run the standing part of the dock line through the eye, or as Mother Goose likes to refer to it, the becket, thus forming a running loop. It is then a simple matter to place the loop over the pile, with no fuss at all. We have found this to be the easiest and best way to secure a line to a piling, rather than trying to figure out how to tie the bitter end securely to the pole. Anyway, we should probably all know how to tie at least the following when aboard a trawler: bowline, cleat hitch, double sheet bend, and its principal variation, the double becket bend, clove hitch, half hitch, round turn with two half hitches, and figure (of) eight. My three personal favorites, after the basics, are the anchor bend (really a hitch), buntline hitch, and trucker’s hitch (what’s that doing aboard a trawler?). As much as you hear about the rolling hitch, I never seem to need it on the trawler, although all of the experienced sailboaters seem to know how to tie one. The buntline hitch is really very handy. Brian Toss, in "KNOTS" (Chapman’s Nautical Guides), refers to it as "a very old knot, but not widely known today." He terms it "the most generally useful hitch of all". I don’t disagree. You might want to try it. The knot is easy to tie and very secure. By no means is a complete working knowledge of the preceding knots a prerequisite to chartering with Blue Goose.

LITTLE TOOT. Thinking back, probably two of the more significant influences in my life that led me to get interested in the sea, the Navy, and, eventually, trawlers were (1) the much acclaimed television series from the fifties, "Victory at Sea", and (2) the childrens’ book, "Little Toot". With regard to the former, the magnificent Richard Rogers musical score, of course, has been available in audio format since the series was first on television. Now, one can acquire the entire series on video tape. We have seriously (well maybe not) considered a requirement that all BLUE GOOSE trawlers play musical excerpts from the score on the stereo/loud hailer upon entering or leaving home port. But, to the book ...do you remember Little Toot? Did little girls get to read this great book, too? Or, back in the "good old days", when we were programmed according to sex, did only little boys get to read it? Anyway, it was right up there on the old shelf next to "Mother Goose’s Nursery Rhymes", Grimm’s Fairy Tales", "The Little Engine That Could", "Aesop’s Fables", the "Baltimore Catechism" (which must explain why I ended up in Baltimore), and three extremely worn 78 rpm records, "Anchors Aweigh", "The William Tell Overture" (because of the Lone Ranger), and "A Little Bit of Heaven" (fell from out the sky one day...about Ireland, of course). I still can’t find my original copy of "Little Toot" (or the baseball cards - "Thanks, Mom!"). But never fear! The Putnam & Grosset Publishing Group now has three different versions out on the market. The most complete version, by Hardie Gramatky, originally published in 1939, has been reissued. It is probably THE copy to get for the children or grandchildren. The complete, unexpurgated version lists for $11.89, and comes in hard cover (www.amazon.com). The less expensive versions, of which there are at least two, are abridged or adapted from the original text. Incidentally, if anyone out there has an original edition that they want to part with or knows where I can get one, please let me know. "Little Toot" - my hero!

DEAD RECKONING. One of the many lies told to me as a kid by my teachers in the '40s was that EVERYONE on the entire planet during the days of Christopher Columbus, except him, of course, thought that the world was flat, as in, to sail over the edge. And, therefore, how brave and steadfast he must have been when he set out for the Orient in 1942! Are you still paying attention? Anyway, Surprise, Surprise! According to Robert H. Fuson (and others, of course), who has edited and published "The Log of Christopher Columbus", "No literate person in 1492 thought the world was flat; the Greeks had proved the sphericity of the earth long before Christ...The question under debate (during Columbus's day) was the size of the globe." Regardless, Fuson believes that Columbus could dead reckon better than anyone else afloat since St. Peter was a seaman apprentice. And, despite the fact that there were rudimentary celestial navigation techniques and instruments available to him, old Chris relied primarily on his compass, dead reckoning his way across the entire Atlantic Ocean. I personally think he hedged a little. He undoubtedly did what any of us would have done, and used some basic celestial nav, i.e. employing sunrise and sunset, to help establish east and west (Yes, that's Celestial Nav 101, Sports Fans.), but still, "Not bad, Chris!" Now put yourself in a trawler in the Middle Bay with all of the navigational aids and landmarks that exist. How hard can finding your way around really be? Mother Goose's favorite question from a prospective client is always, "And does the boat come equipped with LORAN or GPS?" Of related interest, GPS systems are available for all BLUE GOOSE clients wanting this capability.

TEAK TIP. Try white paint, glossy or semi-gloss, depending upon the condition of the adjacent gel coat. Some prefer Navy gray for teak decks, rub rails, and gunwale caps. Black is another option, but doesn’t seem to hold up as well to UV. Now, the preceding was a joke, sort of. If you paint your teak, shame on you. But, you have to do what you have to do. The bottom line is for all of us to figure out how to leave enough time to cruise safely and comfortably. Let’s face it. The appearance of the teak will not affect the performance of your trawler. Nice teak sure does look good, however. Regardless, there is no easy answer to teak and everyone has his or her own ideas regarding this subject. We use SEMCO on our trawlers because it lends itself to quick turn-around maintenance requirements and looks good. If we had the time, we would probably use an oil, like AMAZON, and cut it, as necessary, with TIP TOP. We would have to say, however, that the current consensus on the piers seems to be in favor of SIKKINS CETOL. Bottom Line - Mother Goose mostly favors the oiled finish look on trawlers, realizing full well the maintenance considerations associated therewith. BLUE GOOSE is not endorsing ANY product or technique, however. We know better. We are simply endorsing teak on trawlers. There is nothing cooler than spiffy looking teak on battleships, cruisers, or trawlers. Belay the holystones, however. That would be asking too much. Despite the foregoing, we have since painted all of our teak rub strakes primer gray to facilitate the charter turn-around process. This was a good idea, in our opinion, and looks fine.

DIVIDERS. Most seafaring readers of these pages have their own pair of favorite dividers. For those who don’t know, they are those little metal chop stick-like things used for measuring distances on a chart. Of course, they come as standard navigational equipment on all of the BLUE GOOSE trawlers. Anyway, what to do with them when not in use is a problem because of their sharp metal points. One of the first things Mother Goose was told, when he joined the Navy many years ago, was to purchase an extra plastic tooth brush holder, the kind that parts in the middle. He was then instructed to stuff both ends with toilet paper to protect the points (although he now uses foam rubber), and store his dividers inside. The combination works well and doesn’t take up much more room than the dividers themselves. Currently, he uses a red one for the dividers and a green one for well-sharpened navigation pencils. Maybe most readers already know this tip, but Mother Goose will bet that this old yet simple idea is new to someone out there.

REFERENCE MATERIAL. If all the clients that charter with BLUE GOOSE knew everything in CHAPMAN PILOTING, SEAMANSHIP and SMALL BOAT HANDLING, the pre-charter checkouts would last minutes instead of the normal three and a half hours. Anyone who is really interested in becoming a first rate "trawler driver" should possess a copy and read it cover to cover, skipping over the boring sailboat stuff, of course. It is absolutely the best single reference there is for what BLUE GOOSE clients do when they charter a diesel trawler. WEST MARINE is one good source for this publication. You can also link to www.amazon.com off the following illustration.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. You may not know all of the Blue Goose Standard Operating Procedures (BGSOPs). There is probably a very good reason for this. Rest easy, however, for Mother Goose will be referring to them from time to time in this section to help you out. Eventually, they will all be printed together in a separate section, that is, if we ever get our stuff together. Herewith SOP # 4: "IF THE DEPTH OF THE WATER IN WHICH YOU ARE OPERATING IS LESS THAN THE DRAFT OF YOUR TRAWLER, THEN YOU ARE AGROUND." Actually, most of you have probably encountered this rule elsewhere, like on a placard in West Marine. Anyway, we have incorporated it into our Operations Manual, which isn’t ready yet. Actually, this SOP really has to do with the relationship of your depth finder transducer(s) to both the bottom of the keel/skeg, and to the actual read-out device(s) at the helm(s). Specifically, does the display account for the location of the respective transducer? Do you know? Consider this. If the chart reads 6 feet, your depth finder reads 4 feet, your transducer is located 2 feet above the bottom of your keel, the wind has been blowing from the North/NorthWest steadily for about three days at around 25 knots, and your draft is 3 feet, how much water do you have under your keel? I don't know either.

LANDING. Generally, we have found that it is preferable to attach the eye splice end of a dock line to the pier and retain the bitter end aboard the trawler, when one is landing. This gives you better control of things and delegates very little to the dock hand. You can also double the line from the boat to the dock cleat, piling, or bollard, and back to the boat, which is especially useful if there is not a dock hand present during the landing. These two procedures are the way we normally instruct our clients, and it seems to work out well. One Old Salt, however, informs me that doubling a line around some of the older wooden pilings doesn't work out all the time because of wood splintering. I suspect that this would happen more often with double- braided line than with three-strand twisted line. The advantages of one type of line over another make for an excellent discussion, sort of like sailboats versus trawlers, single screw versus twin screw, three bladed prop or four bladed, etc. Whatever floats your boat. Let it be known, however, that Mother Goose prefers three bladed, single screw trawlers equipped with three-strand twisted 5/8 inch line.

DOCK VERSUS PIER. Do you know the difference between a dock and a pier? Are you certain? I thought I knew, but right now I’m no longer sure. In some dictionaries, the dock is the water in which the vessel is berthed, adjacent to the pier. The pier is the thing to which the vessel is attached. Check it out.

CONCLUSION. We hope that you have enjoyed reading this column. We will be adding items from time to time, so please feel free to revisit periodically. Thank you.

 

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For more information: Call 410-647-2583 / 1-800-874-6673 or Email mothergoose@bluegoosecharters.com

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Blue Goose Charters P.O. Box 433 Severn, MD 21144 410-647-2583 / 1-800-874-6673 mothergoose@bluegoosecharters.com © Blue Goose Enterprises Last Reviewed: June 17, 2002