Showing posts with label The. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Into the Bay
Very calm today, maybe 40 degrees and very gray with a thick overcast and light fog. Entering the main bay from the marsh, I spot twelve mature swans near the lunch counter (the NE corner). As I cross the bay, I spot one eagle (right) in one of their favorite perches, a stunted birch tree that grows out of a small island on the west side of the bay. The three immature swans swim across my bow from the NW corner of the bay. They take off when I'm about 60 yds away and fly low over a couple flocks of ducks that are in mid-bay. The ducks don't move an inch - ducks apparently can tell the difference between an eagle and a swan. Once on the N shore, I spot the other eagle in a common perch near the lunch counter. I run into C, an avid birdwatcher that I've talked with once before. She spotted over 170 bird species in the bay last year and has counted over 60 since the first of the year. Now I know how to differentiate between a redhead duck and a canvasback. I collect 1/3 canoe of foam and junk from the N shore, including 13 tennis balls. At least I have to get out of my canoe and walk drift logs to do it - I use to be able to collect that much right from the boat.. Once at my usual dump site, a coach-like guy invites me to dump the trash in his garbage cans. I just let it go that I've been doing it all along... but I appreciate the ok just the same. Neither eagle moved an inch during the two hours I was in the bay. Maybe they already ate.
Monday, 7 November 2016
The Black Crowned Night Heron
I head upriver from the feral cat park. There is a couple hours of ebb tide to go and I work against a stiff current, my eyes level with the high water mark on the reeds, which with the sun filtering through has a dizzying hypnotic effect.
I round the first bend in the bank and find a kingfisher to escort me upstream. When I get even with the first island, Fowler Island, I head across to it hoping for a little less current but instead finding out that I was just about to flush a small adult bald eagle, if I hadn't changed course. While I take a short break to eat an apple, the kingfisher hunts for fish.
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| Canada geese |
I hear distant honking of Canada geese. I find them some hundreds of feet overhead, a flock in v-formation, a flock of maybe 30. It has been a long time since I've seen the big vee's of geese in migration. My last home was more of a wintering/summering ground, but here I am in a flyway. Down here at the river level it is more a day for raptors. I catch distant sightings of hawks that I am not familiar with and shoot the best photos that I can so I can ID them later.
At the second island, whose name has been dropped from modern maps, but is labeled "Great Flat" on an old one, I paddle the east channel. But, soon I find that the east channel doesn't go through at this tide level, so I return. As I do, I spot a small mammal swimming toward me, and since mammals (and tracks and other signs) are one thing that I've noticed a shortage of, my curiosity is up. I have not seen this swimming beast before - it is not muskrat, beaver, otter or mink.
It swims straight for the canoe and turns out to be a squirrel. I get out of its way...it has no intention of turning, and it does not, and when it gets to shore, I watch it bound up into the brush. I once had a powerful dream about a squirrel in my canoe...it made the center of the boat glow.
As I paddle next to the shoreline I continue to catch a pleasant odor that I remember, but cannot place. It has a sweetness to it, but more. It takes a couple miles of paddling before I place it. It is fall leaves. For so long I have lived in a region that was dominated by evergreens. Here, by such an overwhelming number, the trees are deciduous and I had forgotten the smell of damp leaves as they turn red, yellow and orange - leaves that are still on the trees and not moldering.
The shore alters between silty sand, grasses and reeds, and grey bedrock with the layers tilted skyward.
Again, the distant honking of geese. By now it is a half dozen large vees that have passed over, all at high altitudes. I stop for lunch on the cobbled beach below a steep hillside and across the channel from Wooster's Island. I am at the base of Turkey Hill, the last place where the local Native Americans were granted a place to live - that was a long time ago.
I continue upriver another 45 minutes until I get to the point where I know that I will pay for the return trip with fatigue.
Nearly finished, I spot a shadow on a log overhanging the water. There is a second gray shadow as I near. Then, they come into focus.
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| Four juvenile black crowned night herons |
Thursday, 20 October 2016
Lizard Island to the top
Saturday 25 – Sunday 26 June.
Even sheltered in Watson’s Bay at Lizard Island we have been experiencing 15 to 25 knots of wind constantly so have left the anchor firmly dug in while we laze around, catch fish and get to know each other a bit more. Each morning and afternoon we tune in to Cairns Volunteer Marine Rescue for the latest weather up date. By now we feel like we are suspended in some sort of groundhog day joke as every broadcast has been identical, strong wind warning – 25 to 30 knots from Torres Straight to Cardwell for the foreseeable future with the additional reminder that wind gusts of up to 40% stronger could occur.
We actually have a deadline to get to Darwin because not only are we supposed to be there by July 9th to allow two clear weeks to arrange our visas and cruising permit with the Indonesian consulate, but also as Colin and Milin have arranged for a new forestay to be fitted in Darwin before we head into Asia. The forestay is 14mm stainless steel cable which not only holds the Genoa (front sail ) on but also holds the mast up so it’s a fairly important part of the boat. With three days already being lost sitting at Lizard Island we are all getting a bit anxious. We know every day at anchor probably means an extra night under sail on the way around the top.
During the course of Sunday afternoon two yachts and a two catamarans arrived from the south and told us that while the winds were strong they were fairly steady and they’d had no problems, hence the decision was made to up anchor first thing in the morning and head Nae Hassle north again.
Monday 27 – Wednesday 29 June
By 7am we had everything secured away and set just a reefed mainsail for the run back towards the mainland and up the coast. With 20 to 25 knots behind us we were quickly rocking and rolling along.
Because of the days lost at Lizard Island we have now put a line through overnight stops at a couple of anchorages on the way up the coast and are pushing on straight through to Mt Adolphous Island just north of the tip of Cape York, a trip of 340 nautical miles. The target is to reach it Wednesday afternoon for a night at anchor before leaving early the next morning. This will ensure we have a favourable tide for the run through Torres Straight where currents are really strong.
North of Cairns the Great Barrier Reef gets closer and closer to the coast. Not only do we weave in and out making our way around the masses of coral reefs but for most of the trip we share the main shipping channel with tankers, bulk carriers and container ships doing the same thing. During daylight hours you quickly realise A. How big they are and how insignificant they make even a 57 foot yacht like Nae Hassle feel, B. How fast they get from the horizon to right on you, C. How much you hope they are keeping as good a lookout as you are, and D. How easy it would be to do a Jessica Watson and get run over.
At night it’s plain scary at times. While we do all we can to skirt along the edges of the shipping lanes wherever we can, winds etc don’t always make this possible. Some ships will call you up on the radio to make sure you’re both aware of each other’s plans, others will make an ever so slight course change just to make their intentions clear while some will just steam on ahead, not answering any radio hails and showing no sign of whether they know you’re there or not. One large container ship passed us port to port about 80 metres away on one of Karen’s night watches. They probably knew we were there but you could never be sure. Forget the old power gives way to sail bit. We just do all we can to stay the hell out of the way.
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| The massive boulders of Cape Melville |
We pass by some amazing scenery with numerous small islands, what appears to us to be thousands of reefs and a coastline of contrasting lowlands and ranges. The boulders of Cape Melville in particular are a remarkable feature and we had the added drama of squalls passing through as we sailed by in the late afternoon which formed a dramatic backdrop to this Cape. Karen has definitely marked it down as an oil painting waiting to happen. Cape Melville and the hills to the south are comprised of massive, smooth granite boulders piled on top of each other. Our photographs don’t do the size of these huge marbles justice. Those who wish to climb the rocks are warned in the cruising guide that they are a lot bigger than first impression and of the large number of snakes that inhabit the area.
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| The mackerel keep coming. |
We’re continuing to keep the freezer topped up with fish. It certainly gets everyone excited when there’s a good one on the line. Our fellow crew guy, Marc, is a Londoner who had never seen fish as big as we’ve been getting let alone caught one. Karen on the other hand was raised with a filleting knife in her hand growing up in the Whitsundays. We caught a good size spotted mackeral not long after leaving Lizard Island (outside the habitat protection zone of course) but by late on the second day heading up the coast we’d had no luck. I was on the helm with Marc and Karen sitting in the cockpit. Karen decided to head below to get some sleep before her watch and was disappearing down the companion way when Marc commented to her “I was hoping we’d get a fish before you went to sleep so you could show me how to kill it.” At that point I looked behind the boat and said to Marc, “Well why don’t you just pull that one in.” Sure enough, a very good sized tuna had just taken the lure and Marc got his lesson in killing, bleeding, cleaning and turning a big fish into pan ready steaks. Henceforth he has been dubbed “Marc the be-header” by all on board.
Next afternoon we lost a metre long spainish mackerel trying to lift it onto the boat. We don’t have a gaff and had no hope of getting it in the landing net. Half an hour later Rob was pulling in another nice spotted mackerel when a shark decided to make it his dinner and only left us with the head. BUGGER!
After experiencing motoring with no wind to 30+ knots and everything in between we passed by the tip of Cape York and reached Mt Adolphous Island right on schedule at 5.30pm on Wednesday afternoon, just in time to get the anchor down in Blackwood Bay and settle in for sundowner drinks.
Sundowners are of course the obligatory refreshment taken while you sit back and enjoy the sunset. We have not been disappointed with the marvels of the setting sun. As Queenslanders we don’t get to see the sun set over water and the colours the sun turns the sky and water on her way down are mesmerizing .
On the subject of sundowners, we observe a strict no alcohol policy while underway but once the anchor is down or mooring ropes on, there’s nothing better than ending a day with great food, a couple of drinks and good conversation.
Lizard Island to Mt Adolphous Island -340.5 nautical miles – 59.16 hours – 5.75 knot average speed with reefed mainsail only – One tuna – Two Mackerel ( Two more got away)
Thursday, 25 August 2016
The BVIs are just SWELL!
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| St. John, USVI & part of the BVI's |
As we cruise back through the Virgin Islands this season, our goal is to visit anchorages we skipped last time. When we could find all around protection last year, we took it. This season, I'm hoping to be more adventurous. New friends are sharing their favorite spots and I'm keeping a list. However, in passing, someone mentioned, "We got caught in an anchorage with a ground swell and had to move in the middle of the night." How do we avoid that?!
So, I looked it up. According to the Scott's "Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands" (the bible for this area), certain anchorages should be avoided when the "ground sea is running." One example is Trunk Bay, St. John. OK, what is it and where is that forecast?
In the same book in the Virgin Weather section, they refer to ground swells. The same thing? Confusing. "During the winter months of November through April, any significant weather in the North Atlantic will product heavy swells along the entire north coast of the Virgins several days later. These ground swells have little effect on vessels under sail, but can turn a normally tranquil anchorage into pounding surf. Most anchorages exposed to the north are prone to this phenomenon--chose your anchorage accordingly." Hmmmm. More information please.
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| NOAA Swell forecast |
On our visit to the BVI's last year, friends warned us off of Cane Garden Bay and the north side of St. John during a "North swell". (Yep, the cruising guide confirms Cinnamon Bay is "untenable during northeast ground seas")! This led us to subscribe to the NOAA Wave Period/Swell Direction Forecast (or read all the way to the end of the Chris Parker forecast). North swell is also briefly discussed in Bruce Van Sant's weather section regarding the north coast of the Dominican Republic.
Further googling swell in the Virgin Island area revealed the terms "Atlantic swell" or references to "No swell". (Isn't there is always an ocean swell ie. Statia?! Apparently it means "No north swell").
All good wave research ultimately lands me on surfing websites. Who LOVES big waves? Surfers! And their wave forecasting is impressive. Apparently the north coast of Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are popular surf spots in the winter because of THE NORTH SWELL! Some info I found about "groundswell" (one word) from leading surfing meteorologist and Surfline.com forecaster Sean Collins about the difference between normal wind swell and groundswell (http://www.surfline.com/community/whoknows/whoknows.cfm?id=1144):
"Windswells are swells that are generated by local winds within a few hundred miles of the coast. As a result, the swell periods are short (four to 10 seconds between crests) and the waves tend to stack up on each other with very consistent sets. Also, a windswell's energy doesn't extend very deep -- maybe only 100 feet or so -- so it can only travel a few hundred miles before dissipating because most of the wave energy is concentrated closer to the ocean surface.
Groundswells are swells that are usually generated by winds much farther away. These swells are created by strong winds over long distances -- we refer to this distance as the "fetch" -- and over longer periods of time. As a result, more energy is transferred into the water during the generation of the waves, which create longer swell periods. Waves with longer swell periods can travel great distances without losing the swell energy like windswells do. Furthermore, swell energy in groundswells can also extend down to around 1,000 feet deep. This allows greater interaction with the ocean floor when the groundswells move into shallow water. For example, this process of refraction will allow groundswells to wrap into a spot -- up to 180 degrees or more -- while windswells wrap very little if at all." And this is why the ground seas running or north swell is so dangerous for sailors.
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| Van Sant, Passages South |
Summary: Take any groundswell/ground seas/north well SERIOUSLY. It's not just "windy and rolly". We sat out the last north swell tucked into Ensenada Honda, Culebra, Puerto Rico.
My final definition: Any significant low pressure system in the North Atlantic can create an ocean swell thousands of miles ahead of it. The strong winds over long distances (fetch) creates longer period swells of 10-20 sec+ period. These waves have more energy than a normal wind driven wave, extending down to 1000 ft deep. This can make unprotected northern anchorages in the Virgins not just rolly but "untenable" (unable to be occupied--calculating the scope required is precarious and picturing what it is doing to your anchor should also keep you up all night). It will produce strong rip currents ("no swimming" warning from the BVI during the last "Northerly"), and landing dinghies can be dangerous (ie. The Baths, Virgin Gorda). The swell may last for 3-4 days. And don't forget: swell may arrive the 1-2 days before the forecast wind shift! The waves travel ahead of the weather system!
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| NOAA Offshore Forecast |
On a side note: This relates back to a discussion about waves and swell in my previous weather blog (what-do-you-use-for-weather). Here is how a north swell can affect your forecast. Van Sant recommends always using the NOAA Offshore Report, but this season I've discovered the NOAA Coastal Water Report puts the "wind" wave and "swell" wave forecast next to each other, so it's easier to recognize a confused sea state. If you compare the swell to the normal wave forecast, you can more easily predict "washing machine" seas. Not comfortable, and slows us down. Example: EAST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS. SEAS 4 TO 6 FEET WITH OCCASIONAL SEAS UP TO 8 FEET. DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS. NORTH SWELL 4 TO 5 FEET.
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| NOAA Coastal Waters Forecast |
References:
Passages South by Bruce Van Sant
Scott's Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands
Nigel Calder's Cruising Handbook
surfline.com
NOAA marine forecasts
Saturday, 20 February 2016
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Sunday, 29 November 2015
The imposter
"Hey, get that light out of my face." "Shut up and stay in that chair, or we'll cuff you to it. We have gotten complaints that you are impersonating mineral spirits." Can't you read detective? I am mineral spirits, look at my label." "I see your label buddy, but you could have printed that up with any computer. I know for a fact that real mineral spirits are clear. What's up with your milky color, and why do you have to be shaken before use?" "Hey do I look like some sort of a rocket scientist? I don't know, that's the way I was made. I'm special, greener, and better for the environment." "Whatcha mean you're green, does that mean you could be drunk, or poured into the bay?" "Whoa there, you can't drink me, or pour me into the bay. I can kill fish you know." "'Yeah? So what make you green then?" "Well for starters there are actually less solvents in me, maybe as low as 15% by volume and there might be as much as 40%, they don't tell me exactly how much. That makes me safer, and I want my lawyer, now! I ain't saying anything else copper."
I was going to install a 1000 watt through hull transducer, and was nearly out of mineral spirits, so on the way to the job I stopped to buy some, along with a tube of fast cure 3M 5200 goo to seal it. All that was on the shelf was the "Green" version of mineral spirits. Okay I thought, I'll try the Kermit version, I'm a sort of eco dude. I have also stopped using high sulfur coal in the fireplace, so why not?
As it turns out, buying the green milky mineral spirits stuff was a really big mistake. This product, at least for my intended use falls squarely into the same category I place using waxed paper as toilet tissue, or drying your car with Saran wrap.
I'm a really conservative transducer installer, and I do this job very carefully. There is one thing I know for a fact in this business. If you sink, or burn the boat down to the water line, you will have to find another source of income and get a new ego. I clean the hull with acetone, use sandpaper to give the bonding area some tooth, and apply prodigious quantities of 3M 5200 to insure I have no gaps. When the transducer is tightened down against the hull, the excess is squeezed out.
Cleaning up the aftermath is straight forward. A rag, or paper towels are used to wipe off the brunt of the excess. and then using mineral spirits, the balance of the 3M 5200 is cleaned up in a couple of minutes. Enter the half and half cream looking green stuff. I pour it on a wad of toweling, and start to wipe off the remaining goo. A little comes off, and the balance just gets smeared around, more paper towels, and a lot more pseudo mineral spirits, and a little more 5200 is removed. This goes on for about ten more minutes, with most of the green mineral spirits gone along with half a roll of paper towels, and I realize this stuff is never going to do the job. Since this is the fast cure version of 3M 5200, I am now running out of clean up time.
Mumbling expletives, I crawl out from under the boat, get into the truck and go to the hardware store. At Ace Hardware on the shelf is the real stuff with 100% white spirits. Back to the boat go I, and with only three paper towels, and a couple of minutes the job is done.
As you have now figured out, I don't have a single good thing to say about this product, and I can think of no reason to have it on a boat at all. As you can tell, I was more than a little irritated about this stuff posturing as mineral spirits. I'm not a chemical engineer, but I think the reason this product is so inexpensive, and that it is green is because it hardly has any mineral spirits in it at all. I'm buying the 15% by volume end of the equation. If you see green shammies made out of recycled waxed paper and Saran wrap, I would avoid it also.
Wednesday, 25 November 2015
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The huldre and heavy metal
I woke up in the middle of the night, deep in the darkness with thoughts of the huldre, one of the hidden people of Norwegian folklore. The huldre appears to young men as a beautiful maiden and lures them away never to be seen again. One can tell if a woman is a huldre by looking at her back where she will either have a tail or appear as a burned out log. Hidden people inhabit all the Earth and cultures that are still connected to nature know them by many names and forms and shapes that best fit their geography.
There's no reason that I can't find a huldre in the marsh, except that I am no longer a young man. Age and wisdom, such as it is, keeps my course and prevents me from the sideways wandering that makes one easy prey to the charms of the huldre. There is, in Norwegian folklore, a story of a boy who escaped after being lured by the huldre into a den of hidden people. He rode away on bronze skis. It is, of course, only a story.I start out from where I ended yesterday, my tracks in the mud still fresh. There are few ducks in the south lagoon these days, perhaps the feeding is better to the north. But, it is still a fine bird day with redwing blackbirds trilling more than I can recently remember. In the east channel of the burial island, I watch one feed on the moss of a leaning alder tree. An eagle sits on the northern ugly sculpture and an immature eagle is in the burial island tree that the resident eagles perch in, although it sits on a different branch and looks out of place.
As I move north up the east shore, another eagle crosses my bow to take a spot in an evergreen on shore. It's whistling chirp makes me look again and I find its mate nearby.
The NE lagoon is empty except for a Steller's jay and a northern flicker that is busy hammering away at the top of a street lamp. The dead goose that I found here is gone now and good raccoon tracks are all around.
At the north point I stop and point out the eagles and the two nests to some bird watchers. As I describe what to watch for when an eagle hunts they ignore me...because, as I turn and look over my shoulder, they are watching an eagle hunt.
The annual great blue heron congregation seems to be just starting. There are no herons down on #1 island, the usual spot, but there are at least ten standing on the top of a nearby building.
At the small island near the west lodge, I retrieve the old rusty barrel that I had set up to drain a few days back. I was going to tow it to the main shore, but I find that I can lift it into the canoe, although it is very top heavy. It weighs more than my canoe and sits quite high. I have looked at this thing for a couple years and it is most satisfying to remove it.
The wind comes up strong as I return to the canoe. The 3/8 of a mile to the east end of the ancient portage is an arm breaker.
Monday, 21 September 2015
The S M I T E Awards
A hush falls over the crowd in the large hall, as the president of S.M.I.T.E. (Society of Marine Installer Technological Entrepreneurs) walks up to the microphone holding three large envelopes. "Thank you for your patience, I know it's been a long night, but at last we are ready for the final awards." "As you all know, the prestigious, and coveted "Ron Popeil" awards are given to the applicants who have installed a chart plotter in a way that makes it theft proof. The judge's criteria is that it should be virtually impossible to remove, and survive in a console overnight, in the Mogadishu, Somalia "Thieves Market."
"Our esteemed judges have done their due diligence, and reviewed over a hundred contestant entries. So without further adieu, we will start with our second runner up. So let's give a big installers hand to Steve Stickus. The judges were very impressed with the massive amounts of 3M 5200 applied everywhere, and his technique of using a hair dryer to fully cure it, especially in areas where it was almost three inches thick. Steve wins a $200 Harbor Freight gift certificate, and the "Spray Hair" in a can trophy."
"Our first runner up is John Spawl, and the judges have noted that his finesse, and attention to detail, is alway a joy to see. John's talent is in making the install look perfect in appearance, while retaining all of the subtle security measures he is famous for, such as screws driven into slightly undersized holes, insuring the heads will snap off when removing them. The rounding of Phillips head screws with undersized bits, and his personal specialty of driving cross threaded nuts all the way down on the bolts. John wins a $500 Ace Hardware gift certificate, and the "Pocket Fisherman" trophy."
"Okay, I see the bar is getting ready to open, so let's get to the grand prize, and this year's first place winner, is Ian Sidious. Let's all give him that big installers congratulations, and a standing O."
"The judges were amazed at Ian's ingenuity. Starting first with placing the chart plotter as close as possible to the console's edge, and doing the actual install prior to having the console mounted in the boat. This insured that the two outboard fasteners could not be reached, or seen at all, and further making sure lots of extra bonding putty was used, to reduce easy access."
"Ian also used excessively long bolts, and managed to damage the threads just enough, to guarantee that two people would be needed to remove the nuts."
"This clever approach created a triple threat, causing the potential thief to drill out the bolt heads, in a time consuming, irritating, and messy process."
"But to the judges delight, Ian had two additional treats in store to make thievery all but impossible. The first was the use of epoxy glue to seal the edges, and the "coup the gras" was a hole cut out that was just slightly smaller than the chart plotter, requiring a rubber hammer to beat it into place."
"Congratulations Ian, you will take home the 1st place Ron Popeil "Veg-o-Matic" trophy, a $1000 gift certificate from Tractor Supply, and a collection of colorful designer Tyvek suits, which will give you that professional appearance you're looking for. So what do you have in mind for next year Ian?"
"Well I am proud to be a member of S.M.I.T.E, and of the contribution we all make to the world of marine electronics, and the theft protection we provide to our owners. I am experimenting with grade 8 bolts. They're really tough to cross thread, but with my new Tractor Supply gift certificate, I think I can now buy some hydraulic equipment to do the job. Thank you my colleagues, for this magnificent honor."
Saturday, 28 March 2015
Goosetoph The surfing goose
Photo by Janet MaderTo the right you can see the latest incarnation of the river kite theme, a surfing goose. Goosetoph, as he has become known, began life as a hunting decoy, destined to float in a pond luring his brethren to buckshot. Now he has a higher calling, surfing on standing waves in the Bow River in Calgary.
You can make your own version by following these steps.
1: Obtain a hunting decoy. My favorite are the large Canada Geese with what they call a water keel. What you are looking for is a large fin of plastic on its bottom end. Make sure the fin is sturdy, some are just too floppy to work. (See the pictures at the bottom of this post)
2: Drill two holes in the keel in the spots indicated. Basically just at the front and back of the fin.
3: Attach a long length of stout cord to the goose by knotting each end to the fin. The cord needs to be fairly thin and strong, parachute cord works, I use spectra kite boarding line, spectra fishing line should also work.
4: Surf your waterfowl. You need a section of the river with fairly high speed water. The toughest part is the launch as eddies form near the shore, a stout stick is usually sufficient to push the goose into the main current. Once there, experiment with pulling on the control lines to steer the goose back and forth, much like a stunt kite. The basic idea is to angle the fin relative to the current in the direction you want the goose to go. See the video in my previous post for what it should look like in action.
Be extremely careful as the current can be quite strong, make sure you are on stable footing and wont be dragged into the river. If you feel like you might fall in, just let go of the rope. I would advise against letting children operate the goose on fast water.
5: Take pictures and send them to me - I would love to see what you come up with and post it on my blog.
Tuesday, 3 March 2015
The Mtepes of Kenya
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| A dau al mtepe (source unclear). Click any image to enlarge. |
Among the indigenous boats that disappeared in the 20th century was the mtepe, the world's last large sewn vessel. The last mtepe built was in 1930, and the last one in existence was wrecked in 1935 (they might have been the same vessel: my sources are unclear).
History and Usage
Unique to the Swahili culture of east Africa, mtepes were built in the Lamu archipelago off Kenya. Evidently an old design, their origin is unknown: there are references to sewn boats in the region that date back to classical antiquity and to the earliest years of Portuguese exploration, but these might have been other designs that were similar to mtepes in some respects. The earliest unmistakable references to mtepes date from the 19th century.
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| Both mtepes and dau al mtepes (shown) carried very large spreads of sail and were reportedly fast sailors and surprisingly weatherly. |
Mtepes were of two types, the mtepe proper, and the dau la mtepe, which superseded it. The transition apparently occurred in the 19th century because, while there are contemporary models and documentary evidence of the earlier mtepe, the only photos seem to be of the later dau la mtepe. Both were double-ended and generally similar in design, but there were a few significant differences between the types, which we'll get to below. (I will use "mtepe" in Roman text to refer to both types, and will italicize it as mtepeto refer to the mtepe proper as distinct from the dau al mtepe.)
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| Model dau al mtepe (recognizable by the bowsprit) at National Marine Museum, Greenwich. The tassels are called the "camel's beard." |
Mtepes varied considerably in size. Most seem to have been between 40 and 75 feet (I presume that the measurements were taken on deck, and did not include prow extensions, bowsprits or outboard rudders) and of 12 to 50 tons burthen, but one recorded in the 19th century was 30 meters long and 186 tons. All references report them to have been very fast and able sailors, easily able to out-point settee-rigged dhows. This is surprising considering their rig, which consisted of a single square sail of palm leaf matting.
Faza in the Lamu archipelago was the center for mtepe building: as many as 20 were being built there annually early in the 20th century. With a crew of about 20, they traded north to Zanzibar and south to Kenya's Mrima coast. Toward the end of their employment, their primary cargo was mangrove poles, but earlier cargoes included grain, pottery, cattle, salt, firewood and slaves. To collect the mangrove cargoes, the crew would punt the vessel into a swamp and cut and load the poles themselves, receiving payment from the proceeds of the voyage on a "share" basis. Oars were also used for propulsion when necessary.
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| Mtepe model at Science Museum, Kensington. Note large rudder, the bird-like figure on the tall prow, flags, tassels and painted decoration, as well as the thatched house aft of the mast. |
Mtepes leaked copiously, so bailing was constant. It is recorded that, as a test for employment, a prospective crew member had to demonstrate his ability to lift a bailer full of water measuring 24" in diameter and 9" deep. (This works out to about 3 U.S. gallons or 25 pounds. As a test of strength, lifting it isn't impressive, especially when considering that the bailer was made of woven palm leafs and probably leaked, and that it was very wide and shallow, so unlikely to have been lifted full in any case. On the other hand, if you're bailing a vessel, lifting that weight several hundred times per hour is indeed an impressive demonstration.)
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| A weatherly hull, but not made for beaching without supports. Image from Hornell. |
With their deep V-shaped hulls and flexible sewn construction, mtepes were not stiff enough to lie on their sides. They were never allowed to take the ground unless supported by props.
Construction
The mtepe bears many similarities to dhows and the two might have influenced each other's development in unknown ways in ancient times. Certainly, the dau al mtepe (which I think translates roughly as "dhow-style mtepe") adopted some of the characteristics of the dhow late in the 19th century.
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| Sketch of a model of a mtepe at Ft. Jesus, Mombasa. |
A crew of five or six carpenters, being supervised by the ship's future captain, would typically built a mtepe in two to three months, including harvesting their own timber, which was used green. Like all relatives of traditionally-built dhows, mtepes were built shell-first, on a keel, with smooth-laid planks of mangrove wood. (I hesitate to call it carvel, because that implies a construction method and certain details which do not apply here.)
Garboards were sewn or stitched to a one-piece keel. It is not known whether the keel was rabbeted. On many dhows, the garboard butts against the side of the keel or a beveled surface at the intersection of the top and sides. Stem and sternpost were lashed to the keel only after two or three strakes were in place. There were no deadwoods or stem knees. Partial-length planks were scarfed diagonally without butt blocks.
Planking the hull was an enormously laborious process. After holes were drilled through the planks near both edges, the planks were sewn together with three-strand coir (coconut husk cord). First, coir fiber was pounded into the seam from inside. Then, over the seam was spread a thick paste of made of pounded mangrove bark, the tannin in which preserved the coir caulking. Onto the paste were laid strips of crushed coconut husk, and then a layer of palm leafs. A sharpened piece of palm leaf was attached to one end of the cord and used as a sewing needle. Men worked in pairs, inside and outside the hole.
Each time the man inside passed the cord through the hole, he would pound it with a mallet to compress the package of caulking material beneath the stitch, then would plug the hole with a tapered plug to hold the cord in place temporarily, until his turn came for the next stitch. The man outside would wrap the cord around a short stick, place one end of it against the hull, and lean back, using the stick as a lever to tighten the cord before passing it back through the next hole. About six feet of seam length was sewn at a time, the coir being passed around and through each hole several times, both straight up and down and diagonally. Tapered plugs were then pounded into each hole from the outside.
After the the hull was completely stitched, the plugs outside the hull were cut off flush, and then the stitches themselves were cut off on the outside! This would leave the planks fastened to each other by thousands of very short pieces of cord, held in place only by the plugs pounded in from outside – a very odd way to address the vulnerability of the stitches outside the hull. This last process was omitted only near the stem and sternpost, and apparently some mtepes were built with the stitches remaining on the outside over their whole surface.
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| Alternate view of plank pegs. Above: oblique (through outer face of lower plank of each pair). Below: edge-set (drilled into the adjoining edges of plank pairs). The direction in which the pegs used to plug the stitch holes were installed also differs in these two views. (Source: Adams) |
Most reports indicate that after the strakes were sewn together, pegs were inserted by drilling obliquely upward into the outboard face of a plank so that the drill exited the plank on the edge and penetrated the plank above it also on its edge. Others disagree, claiming that the strakes were first edge-drilled on their matching faces, "dowel tenons" set into the holes, and the upper strake then pounded down onto the lower one. Only then were the planks through-drilled and sewn together.
If the first method (oblique pegging) is correct, then the pegs' main function seems to be to eliminate shear between adjacent strakes. If the second method (edge-set pegs) is correct, then the pegs seem to function primarily as an assembly aid. In both cases, the stitches are primarily responsible for holding the planks tight against each other. It is not impossible that both methods were used.
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| Cross section of a mtepe, showing futtock frames, stringers, thwart pairs with gammon lashings, mast step, planks and keel. (Source: Adams) |
Interior framing was added only after strakes were in place. Amidships, there were futtock frames which rested on floor timbers but were not attached to them. Moving outboard were half-frames, and then one-piece frames (i.e., gunwale to gunwale) in the very ends. The frames were lashed to the hull with a few light cords passed through holes in the planks. Frame spacing was reportedly wide, but no specifics are available. Five or six sets of cross-beams or thwarts were installed in pairs, upper and lower, separated by a few planks. These were notched and passed through the planks, and were gammoned to each other. In addition to transverse strength, the upper thwart of each set served as deck supports and mast partners. Two or three stringers were installed, so lightly lashed to the frames that they seem to have provided little lateral strength: perhaps they helped support and secure the cargo.
During the southwest monsoon, when the mtepe was laid up annually, every stringer and frame was removed and every stitch was replaced. With a full crew working, the job could be done in about eight days.
Rig
Although most reports indicate a plum mast, more recent measurements of models and photographs indicate that the mast had a forward rake of 6 to 14 degrees. The mast was supported by a forestay, two backstays, and usually one shroud per side, although some mtepes may have had a single shroud that was passed from one side to the other when tacking – a rare occurrence for tradewind sailors.
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| Mast step (bow to right). Note forward rake of mast, which rests against a pair of thwarts and is lashed forward to a stanchion forward of the thwarts. A stanchion beneath another pair of thwarts hold down the aft end of the step. The step typically spanned many frames, nearly the entire interior length of the ship, but it was not a keelson. (Source: Adams) |
The sail was made from many strips of plaited palm leaves, sewn together. There were two or three sets of reef points near the head of the sail. The sail was supported by a yard and a boom of delicate appearance. The yard was equipped with parrels; the boom with a simple loop of rope to perform that function. In addition to a halyard, the yard was supported by two "lift braces," which served both functions implied by that name. As I don't understand how this could work, I'll copy my source and perhaps a reader can explain:
"(The yard) is hoisted to the mast-head by means of a halyard supplemented by two lateral tackles which combine the functions of lifts and braces and may therefore be termed "lift braces". The upper end of the halyard is rove through a sheave-hole some way below the mast-head and made fast to the middle of the yard. Each lift-brace functions through a purchase fitted between the mast-head and one end of the yard, a tackle consisting of two single blocks. One end of the rope is rove through the block at the end of the yard, passes to the block at the mast and returns to be made fast to the yard-arm just inner to the first block. These lift-braces, as the name implies, also control the set of the yard; by slacking away on one and hauling on the other, the yard is veered." ("The Sea-Going Mtepe and Dau of the Lamu Archipelago," James Hornell, Mariner's Mirror, January 1941)
Differences Between Mtepes and Dau al Mtepes
Throughout the above discussion, I've treated both types of vessels together, as the features described seem mainly to have applied to both. But there were some differences between mtepes proper and dau al mtepes, some obvious and others significant but not apparent.
The stem and stern of a dau al mtepe were raked considerably more than those of a mtepe, so that, for boats of identical length, the dau would have a far shorter keel. The stem of the mtepe was surmounted by a large curved terminal that may have represented a camel's head. The dau had no such device, but instead had a long bowsprit. The mtepe was more colorful and far more highly decorated, with occuli both fore and aft, painted bands on the topmost strakes, and amulets, tassels and flags. Perhaps by the time the dau came into being, the trade was already under competitive pressure from other, more modern boat types, and decoration was discarded as uneconomic.
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| Stepped, stacked breasthook stem in the dau al mtepe. The outer false stem (a) was not always present. (From Hornell) |
The most interesting difference, however, was in the construction of the stem and sternpost. The mtepe had fairly conventional timber posts, except that the stem was in two pieces joined by an unusual mortise-and-tenon joint open at the front and rear. The dau al mtepe's was even stranger: it consisted of a series of stacked, V-shaped breasthooks, each one about as tall as a strake, tapering aft, and pegged to one another. In some cases, a solid timber was fastened outboard of this stacked construction. It is not known how planks were fastened to the stems/sternposts in either case, or if the timbers were rabbeted.
A Mtepe Replica
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| The replica mtepe Shungwaya in the House of Wonders Museum, Zanzibar (Source: Wikipedia) |
In 2003, a mtepe was built for an exhibit on dhow culture at the House of Wonders Museum in Zanzibar. The design was to be a roughly half-size (but not half-scale) interpretation of a mtepe that had been measured in 1877 at 97 feet long, 24 feet beam, and depth of 9.5 feet (apparently including draft plus freeboard). The boatbuilder who was contracted for its construction it had never worked on a mtepe, but had heard about some of the construction processes from his grandfather, who was one of the last builders of dau al mtepes. Even though guided by academics and museum personnel, the builder diverged from several known aspects of mtepe construction, most notably in building the boat frame-first as opposed to shell-first, and in refusing to cut off the plank lashings on the hull's outer surface. Named Shungwaya, the boat was briefly tested in Zanzibar harbor, where it proved to be quick and to leak somewhat as expected. It is now on display at the House of Wonders Museum.
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| The mtepe Shungwaya |
Main sources:
"Construction and Qualitative Analysis of a Sewn Boat of the Western Indian Ocean, Robert Marshall Adams, (MA thesis, 1985, Texas A&M Univ.)
"Arabia to China -- the Oriental Traditions," Jeremy Green, in The Earliest Ships: The Evolution of Boats Into Ships (Conway's History of the Ship)
;(Naval Institute Press, 1996)
;(Naval Institute Press, 1996)"The Sea-Going Mtepe and Dau of the Lamu Archipelago," James Hornell, Mariner's Mirror, January 1941
"The Mtepe 'Sungwaya' Sails Again," Professor Abdul Sheriff, et al, Ziff Journal, 2006
Maiden Test of the Playmate Sassafras paddle
Got a few hours to dip the 14foot Chestnut Playmate / Peterborough Mermaid into some water after finishing the basic refurbish (read part 1 post here and part 2 here). We're lucky enough to live a quick 10 minute drive to Cherry Beach in Toronto, where one can access some protected waters and paddle around. The real point of the trip was to see if the re-sealing job on the canvas held up and if the boat had any leaking issues.
Quick access to the lake
This was also the first water test for the latest Sassafras paddle I've been working on since last year. Also brought along the Birch Cree paddle as a backup.
Loaded up ready for the first dip
First impressions of the canoe were great. She is certainly deeper and narrower than the 14' built with Pam Wedd back in '08. The playmate / mermaid feels like it rides lower in the water and the shoe keel makes the canoe feel stiffer. Thought it handled very well heeled over too. The sassafras paddle worked really well. Feels lightweight but has a nice bit of flex, like ash. I've got 2 more paddles in the works from Sassafras that should be fun to paddle with too.
After confirming that no water was gushing into the boat, I proceeded to do a little tour of the bay. Instead of going over to the channels in the Toronto Islands, this time I just paddled the shoreline of Tommy Thompson Park. It's actually an urban dump for concrete construction waste and dredged sediment that has become a naturalized bird sanctuary. There is a healthy popluation of urban coyotes taking up residence here too.
Naturalized shoreline and shallow beach shore
Loads of ducks and waterfowl abound, but I was drawn to follow a pair of mute swans in the distance...
Mute swans and other waterfowl
Around one bend, I started to smell a strong fishy odour only to see this beast dead on shore. For size reference, there is a washed up can at the upper left. Some type of carp I suppose?
Right after I took the shot, I noticed two large bluish fish quickly shoot under the canoe. They looked to be the size of the paddle blade (27") and could be some of the Salmon being stocked into the lake for the sport fishery.
Anyway, more paddling and one quickly realizes that Tommy Thompson Park has become a huge nesting ground for Cormorants. Their guttural croaks silhouetted outlines make the whole area look pretty eerie.
Always reminding you that you are in an urban centre, started to hear an aggressive motor roaring. It was a Police Boat zooming off to an emergency call...
Eventually turned around and took a last look at the city skyline before heading back in...
Turns out there is a little bit of water seepage from the stern stem which can be easily dealt with some more sealant. Might have to remove the stem band to seal properly afterall, but I've confident I can get at least 2-3 seasons more usage out of her before the need to recanvas..
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