Potter's Weal

Otter-ly Fantastic News! Dear Kincey and Bruce, Holiday cheer is in the air and we are thrilled to have exciting news about the South River.  The Federation has been receiving reports of river otter sightings throughout the river!  The photo above was taken just this week of three otters frolicking around the headwaters near Flat Creek.  We have had other reports of sightings in Duvall Bay, Edgewater Beach, Sylvan Shores, and Harbor Hills. The population of North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) has suffered significant losses largely due to habitat loss, but also to pollution and trapping.  To see a comeback in the South River is truly an exciting moment for us. As a strict carnivore, the river otter is an excellent indicator of ecosystem health.  Over time, pollutants such as mercury and PCBs that are retained in the otter’s food can accumulate in their system in a process known as biomagnification.  If the water quality is too poor, the otters cannot survive. (Photo: River otter eating a sunfish at Wilelinor) If you spot one of the fun loving, playful, and smart creatures, take a moment to observe them.  However, RIVERKEEPER ®, Diana Muller cautions to not touch or go near them as with any wildlife.  Having been fortunate enough to see one herself, Diana will be keeping track of all river otter sightings as well as beaver sightings.  If you are lucky enough to see one of these adorable creatures, please send us the date, time, and GPS location of the sighting.  If you are able to take pictures, please do share them with us! To learn more about these beautiful creatures, visit the National Geographic pages on the river otter or beaver.  ARKive also has an extensive collection on river otter and beaver photography. Happy Holidays, South River Federation Staff Quick Links Our Website Federation Blog Find Us on Facebook Donate Now Contact Us 2011 Scorecard River otter eating a carp at Wilelinor    Beaver lodge at the Edgewater Elementary bog Willow tree gnawed by a beaver

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Date: December 6, 2011 7:09:31 PM EST

Subject: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.

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 This is to intimate you of a very important information which will be of a great help to redeem you from all the difficulties you have been experiencing in getting your long over due payment, due to excessive demand for money from you by both corrupt Bank officials and Courier Companies after which your fund remain unpaid to you.

  
I am Mr. JOHN PETERSON, a highly placed official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It may interest you to know that reports have reached our office by so many correspondences on the uneasy way which people like you are treated by Various Banks and Courier Companies/ Diplomat across Europe to Africa and Asia /London Uk. We have decided to put a stop to that and that is why I was appointed to handle your transaction here in GHANA.

All Governmental and Non-Governmental prostates, NGOs, Finance Companies, Banks, Security Companies and Courier companies which have been in contact with you of late have been instructed to back off from your transaction and you have been advised NOT to respond to them anymore since the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is now directly in charge of your payment.

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TSUNAMI: An Anguillan Sloop by Robert Perry

What next? 

Bruce Farr lives down the street, maybe we can get him to do a design with dual rudders or an open stern?

There are few enough local boatwrights who can design and build these classic work boats — not sure I want to see West Indian sloop racing go the way of North American boat racing — a globalised sport reserved for only the few with the biggest billfolds. 

When we first saw the Anguillan sloops in 1973, it was the year after Emil Gumbs had started a revolution by commissioning a NEVISIAN boatwright from Charlestown to build Saga Boy, and Bertie Richardson lept to the challenge the next year with Saga Girl. Bertie’s father, Reuben, who ran a rum shop on the beach in Sandy Ground, asked us to try to convince Bertie to use traditional granite stones for ballast, rather than iron rails, because the stones were natural features that worked with the boat, rather than the artificial iron rails. We abstained from the debate.

That was also the last year that anyone used canvas sails. The next August Monday races, the last holdout, a yellow and green boat called Peace and Love, I think, showed up with a brand new dacron sail. Rumor had it that unbeknownst to his wife, the owner used the rent money to buy the sail, and other boats were generous in letting Peace and Love — still about the slowest boat in the fleet — win one or two of the August Monday races. 

Contrary to Bob Perry’s description of a Le Mans start — back in those days the boats used to start from a windward shore, where a line was anchored to the beach by a crew of a dozen or two local folks, while the boat held offshore with sails raised, and would drop the line at the start. We never saw as many as 22 crew — more likely 12 to 15. 

Guess maybe I won’t ask Bruce Farr to design next year’s boat, after all. 

==============================================

BOATS Perry on Design

Tsunami

November 2011

By Robert H. Perry

Boats and Gear

Anguilla racing sloop

I  get some unusual design jobs. There was the submarine job. The 116-foot-long Fautasi (super canoe) for the Samoan village was interesting, as was my trip to Samoa. Over a year ago my phone rang one afternoon and the gentleman calling asked, in a deep sonorous voice, if I would be willing to design a Class A racing sloop to compete in the Anguilla races. I asked where Anguilla was then said I’d be happy to design the boat. I had no idea what an Anguilla Class A boat looked like and I had no idea of the class rules. But it sounded like an interesting project and I don’t get asked to design many racing boats so I jumped at the chance. My new client, Mr. Carl Richardson, directed me to some website where I could find videos of the boats racing.

Anguilla is in the eastern part of the Caribbean in the Lesser Antilles in the Leeward Islands. It’s only 39 square miles big but it is very beautiful and appears to be a wonderful place to vacation. The sailboat racing in their local classes is intense and very competitive. The Class A rules are loose. The boat cannot have an LOA greater than 28 feet. Ballast must be internal and the keel must be a “full keel” type. That’s about as specific a set of rules as I ever got. The boats are crewed with between 14 and 22 men and there is a good chance some of the crew will be asked to swim ashore once the weather mark is rounded. Ballast is in the form of heavy iron bars that the crew carries from side to side with each tack.

After watching the videos of the boats sailing it occurred to me that maybe the boats could be faster with less crew and less rig. As you can see by the sailplan the rig is very unusual and huge. I suggested this to Carl but he was adamant that we stay with the big rig and big crew. Obviously, while the written rules were few there was the spirit of the class that has to be adhered to. I designed the boat to displace 11,556 pounds with full crew and movable ballast for a D/L of 236. I was not sure how much of the “full keel” I could cut away and still stay within the spirit of the rule so I gave my client a few options and one was accepted. Unfortunately the local builder who built the boat under a shade tree took some liberties with my lines after I provided full-size Mylar patterns, but that’s what happens when you are dealing with an old traditional model and an old traditional builder, Mr. David Hodge. Construction is white pine planking on plywood frames with West epoxy.

I begged my client to let me design a more modern rig for the boat but in the end tradition won the day. The boom I drew is 34 feet long. But I suspect the boom they built is 38 feet long. I’m just not sure. There was not a lot of communication during the build. As drawn the SA/D is 35.5. I have watched several videos of these boats racing and videos of Tsunami racing but I have yet to see a jibe. I imagine it is action-packed. There are no winches on the boats.

There are about a dozen of these Class A sloops racing. The start is a Le Mans type with the boats anchored close to the beach, making shoal draft a premium. My client would like me to come down for the next racing season. I am anxiously waiting for some race results.