Hoarding, Hookers, Swingers and Half-Cows
Not too long ago, a regular Ancora Imparo reader told me, ever so kindly, that my posting titles were getting a bit…..ahem…..boring. Today’s posting title should remedy any boredom out there in Ancora-Imparo-Readerland.
Since we’ve now been running away from home, in our Aqua RV, for eleven days, certain terminology has been cemented in my mind and I thought I would share some terms with you, the reader. Please note that three of these terms are un-“official”. Only the term, half-cow, has any officiality (my word) to it.
Hoarding: What boaters commonly do when out on the hook. “Hoarding” usually refers to favorite foods, liquor, ice, treats such as ice cream and candies, fresh vegetables, and, in our case, Vidalia onions. Once you determine that you will stay “on the hook” for some extended period of time, your food usage must become very measured. For instance, Capt. SO and I get four baby carrots, a half of a tomato and one half of an apple every day…..without fail.
Hookers: This is a term that I never heard before I recently met a wonderful Canadian couple, Pat and Bill. This particular night there were four couples together for a beverage and snack time on one of the boats, with Pat and Bill being one of the four couples. Talk naturally centered on who had anchored out where and which anchorages were the favorites and differing anchoring techniques. In our case, I handle the helm and Capt. SO does the anchor setting, otherwise known as “hooking”. In the case of Pat and Bill, he handles the helm and she does the hooking. She proudly proclaimed herself to be the best “hooker” in all of the North Channel.
Swingers: There are two basic ways to anchor. One method favored by many boaters is to nestle the stern right up to shore, with the typical bow-anchor placement and a stern anchor attached to something on shore – either a large tree base or a rock. I think this is referred to as “tropical style” or something like that. The other common method of anchoring out is to drop only a bow anchor and let the boat swing in an arc, controlled by the direction of the wind. When Pat announced that she was the best “hooker” in the North Channel, I announced that Capt. SO and I were swingers.
Lastly , the Half-Cow: This is not referring to eating massive amounts of beef. This term refers to a knot called “the half-cow”. For six years, since Capt. SO and I have owned our Aqua RV, he has been trying to get me to learn to tie knots. I have tried a time or two but it does not come too naturally and his and my learning styles are radically different so learning to tie knots has not (pun intended) been at the top of my to-do list……..until today. I KNOW that I need to learn to tie the knot that holds the fenders to the rail. When we know we will be out in rough waters, we take our fenders off, meaning that when we arrive at our destination, the fenders must be put back on for purposes of docking.
This afternoon the waters in our protected bay were whipped up by a sustained, twenty-plus knot blow and we found ourselves with an extra hour or two of down time. “Self”, I said to myself, “there is no reason why you should not learn to tie a knot.” Unbelievably, I opened up my mouth and asked Capt. SO if he would teach me how to tie a fender knot, otherwise known as a “half-cow”. For the next hour-plus, we proceeded to work on teaching me to do just that. I should correct my terminology right now and add that the knot he taught me is actually a modified “half cow”. While I’d rather eat beef, this half-cow is much safer for cholesterol levels and knot half as fattening. (Misspelling intended.)
Ancora imparo
