Weighing Anchor

The anchor chain (cable) is measured in shackles, which are 27 meters long. The scope of the anchor cable is payed out at a ratio or scope of (in this case) 3 to 1 based on the depth of the water, the ability of the ground to hold the anchor and the strength of the wind. In this case, about the length of a football field. 

To sail off the anchor the Captain has to arrange the setting of the sails so that the ship is moving forward and away from the direction of the land. 

Today, this required a combination of sails drawing wind and sails backed to the wind so that the ship rotated and moved forward correctly. You can imagine all of the hoisting and heaving that takes on a vessel with only a winch to raise the anchor. 

Meanwhile, the anchor winch is busy pulling up the anchor cable. The cable is fed by gravity down a 6 inch pipe to the anchor chain locker where it piles up. 

On Nellie, the locker is located in the bow, under the foc'sle. In this case the starboard side where the men sleep. 

The deck hatches are removed and a large iron hook about 3 ft long, which is attached to a line is used to "flake out" or arrange the chain in neat even rows so that when we next drop anchor it will run free without jambing. You can imagine the damage that a suddenly jambed anchor chain would make as the enormous anchor is let go. 

To achieve a proper flaking the iron hook is placed at the top of the pile by someone, who is laying on the deck reaching into the hold, hooking the link at the top of the pile and then 4 of us pulling the chain to the aft end of the hold while a 5th person guides the direction of the chain to achieve a proper flaking. The hooking and guiding is done by bosun mates, part of the permanent crew, while the pulling is done by we members of the voyage crew. There is a mirrored arrangement on the port side for the port anchor. 

All went smoothly and we are now sailing to the mainland and then up a 30 mile long fjord to make port a Akureyri, Iceland's second city where we will spend 2 nights before proceeding to the western fjords.