For those readers who have followed Fatty for many years, you won’t be disappointed. For the newcomers to his watery wisdom, prepare yourself for a genuine original.
The antithesis of polished, urbane and smooth, Fatty can be rough as a saltwater-rinsed towel, unapologetic, unfiltered, opinionated, and generally disdainful of artificial niceties. He is also a plainspoken expert on practical, sometimes bare-knuckled, cruising. His advice is clear and relevant, based on experience rather than theory.
You will discover a rarity in these pages, real names of the good and not-so-good. Names of specific manufacturers, names of locations, names of people, names to avoid. Recommendations are given, along with the reasons for them. The events and boats behind the recommendations are often detailed, with all of their warts and glory. This is boating reality, including mistakes, rather than a continual beauty parade.
The cost to produce this book’s knowledge? Over fifty years of time afloat, thousands of sea miles, and thousands of trial and error dollars. The value to the reader? Safety, savings, satisfaction and, possibly, the lives of captain and crew.
An additional benefit will be a glimpse into the mindset of an honest, pragmatic, caring human being who just happens to be a fellow sailor, a shoestring sailor who doesn’t much care for crowded marinas, hypocrisy, officialdom, or profiteers in general. Someone who is a lot like you and me.
Anchoring and its subtle nuances do not exist in a vacuum. They are much more than a means to remain at a given location. Anchoring impacts a cruiser’s departures, arrivals, stowage, performance, heavy weather tactics, economics, and pleasure. In short, it affects almost every aspect of life aboard. It is truly, as Fatty says, “a bedrock skill of the cruising sailor.”
Creative Anchoring is probably destined to become a cult classic in useful, hard-won information. Here, in one spot, is a wealth of knowledge on anchoring, specifically, and life afloat in general. This volume should not be saved for your bookshelf; it should be devoured before ever leaving your harbor. And then kept aboard. You will smile, chuckle, and treasure Fatty as you read and re-read his wisdom.
