Anchor Light Replaced

It’s something Brock has spoken of for quite a while. He’s always thought that an LED anchor light would be a great deal in terms of battery usage.

Last week was his opportunity.

It’s always been close, getting Katherine Jane safely under the Fremont Bridge with it’s height of 30′. She clears it…barely. The first time we ever went through, Brock stationed me in a place where I could clearly see the mast. He told me he was going to ease up to it ever so gently, and if said it wasn’t going to fit, I would tell him so and he would back away and we would have the bridge-tender open the bridge.

So we slowly inched our way forward. I said “Nope, not gonna make it.” He continued to ease her forward. “Uh, NO,” I said. “Way too close.” He nudged forward. And we cleared, by a hairsbreadth.

At which point there was some glaring on my part and the suggestion that if you’re going to give me a job and then not listen to me, I didn’t want the job in the first place, thank you very much.

It’s been kind of a running joke for the past year and a half. I simply turn my head the other way and loudly hum, ’cause what would be the point of saying anything? La, la, la, la, la, la….and we always have made it, by one degree or another. The lake is down in the winter by about 32″ and then raised in the spring, so we never know exactly what we’re going to get. That coupled with different amounts of fuel and water onboard made it impossible to predict.

We returned from a trip to the San Juans a couple of weeks ago and I made the usual show of “I’m not looking, I don’t care, la, la, la.” And this time? Didn’t clear it. Actually only shattered the lens, not even the bulb, it was that close. To my credit, there was no brou-ha-ha over it, only mild amusement. After all, I’ve known for over a year that we don’t *quite* fit under that bridge.

But the good part is that it became an opportunity to replace the whole unit.

And while we were at it? We sawed off 16″ of the mast, and the Fremont Bridge will never present an issue for us again.


The part when he replaced it in a thunder/lightning storm on an aluminum ladder? Let’s just say the boating gods let him get away with a lot.

No Responses to “Anchor Light Replaced”

  1. rob
    June 18, 2009 at 12:52 am #

    Imagine the problems I have now that we have gone metric. On inch is 25 mm 300mm is a foot 5 mm is three sixteenths of an inch six mill is a quarter of an inch :o(( two shillings is now ten pence, A pound is worthless! How many thousands are there to an inch ? There must be millions I answer! Doh!! such a respinsibility, I am confused !!!!!!!especially as my boats beam is fourteen feet nine inches wide and I have just noticed that the lock entry is four point one metres wide! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Crunchhhhhh!

  2. bowiechick
    June 10, 2009 at 9:22 am #

    Oh don't even get me started about men and distances;)!

  3. rob
    June 7, 2009 at 7:37 am #

    Great post Jamie! really enjoyed it. what an oportunity to get the led light fixed. A mate of mine built one of the first led light systems about six years ago and we fitted it to a traditional 60 foot sail boat we had red over the chart table and in the saloon low lwvwl light to the walk ways. I have to admit we went a little mad but it used very little DC. the owners friend who was ex foreign legion said absolutely nothing as he supervised our works until the very end, as we were leaving and then it was only to admonish us for not doing the same with parafin as he believed that it would be more efficient. What a character aged about 80 if a day and sporting the most humungous beard, I wouldn`t upset him even at that great age, fearsome looking chap :o((