Loyal readers will recall a consistent theme over the years... Stupid Boat Tricks, or put another way, stupid things that I have done while cruising. Usually mundane and not life threatening, but sometimes destructive. Many times, it was just my penchant for overthinking things or being lazy.

And after being back aboard for less than a month, we have a gem to add to the collection.

Rina and I are still getting used to anchoring this very heavy boat, with Rina at the helm and me at the bow giving hand signals for where to point the boat, move up, back down, etc. to set or retrieve the anchor. Ever the watchful eye, John Papadopoulos noticed that the roll bar on our Mantus anchor was cracked where it meets the anchor flukes. How the heck could that happen? The only thing we can think of is that when retrieving the anchor, we pulled the anchor back over itself when running too far ahead of it. Basically I let the boat run over the anchor, it flipped and put too much pressure on the roll bar.

John and I deployed the spare Danfoss anchor, put the 85 lb Mantus into the dinghy and took it to Marina La Paz where I met Sergio, a well recommended welder, who will re-attach the bar and add some gussets for added strength. Lessons learned? Don't run over your anchor and always have a spare!

Here's a few more examples of my supremely humbling stupid boat tricks over the years:

Stupid Boat Tricks "When will I learn edition"
Stupid Boat Tricks "I told you so" edition
Stupid Boat Tricks - Masters Edition
Stupid Boat Tricks "Check that knot" edition