[Rhodes22-list] Anchor light housing replacement

[Patrick Fletcher]

Our trip to Canada's Desolation Sound last week was marvelous, but our
retrieval had a few setbacks...  After a delay (caused by  transmission
trouble on the towing vehicle), we found ourselves pulling up our R22 in
the dark, under the single sodium light of Okeover Marina.  We overcame
severe sidewinds and currents to get the Beagle III happily back onto her
trailer. I pulled her out of the water triumphantly to make ready to step
the mast for her 10 hour drive home, and then pulled her right into the
many branches of an interposing tree.

The mast and upper rigging were well entrenched in the branches- the
trailer was on a slope that listed her to starboard, so the port upper
shroud was so taut that it managed to carve a notch out of a branch and
stick there. Backing her didn't do the trick- there were more branches to
encounter in that direction. We had a half-size maglite and a collapsible 9
foot boathook, which came in handy for investigating and clearing the
initial blockage (add those to your kit!)... After some tired and worn-out
thinking, I came to the realization that I'd have to step the mast and pull
the rig forward a foot at a time, and so to slip her out of the tree. Good
thing we had the winch and mast cradle... This is what worked.

So, after we got out of there, the only damage was, the housing for the
anchor light, a sharp bend on the antenna, and our wind indicator which I
would describe as "crumpled up, also smashed". I was pretty sure that the
port upper shroud would fail and dump the mast over the side, but
thankfully, this did not happen. Good engineering there.

So, questions:

--Can I order a new housing for the anchor light, or should I replace the
whole thing?
--There's a big patch of pitch on my jib after I dragged it through some
trees- any cleaning advice?

Thanks!

--Pat, co-captain of the Beagle III