PeterSmith.net.nz
Peter Smith: boat builder, long distance cruising sailor, and Rocna anchor designer. Articles about anchoring; Peter’s yacht; and photo journals from Patagonia, Antarctica, and more…...
View ArticleAn Essay on New Generation Boat Anchors
New generation anchors out-perform traditional plows and claws – the new Bügel, Spade, and Rocna anchors avoid the flaws of the older anchor styles for better safety and security…...
View ArticleAnchor Certification, HHP & SHHP Classification, Type Approval: Lloyd’s,...
Anchor certification from Lloyd’s Register, RINA, ABS, and others. Requirements and actual meanings of certification, type approval, and HHP & SHHP classification…...
View ArticleTwo to Tandem: Maximizing Holding Power by Tandem Anchoring
Tandem anchoring – rigging and deploying dual anchors in series: case studies, and theoretical and practical considerations. Tandem anchoring is involved and requires great care…...
View ArticleCatenary & Scope In Anchor Rode: Anchor Systems For Small Boats
The true implications of catenary and scope for selecting size of chain and rope in anchor rode, and the optimum lengths to use. Theoretical modelling, and real world case studies…...
View ArticleKellets or Anchor Angels / Sentinels: Uses and Applications
About anchor kellets, also known as anchor angels/buddies/sentinels. Misconceptions lead to false anchoring security. Computer simulations examine proper real world applications…...
View ArticleAnchoring Beyond 2007 (Coastguard Member’s Handbook)
About the basics of anchoring and associated equipment from the CG Northern Region Member’s Handbook 2007, with considerations of modern anchors and anchoring techniques…...
View ArticleNew Generation Anchors: Explained and Compared
Comparison of new generation anchors, including the Bügel (WASI), Spade, Ultra, Sword / Raya, SARCA, and Rocna. Outlines comparative advantages and disadvantages…...
View ArticleAbout Peter
Biography of Peter Smith: boat builder, long distance cruising sailor, designer of the Rocna anchor. Peter’s recent trips include New Zealand, Chile, and Patagonia and Antarctica…...
View ArticleAbout “Kiwi Roa”
About Peter’s yacht: 15 m aluminium cruising sailboat designed for all conditions and destinations; cumulation of decades of boat-building and world cruising experience…...
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Antarctica Photo Journal
Photos of Antarctica expedition by yacht. The region from Cape Horn to Antarctica itself is fraught with peril for the boater but an experience like no other…...
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Patagonia Photo Journal
Photo journal of Patagonia expedition by yacht. From the Southern Ocean through the Chilean channels and glaciers to the famous Beagle Channel and Cape Horn in Tierra del Fuego…...
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Staten Island & Falkland Islands Photo Journal
Photo journal of Staten Is. & Falklands expedition by yacht. From the last tip of Patagonia out into the South Atlantic, a look at the amazing terrain of Staten Island and the barren wilderness of...
View ArticleOld Generation Anchors: What’s really the problem?
Old generation anchors under-perform modern substitutes, yet many boaters cling to tradition. What really are the flaws of the CQR, Bruce, Danforth, Fortress, and Delta anchors…?...
View ArticleRocna holds out for best performance in Practical Boat Owner anchor testing
British magazine Practical Boat Owner has published a write-up of anchor testing conducted by Professor John Knox. Results see the Rocna anchor turn in the strongest performance. The testing includes...
View ArticleRocna re-licensing & historical steel quality issues
Apologies in advance for the commercial nature of this update – in compensation, the photo journal for South Georgia Island is ready to go and it’ll be released in the next little while. For those of...
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More photos from the Falkland Islands
Peter’s Falkland Islands photo journal was published earlier in 2011. Kiwi Roa is still in Stanley and has done a little more cruising around the islands, and a few new photos have been added to that...
View ArticleGreek Micro Storm (article from Sailing Today)
In September last year, Vliko Bay in Ionian Greece was hit by a freak weather event described as a “microburst” after the fact. The sailing club in the bay recorded a peak wind strength of 95 knots,...
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South Georgia Island Photo Journal
All good things come to those who wait! It’s been promised for a while, and it’s finally here: Peter’s expedition out into the deep South Atlantic, to remote and inhospitable South Georgia. This is...
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South Georgia Island article in Blue Water Sailing
Last month we put online Peter’s photo journal of his expedition out into the deep South Atlantic, to remote and inhospitable South Georgia. Blue Water Sailing has published the print version of...
View ArticleRocna and Spade tussle for top performance in Voile anchor testing
French magazine Voile in May published a write-up of anchor testing conducted in association with the French SNSM. Results see the Spade anchor given the top rank in linear pull testing, with the...
View ArticlePeter featured in Boating NZ column
Author Alvah Simon, a long-term American sailor who now lives in New Zealand, has featured Peter in his Boating NZ column. Alvah has known Peter and family for 30 years, their paths having first...
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More photos from Patagonia
Peter’s Patagonia photo journal was first published a few years ago. Kiwi Roa ended up spending two full winters in the region, and we have added another page from the second winter. These photos are...
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Anchor testing from Finland
A Finnish magazine called Kippari (Skipper) has conducted a small comparison test of anchors on both hard and soft sand. The methodology is imperfect, but presents useful conclusions. From the article...
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More photos from the Falkland Islands
Peter’s Falkland Islands photo journal was originally published in 2011. Here are some final photos from the islands, before Kiwi Roa left the region for good. There are two additional pages of...
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Peter granted new US and UK anchor patents
This is a joint press release with Peter and Rocna Anchors. Peter, as designer and licensor of Rocna Anchors, has been granted patents by the US & UK patent offices protecting Rocna’s new anchor...
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South Africa Photo Journal
Kiwi Roa last appeared to you writing out of the sub-Antarctic. Since then, she migrated from the deep South, crossing from the Falkland Islands to Cape Town in search of warmer waters. This 3,330...
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Namibia Photo Journal
Here’s something a little different – just to show Peter’s not completely obsessed with ice. In the second part of Kiwi Roa’s African “safari”, it’s up the Skeleton Coast, a stop at the old German...
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Saint Helena Photo Story
We last hailed from Namibia, from where Kiwi Roa departed the Skeleton Coast, bound ultimately for North America. En route and one of the most remote islands in the Atlantic, Saint Helena was a...
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Ocean Voyager interviews Peter - Bluewater Gear
American magazine Ocean Navigator has interviewed Peter for their Bluewater Gear series published in their annual “handbook” Ocean Voyager. The 2018 edition sees Peter asked about his preferences for...
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Ascension Island Photo Story
From Saint Helena, Kiwi Roa was headed transatlantic, ultimate destination the top of the American continent. Ascension, 700 NM northwest, is found close to the ideal route and made for a convenient...
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Transatlantic Photo Story
From Ascension Island, Kiwi Roa headed farther transatlantic, ultimate destination Newfoundland. En route are the mid-ocean rocks of the Saint Peter & Saint Paul Archipelago, featuring a small...
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Newfoundland Photo Story
Newfoundland, at the eastern-most extremity of Canada and the North American continent, was for Kiwi Roa the first real land contacted since departing Ascension Island some 39 days and 4,500 miles...
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Greenland Photo Story
Greenland was Kiwi Roa’s next expedition destination. Here is Peter’s photo story from the Greenlandic west coast, through endless ice and fog, past rock and village, people and animal. This...
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