1770s British Anchor

1770s British Anchor. Old Pattern Admiralty Long-Shanked Anchor. This anchor was purchased by Walter B. Fraser and placed here in 1933. The ship's name and site of the anchor's recovery are unknown, but Britain's Royal Navy used this size and type of anchor on their famous 74-gun ships of the line. First designed by the French and then copied by the British, the "74s" were the perfect blend of firepower, maneuverability and seaworthiness. For over 75 years, from the mid-1700s to the early part of the 1800s, these ships formed the backbone of the fighting British fleet. Larger ships with more gun decks were generally reserved for admirals, but could be ungainly in battle. , This anchor's shaft length is twelve feet and the anchor weighs roughly 1 ton, and would have been used as a kedging or streaming anchor, not as a bow anchor. Kedging is a sailing maneuver used to inch the ship forward when there is no wind. A kedging anchor is rowed out-ahead of the ship and dropped. The anchor rope is then pulled, and the becalmed ship inches forward. Perhaps a mile or two per day could be covered in this manner, but kedging was not typically used except in emergencies. A streaming anchor is used from the stern of the ship to limit side to side movement while at anchor. This type of anchor would be used in a narrow waterway so that the ship's stern would not run aground or impede the movement of other vessels. , As you can see, this anchor has been in this location for decades , long enough for the cedar tree to grow around the fluke.