The 'anti-squeaks'.

It has been blowing hard today. A steady 6Bft, with gusts up to 8. For the South Africans: between 25 and 35 knots. So not many boats left the protective environment of Femø harbour. Only late in the afternoon, when the rain shower activity and hence the gusts diminished, did a motorboat (who, according to public opinion did not understand what he was doing) and 2 sailing yachts go out. Only one boat arrived. The restaurant in the nearby village offers free transport from and to the harbour for customers and it appeared that this was a popular service. We had a quiet day, Lyn did a lot of work and played the piano, I sorted through over 500 pictures that we jointly took since 12 June in Fedderwardersiel.
One problem with this wind is that the boat pulls on the front mooring lines. With every pull (and that means every 2 or 3 seconds), there is a 'squeak', caused by the tight lines rubbing on the cuts in the gunwale. That does not sound too serious (and it is not!), but inside the front cabin it is a pretty loud noise. And the pulling on the lines also reduces the lifespan thereof.
There is a solution for this, which every self-respecting boatie in this environment uses. It's officially called a 'mooring line compensator', but we call it the 'anti squeaks'. Here they are:





Rubber fittings, around which you wind your mooring lines two or three times. The construction is such that the compensator 'grabs' the line at both ends, and when the boat 'pulls', the compensator stretches, taking most of the strain. The result is no 'squeak', so a good night's rest.
I had seen these useful gadgets a few times before, but not like here, where they are an essential part of the boat's equipment because almost all harbours have mostly 'boxes' to moor in, plus are relatively exposed to the wind.
We bought our first two anti-squeaks in Kappeln a few weeks ago and an extra (heavy duty) one in Svendborg last week.

The forecast for tomorrow promises lighter winds, especially in the morning, so the expectation is a general exodus quite early.