Dennis Pogson wrote:

I did query whether the halyard was up to the job, but the energy
required to heel the boat and pull her off, when you think about, was
not all that great.

The proper way to do this yourself BTW, is to run the end of a rope anchor
rode through a block and attach the block to the spinnaker halyard. Hoist
the block to the mast head and then run the anchor out in the dinghy and set
it. This gives you the full length of the anchor rode to haul on. If you
attach the rode directly to the spinnarker halyard, the knot will stop the
line after a mast length of pulling which may not be sufficient and you will
lose time letting it down and retying. A jib sheet fairlead is a handy
block when time is short.

I successfully got a boat off on a falling tide this way by jumping to it
instantly when I felt her touch. I was doing a pass by a dock to check out
the docking situation and hit a shoal spot beyond it so this frantic
activity was taking place just a few feet from all the waterfront hangers on
which provided great entertainment.

A jib sheet winch with this leverage will drag a boat out of most
situations. I don't think the keel embedded in sand up to the hull is one
of them though. I think that fellow down in Hattaras needs a crane. He may
get his boat off but I doubt he will have running engines or that they will
run for long after they start due due to sand in raw water pumps and shaft
bearings. He doesn't sound like a sailor with the competence to sail out of
that situation once he gets the boat free.

--
Roger Long