Carrick Bend

When two massive anchor lines or mooring hawsers must be joined under extreme strain, standard sailors' knots fail. They either slip under tension or jam into an unbreakable rock once loaded. The Carrick Bend is the mariner’s answer—widely recognized by tall ship skippers and offshore riggers as the most perfect joining knot in seamanship. Its magic lies in pure maritime geometry. Tied as an intricate, open basket weave, the Carrick Bend distributes immense tow and spring line loads evenly across every turn. Even after holding a vessel off a lee shore in a gale or taking the shock load of a heavy hawser, its unique symmetrical structure resists jamming - allowing a sailor to cast it off easily once the strain is lightened.