rope/chain rode

[ebb]

Hmmm,
manila, jute, cotton, sisal, and coir.
But hemp* rope may have been around the longest, and it's probably the strongest.
Loved the smell of manila (Probably the preservative!) Made from banana leaves.
All that vegetable rope and cord had better aroma than the sickly sweet plastic lot.
Wasn't too shabby, was it,
in the great age of sail?

They'll find some natural juice to soak it in (or landfill oil-of-plastic-bag), and it'll become as strong as Spectra.
They'll call it Green Line.
They'll have an 8 strand plait made out of hemp fiber and cellulose.
Dodgers of the next generation will be made from UV resistant linen.

And the sails of our indestructible Ariels and Commanders will be creamy feel good Egyptian cotton again!
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Remember a PBS documentary. Has to be a classic.
The folks had to get across a steep gorge with raging waters in Peru. The women went out and harvested local grass for several days. Then the whole village had a party. Each person who was going to work on the project had to bring six others. Before long the grass had become twisted and plaited into rope and the gorge had a graceful suspension bridge crossing it.
Just reminded by Pedro here on the ranch, who also saw the film - that the main suspension members were gathered into threes and sewn together.

Trying to point out that natural technology exists or comes into being out of necessity. No archeological record for grass bridges, but don't you think they've been around for tens of thousands of years. Man. the innovator, was never dumb. Stupid probably.
Those Peruvians have been making three strand for millenia! The only thing new with cordage is the application.
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*(had to look it up....)Hemp is a non-tropical fiber, grows everywhere. It's been around for at least 10,000 years. It's cut the widest swath in political history of any fiber. It was the rigging and the sails and the shirt on the jacktar's back on every ship since ships began sailing. Hemp was more versatile than cotton and wool. It's largest production was around the turn of the century. Then came drip dry nylon.
Have you noticed hemp as a fiber is making a commercial comeback?
Maybe a super hemp can be grown that will rival plastic, or perhaps a synergistic composite of old and petroleum will be our next anchor rode.
google> Ecofibre Industries Limited - Origin and History of Hemp
www.ecofibre.com.au/history.html