Always More to Know About Anchoring

Originally posted elsewhere 8/15/08

I recently returned from a three-day trip on my 28 foot Islander, La Mouette, with three sailing students. These long weekends at sea are an integral part of seamanship courses offered by Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, CA. Some trips are more eventful than others; this being one of the more eventful. Although the learning curve for some of the students is extremely steep, I learn quite a bit supervising these trips as well. The more eventful they are, the more I tend to learn. This is a list of what I learned this time. A lot of the lessons involved anchoring this time.

Carry an anchor for every type of bottom you are likely to encounter during a trip. We dragged a Danforth several hundred feet through grass without a decent set. We also jammed a Danforth into a rock, which is not recommended procedure, but it worked. I have seen Danforth anchors pretty bent up after encounters with rocks. I understand the Danforth’s attraction and utility, but I anchor too adventurously and the bottom is too varied around here to rely on only that.

I have started carrying two hundred-foot section of anchor line made up with thimbles and large galvanized screw pin shackles. They were very handy for setting up a bow and stern situation. I could set the stern anchor, motor off to the end of the extended rode and set the bow anchor, and then retrieve the extra stern rode while paying out at the bow. Very nice, just as I’d envisioned

Don’t hang on a single hook in a crowded anchorage where the wind may die off. At least don’t do it if you don’t like being up all night playing boathooks and bumper cars as various boats start sailing around on their slack rodes. I had this one figured out before, but I had the lesson reinforced this trip.

A bright, white new anchor line is much easier to see in the water than a stained old brown one.

Always, always, always set the anchor with as much force as the engine will put on it. The power of the engine is nothing compared to the power of the wind. If the anchor will not hold with the engine pulling on it, don’t do more than eat lunch hanging on it.

Heavy surge next to a rock face will scour the bottom clear of sand. If you do not want to anchor on rock, pull out another 30-50 feet to where the sand starts to build up.

When attempting to anchor bow and stern, it is nearly impossible to back the boat straight in a stiff crosswind.

The closer you can anchor to a sheltering cove the less wind you will have to face. This might be offset by increased surge, so pick your poison.

Being able to access and undo the attachment point where the bitter end of the rode meets the boat can be quite helpful slipping out of a wrap with another boat’s rode. I’m not of the school that advocates leaving the bitter end unattached just in case you need to slip your anchor fast. I like lots of scope so I’m usually working near the end of the rode and I’m not that confident I can hang onto it under all circumstances. Access to the attachment point and a well lubricated shackle permit you to be quite fast enough to separate the rode from the boat, thanks. If the attachment point is deep in the anchor locker, use a pennant to bring the detachment point up to where you can reach it easily.