Anchor dragging...

[noelex]

Unfortunately, swell tends to curve around obstructions more than you would expect. For the physicists, think of wave theory rather than particle theory.

However, if you anchor frequently, conditions where the wave or wind conditions are worse than may be reasonably predicted will be encountered. The key is to have anchoring equipment and techniques that can cope with these conditions.

 

[TernVI]

... if you anchor frequently, conditions where the wave or wind conditions are worse than may be reasonably predicted will be encountered. The key is to have anchoring equipment and techniques that can cope with these conditions.

Or avoid the need to anchor in conditions where sensible equipment may not be good enough.
What was the objective in anchoring on the windward side of the island?
I would have thought it fairly basic that the wind might swing a bit as the weather goes through and that bay was not unlikely to be challenging.
One bit of the kind of bad luck that can happen to anyone, and the boat would have been wrecked.

 

[zoidberg]

Reading this and similar, I'm reminded that in the bad old days of Navy Plug, woollen guerseys, and NO electrics, mariners were deeply interested in the nature of the 'holding' in a prospective anchorage. To help with that and determine an appropriate scope of rode to lay out, they'd use a lead line. Not only to measure the depth and the rate of shoaling/deepening, but also to sample what the bottom-material was. The lead would be 'armed' with sticky tallow or a similar stuff, and lowered swiftly to the seabed. Inspection of what stuck to the tallow gave useful information.

That info, gathered over tens of thousands of lead-line surveys in longboats around the world - much of it in winter and inclement weather - is still printed for us on BA charts.

Do we now bother to look? Could giving some attention to that charted information help us in choosing a relatively secure over an unreliable anchorage?

I'm fairly confident that some of us haven't looked at NP5011 - 'Symbols and Abbreviations Used on Paper Charts' for some years ( I couldn't find my copy ) so here's a reminder....

Out of interest, and while 'watching my wife watch paint dry' today, I had an onscreen peek at a large handful of favourite anchorages via MemoryMap. It wasn't always what I'd expected.
Some confirmed my historic choices; some certainly didn't. There were bays, nooks and crannies which favoured a Spade or Rocna. There were others that clearly were Fortress country. And others again where I ought to have gone elsewhere.

What would you make of these: 'cS.bkSh.G' or 'S.M.P.Sh/R'.....? Or 'Co'....?

 

[kingsebi]

Or avoid the need to anchor in conditions where sensible equipment may not be good enough.
What was the objective in anchoring on the windward side of the island?
I would have thought it fairly basic that the wind might swing a bit as the weather goes through and that bay was not unlikely to be challenging.
One bit of the kind of bad luck that can happen to anyone, and the boat would have been wrecked.

I read on multiple sources that this was a safe all weather anchorage, with people saying that they endured 40kts winds from all directions. To be honest I had some doubts with the wind coming from the NE, but I kept believing what I had read. In the future I'm going to rely on my own reasoning. You name it, I had good luck this time.

 

[TernVI]

I read on multiple sources that this was a safe all weather anchorage, with people saying that they endured 40kts winds from all directions. To be honest I had some doubts with the wind coming from the NE, but I kept believing what I had read. In the future I'm going to rely on my own reasoning. You name it, I had good luck this time.

You can't always believe sources, even pilot books, they tend to repeat what others have said, and sometimes leave out key things.
Also it is November, even some harbours in SW England move their pontoons up river a bit in the Autumn or Winter, because strong winds from awkward directions are much more likely.

 

[noelex]

Or avoid the need to anchor in conditions where sensible equipment may not be good enough.

Unfortunately, if you anchor frequently, despite the best information and careful judgment in my experience you are likely sooner or later to encounter conditions that are significantly worse than predicted.

I anchor over 300 days a year and have done so for more than decade so I have seen my share of these occasions.

Importantly, with modern, good quality anchoring equipment it is possible to equip a cruising yacht with gear that is capable of anchoring safely even when these events occur. Such equipment is “sensible” for a cruising boat anchoring frequently, in my view. Such equipment is likely to be an upgrade over the typical equipment supplied as standard when purchasing a new production yacht, but this does not mean these upgrades are not sensible.

I would caution about the frequent posts on this forum that suggest that even moderate winds such as 35 knots are not likely, or that modern anchors never drag. As this thread demonstrates, such posts are not accurate.

 

[zoidberg]

Here you are, boys! Just what everyone needs in their Christmas stocking...?

As for 'kingsebi's

.... but I kept believing what I had read. In the future I'm going to rely on my own reasoning. You name it, I had good luck this time.

You're just one of us!