Anchor side and weather

[Roberto]

Quote from a thread on SB
**The Victory carried 7 anchors of various sizes for different uses; these were:
One (1) Best Bower: This served as one of the two main anchors used for holding the ship in deep water. Being the heaviest and strongest, it was always rigged on the starboard (right hand) side of the ship because of prevailing winds found within the northern hemisphere. ***


Now, being in the northern hemisphere, and as winds turn clockwise in the dangerous side of a depression, I would find more logical to put the first anchor on port side, and if a second anchor is needed then it would go on the starboard side, without crossing the cables/chains as the wind turns

But most anchors I see on other boats are on the starboard side of the forestay, so what is the explanation?

thanks




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[jsl]

Perhaps it's like this: you are lying to a southwesterly gale; the front passes through; the wind jumps round into the northwest, catching you on the starboard bow. Because the cable is already on that bow, it won't foul the stem as the ship's head pays off to port. But since presumably all ships range about on their cables when the wind is strong, this does not seem to be a very complete explanation. I would not be surprised to learn that the original choice was arbitrary, and was simply reinforced by conservatism. For righthanded sailors, the starboard side of the ship is sometimes the easier one to work on.

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[MarkV]

I seem to remember reading recently that the anchor hawser was specifically made as a left hand laid rope (made out of multiple right hand cables) because of the way a ship rides it anchor. Not sure of the definition of left and right hand laying or the S and Z descriptions a laid rope.

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