Anchor V Mooring!

[starboard]

Being based here around the beautiful waters of West Scotland I anchor at every oportunity I get. However it never ceases to amaze me how many people will pick up a mooring of unknown weight or condition rather than anchor. Surely we all know the lenght of chain, the weight of anchor and the seabed type and therefore the capabilities of the ground tackle so why do so many people put blind faith in a spare mooring that neither belongs to them nor the max weight known, after all the bottom shackle could have worn away to fuse wire quality!!!
Saying that, on occasions I have done it myself but only because nearly every nice anchorage you now go to mooring buoys have been put down by some indiscriminate owner spoiling the anchorage for all, 9 times out of 10 these moorings are always empty.
30 years ago we had no option...we had to anchor and better seamen we were for it. I would be interested to hear if that is the case with our fellows on the South coast.

Paul.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[claymore]

So - let me get this right - you seem to take a dim view of people putting blind faith into picking up a mooring that they don't know anything about and yet you do this yourself because people have put moorings down where you wanted to anchor?
Hmm

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>regards
Claymore<font color=purple>
/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[starboard]

Yes have picked one up whilst aboard the boat and awake...after all you may not know if the rightful owner will turn up...but what I wonder is why we all seem to put trust in a mooring that may be connected to the sea bed with a piece of fuse wire...yes I have done it but to be honest its the anchor every time if the sea bed has not been littered with moorings.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Goldie]

Hi Paul,

I suspect confidence has a lot to do with it. Last week we anchored off St Evette in perfect shelter with an offshore breeze. Nearby were 30 odd visitors' moorings at about 12 Euros per time. With plenty of anchoring space to spare, all but one of the other British boats stopping off en-route to/from the Raz (approx 20 boats)chose to pick up a mooring and pay. I'm sure that these moorings are regularly serviced but it still seems a waste of money!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[starboard]

Totally agree, hopefully find the official visitors moorings of sufficient weight and regulary serviced and therefore not a problem, its the odds and sods that are scattered around that I often wonder why!! at the end of the day I am happy to put total faith if room permits in my good old Delta

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Robin]

The moorings are a bit close together there too, plus you may only be stopping until the next slack water so the fee paid is not even for a full 24hrs. We only stop there if forced to by strong N/NE wind against tide when headed north, to wait for a slack water passage through Le Raz, in which case St Evette is very sheltered and since it has good holding why waste money?

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[claymore]

I was once in Bunessan when it was blowing hard and we were seeking some shelter. We went into the bay where the old boatyard was (Bendoran?) and didn't fancy anchoring because the place was littered with moorings so we tied up to a suitably large chain/buoy and set the GPS and depth sounder alarms. This seems a reasonable precaution if you are not sure about what you are tied to. We never moved all night and although we tend to avoid moorings generally, I've never had one break loose with us attached. This has to mean there's a load of old guff talked about moorings and we are probably perfectly safe using fusewire - which is, after all quite strong.
They used to warn that the old Highlands and Islands moorings were not checked in Craighouse but they are full most evenings during the summer

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>regards
Claymore<font color=purple>
/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[jerryat]

Hi Starboard!

Totally agree!

Good sailing .......... and anchoring!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[longjohnsilver]

I went up the river Exe to an attractive pub a few weeks ago, no room to anchor so picked up a buoy belonging to a local boatyard. Had a pleasant few pints and returned to the boat with the intention of doing an oil change. Had just sucked all the oil out of the engine when the local mooring service chap chugged up the river and pulled alongside.

He took great pleasure in telling me I'd tied up to a buoy with no anchor on it, he'd pulled it up the previous week and there were no flukes, just the centre piece which they'd let down again at speed hoping it would spear itself into the mud. We had another beer (he's a fellow diver I've known for years) whilst I completed the oil change and then I left him to it.

So as you rightly say, it's daft to pick up an unknown buoy/mooring, in my case I had the boat in sight all the time at the pub and it was the top of the tide so little current. I would definitely use the anchor alarm on the gps if I was forced into using an unknown mooring for a night and would also if possible dive to inspect it myself.

As you say, why take the chance.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[boatless]

None of the soft southern moorings I've tried have been a problem either.

Turkey '91, about 7am, sunny morning (as usual) and there's a knocking on the hull. Bleary eyed me gets up. Father and son fishing boat alongside holding the end of a chain up and pointing at it (in Turkish).

I still wonder what time our mooring let go of it's concrete, and how far and how many times we drifted in and out of the bay that night?

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[Aja]

Hi Starboard

Makes my blood boil. I have a mooring at Kames which is right next to moorings owned by the Kames Hotel. When they are full, people think nothing of picking up my mooring. Unfortunately for my parents - the house looks over my mooring and they get livid at two 40 footers rafted up to my mooring - dont worry guys I have your names - my boat is no more than 3.5tonnes, what would they weigh? 12-14 tonnes? Madness.

I'm perfectly happy to anchor - on the other hand if a Visitor mooring is available for the night I'll pick it up... except in Tobermory, as you get boats rafted up to you when ashore and in the middle of the night that dreadful rock and rolling starts. Would rather anchor right inshore.

Anchoring is easy. Just needs a bit of confidence in what your doing.

Rant over.

Donald



<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[starboard]

Hi Donald, yes thats just my point, saw 2 Sunsail yachts on the same mooring at Colintrave last year, I know the mooring belongs to a small day Boat!!! Will look out for you next time I am up the Kyle's looking at forecast dont think it will be this weekend though.

Paul.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[rich]

Why do i get angry when someone uses my mooring,,,,because I want IT! and when some sod moores against ME when i am on MY mooring I go BALLISTIC> GET OFF!

<hr width=100% size=1>http://www.jersey-harbours.com

 

[Jools_of_Top_Cat]

I was once in Bunessan

Shiver

I hate that place, still gives me the willies....lets just say it involved one of the locals of the fairer sex.



<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.topcatsail.co.uk>

</A>

 

[claymore]

I never met any of those - unless your definition of the fairer sex is hairy arsed fishermen?

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>regards
Claymore<font color=purple>
/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[Aja]

Pressure on Moorings is becoming more intense. Going abck only 20 years there were very few moorings around the Kyles. Now they seem to be laid almost everywhere. This does remove space for traditional anchoring, but there is no excuse for yachts to 'double-park' without at least knowledge of the mooring.

Rebel will be on her mooring this weekend. I'm off racing to Bangor and back this weekend. Should be a quick race!

Regards

Donald

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[jamesjermain]

If your dearly beloved insisted on you getting up and checking three transits for at least half a hour every time the chain rumbled in the hawsepipe, whatever the conditions and whatever time of day or night, you, too, would become a mooringophile

<hr width=100% size=1>JJ

 

[webcraft]

Re: Craighouse Moorings

I asked in the pub at the beginning of May and they told me the moorings are checked every Spring.

- Nick



<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.bluemoment.com>http://www.bluemoment.com</A></font size=1>

 

[starboard]

But surely the same could or will happen on a mooring...how do you put total faith in that mooring, why do you not get up in the middle of the night to make sure you are still there??? I always set my GPS anchor watch to 0.03nm and the depth alarm at shallow and deep plus or minus 3mtr on the expected tidal range. I always sleep well at anchor because I trust my ground tackle as opposed to trusting someones "dodgy" mooring!!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Cornishman]

Re: Sexist?

If she did that to me I would soon teach her to do the job for herself! Send her on a shore based theory course this winter.
The way out of it is to share skippering, say, on alternative trips.
BTW JJ, are you up there or down yer at the moment 'cos it ain't arf windy in the Tamar Valley today?

<hr width=100% size=1>