Anchoring down to come ashore

[Searush]

Some comments;

Why only a recognised anchorage?
Because a newbie may not yet be experienced at recognising a sheltered spot. However, even recognised anchorages are usually only sheltered in certain conditions, so being weather wise is important.

Small inflatable use; I prefer hard transom dinghies, they allow passengers to sit on the transom if you are rowing without getting a wet bum. They also roll into a nice flat, if long parcel that can be tied on deck either in front of or behind the mast with limited impact on sail handling. Inflate/ deflate on the fore deck & launch over the guard rail - using pvc pipe as a roller if you wish.

In "dodgy" locations, I have looked for places to land the family easily & direct from the boat & then gone out & anchored before rowing ashore. Just reverse the process for leaving. You could even anchor temprarily close in to land the family by dink & then anchor in deep water (towing the inflated dink) so that you are not so tide constrained as to when you leave.

Beaching is what I do most often, but only if the location is truly sheltered in current & anticipated conditions. Any pounding, even only a few inches, while it may not kill a good boat, my experience is that it will terrify the skipper & crew. An uncovered sand bank to windward can offer the most amazing shelter & anchoring behind a sandbank can give you access to miles of golden virgin sand with not another soul in sight.

 

[Seven Spades]

Given the size of your boat, I would suggest that you tow a small dinghy and anchor in deeper water off the beach and do so such that you won't ground at all. If you don't know how to use tide tables than I really think you should not undertake this kind of trip without first doing the Costal SkipperYM shore based course see here.

The important thing about sailing is to keep your family safe and feeling safe otherwise they won't go out again and you will be looking for crew.

 

[coo]

You are all so brilliant! Thank you for taking the time to give me your thoughts! I think we will go with dropping people off on the beach, then OH can head out and bring a little tender back or swim! I love the idea of the kayak as it would be nice to tow something without needing to worry about the drag and not therefore have to blow up something on the deck. Now comes the worry of the anchor - we have a HUGE anchor that was given with us when we got the boat, they promised to give us one when we got her and when we turned up I think they gave us whatever was spare - they did say it was a bit big but this would take up half the room at the font of the boat! I might sell it and get a better sized one, does anyone have a suggestion for size and weight that would suit our boat?

I think we will end up sititng on board a fair amout and dropping anchor but staying with her until we get our confinence right up with it, otherwise I will end up dropping anchor further out and then taking a huge length of rope to sit and hold onto on the beach until I learn to trust the anchor will not budge!!

Thank you again for everything... I am really enjoying this learning curve (more of a spiral than a curve but still!) am very excited to keep learning!

Thanks again!

 

[rob2]

There is an anchor size guide on the Jimmy Green website. The sizes given are really a minimum for use in fair weather and many people carry one a size larger, particularly when the boat will be left unattended as you plan to do.

http://www.jimmygreen.co.uk/p/technical/chandlery-technical-articles/anchor-size-guide

Rob.

 

[Searush]

Sitting on the beach watching your boat, you may notice that with each little wave it moves slightly further away. That is the time to get up & run like mad & row the dink like your life depends on it. Unless the beach shelves steeply the boat will not drift off quickly & you should catch it quite easily. Please don't ask how I know this. It was a VERY long time ago but It still stresses me to go out of sight of SR when she is anchored!

Once, near Milport on Cumbrae I woke up to see that the neighbours had left early on the tide. Shortly after lunch I was even more surprised to see them come back & anchor in the same spot. "Been anywhere nice?" I asked politely, & the skipper blushed deeply & admitted that they had woken up several miles away on the mainland coast when the dangling anchor had gripped on a mudbank. It had taken them the rest of the morning to sail back to where they had started from.

Lots of adventures to swop in the cockpit when rafted up, or in a club bar somewhere, but fortunately, they seldom end up with serious damage or injury. Enjoy your boat & your adventures, but learn from them, cos the best day's sail is always the boring one!

 

[DanTribe]

Once, near Milport on Cumbrae I woke up to see that the neighbours had left early on the tide. Shortly after lunch I was even more surprised to see them come back & anchor in the same spot. "Been anywhere nice?" I asked politely, & the skipper blushed deeply & admitted that they had woken up several miles away on the mainland coast when the dangling anchor had gripped on a mudbank. It had taken them the rest of the morning to sail back to where they had started from.

Lots of adventures to swop in the cockpit when rafted up, or in a club bar somewhere, but fortunately, they seldom end up with serious damage or injury. Enjoy your boat & your adventures, but learn from them, cos the best day's sail is always the boring one!

Cue the Mike Peyton cartoon.
Boat with anchor hanging on a very short scope, near an offshore lightship.
"go back to sleep dear, it's just car headlights leaving the pub"

 

[Harvey Cail]

'Nuff said!

 

[William_H]

Anchoring off a beach

Can I question that?

We are talking about a small 18ft boat, not unlike mine, presumably with an OB and transom hung rudder.

So you motor back until you have dug your rudder and OB prop into the sand. you will still have a foot or so of water to wade through to get ashore. I'm not sure the OB would like it's prop being motored into the sand, and it would test the mounting of the rudder. Some small boats have small lightweight fixings for the rudder.

Would it not be better to motor in forwards? The bow will touch the sand while the rudder and OB are still afloat. You can use a simple rope ladder to climb down from the bow into just a few inches of water, or if you are lucky straight onto the beach.

hello Dave. Your concerns may well be valid. I have an adjustable height outboard and a rudder that swings up and aft and a keel that lifts up into the hull. So yes outboard is the lowest point but you just have to be careful. In past we have camped for several days on the beach. I just use 2 anchors and leave the boat near the shore when I am ashore and haul it out to the bow anchor when on board. (overnight) The typical wind is strong from the shore shifting 180 degrees in the night. Tide tends to follow the wind going out in the wee small hours. The main difference is that I guard the antifouling paint on the bottom of hull and keel so avoid actual rounding as far as possible.
It is all doable without difficulty. However I find access is far easier at the stern and i would never tow a dinghy with a small boat. olewill

 

[onesea]

Given the size of your boat, I would suggest that you tow a small dinghy and anchor in deeper water off the beach and do so such that you won't ground at all. If you don't know how to use tide tables than I really think you should not undertake this kind of trip without first doing the Costal SkipperYM shore based course see here.

The important thing about sailing is to keep your family safe and feeling safe otherwise they won't go out again and you will be looking for crew.

I am not certain why a 18' boat should tow a dinghy any more than a 40? Or why they should anchor in deep water the beauty of Shoal draft boats is just that, you can get into shallower places.

I would suggest consulting somebody who is competent in tides, also some one with local knowledge.

A local sailing club? particularly if they run courses or have similar boats.

I agree about keeping people safe and more importantly feeling safe. Make sailing a joint decision, get SWMBO involved form day dot. Do you think its to windy? We could go some where nearer? The forecast for tomorrow is better?

If you do a course try and get her to do the course at the same time. If you sail as a team the whole thing becomes a none issue.

 

[Seven Spades]

I agree about towing dinghies but at 18' it is a bit small to stow one. He said he is a novice and it is safer to anchor where he will not ground at low tide. You have to remember that this is a relatively new yachtsman so my thoughts take that into account.