Anchoring in the Med

[banger]

Am fitting out for a med trip and looking for advice on anchoring, I have the usual CQR/Danforth arrangement, is this o.k or any alternatives.
Rope or chain, and how much,I have a windlass and the boat is long keel displacing 4.5t, I am at the moment favouring chain but any help from those who have done it would be welcome.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[johnsomerhausen]

You didn´t give the weights of your anchors, but assuming you have a 35 lbs CQR and a 15 lbs DAnforth, you should be all right (if you can find a 20 Kilos Swedish foldiong fisherman anchor to add to the collection, you´d be covered for most circumstances). As far as the cable is concerned, I´d say 15-20 meters of chain to which you splice 60 metrers of mylon would be a good compromise; it allows you to anchor on all chain (plus abouit 3 meters of line for a built-in snubber) in 5 meters depth and yhou´ve got alkl the extra line for greater depths.
My own experience (in the Med and the Caribbean) and just an opinion
john

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[LadyInBed]

A couple of small folding grapnels with a couple of mtrs of chain on each are useful for holding the back end to rocky shores in coves.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Ric]

I find that the biggest anchoring challenge in the Med is the thick kelp beds, especially when there is a Mistral or Libeccio blowing.

I think CQRs are good all round anchors but their weakest feature is poor hold on kelp -they have a tendency to flip upside down and skid along with the shoe upwards sliding over the kelp. Danforth type anchors are also no good in kelp. If you just want one all-round anchor, you could get one of those Wasi Bugelankers, which work quite well on most bottoms including kelp. Or if you don't want to spend too much, get a cheap fishermans as a complement to your existing anchors, as they are good in kelp. Alternatively, and also nice and cheap, is a big grapnel anchor (my preference), as they are easier to store and handle than a fisherman's. I have a 15kg grapnel on my 32 foot boat and it holds me nice and firm when everybody else is dragging.

A lightweight kedge anchor is also quite useful in the Med as a lot of anchorages are quite crowded and you may find you need to limit your swing. I have a really light French anchor called a FOB Light, which comes with a mount to hand it off the pulpit. Very easy to row out in the dinghy. I can even swim with it for short distances!

Also, definitely get a throwing anchor. They are very useful when anchoring in all the little calas in the Ballearics, esp if short handed, to hold the stern until one can clamber ashore to make fast a heavier line. Also, it is useful to have some lenghs of plastic pipe to protect the ropes when in the calas, and a few short lengths of chain and shackle to improvise a decent hold on the little knobs of rock.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[ccscott49]

Worst problems I have had are on hard packed sand with grass over it, a right swine to get through, the anchor skids on the grass and wont bite in. a big danforth tyoe seems, so far, to be the best I`ve tried, but with my anchors weighing 50kgs, its a bit expensive to experiment!!


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[dk]

The CQR will be alright, but in weedy areas it's best to have a Delta or Spade as these tend to cut through it better. I would also take enough chain to anchor in 10m all chain - ie 50m, as it tends to blow like hell for a while every afternoon when the sea breeze gets up. I've had it go from a gentle whiff to 35 knots in 20 minutes, so it's nice to know you can just let a little more chain out to stop the snubbing. Stick another 20m of multiplait on the end and you'll have a happy siesta every day!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[snowleopard]

additional equipment required for crowded anchorages where the last frenchman always anchors inside your swinging range:

option 1, rusty steel rubbing strake

option 2, lots of fenders (old tyres tend to keep them away)

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[hylas]

In one article published into Practical Boat Owner,issue 391 – July 1999, Adrian Faulkner, a very well known New Zealand circumnavigator says:
- My Faithful anchor has always been a CQR. Together we have sailed from the fjords of New Zealand to indonesian volcanoes, from Zululand to Zanzibar.. and much more 50 000 miles in all. I've come to trust an anchor which has served me well for 95% of the time..

Until I came to the med. suddenly and often – my CQR started draging. So, I bought a 30 kg Bruce but it did no better..

The Med has the most difficult sea floor I've ever known.. On one side lies the world's largest desert, on the other Europe and Turkey. With only a few rivers delivering little mud.. and with a small tidal range and no strong currents, the sea floor rests undisturbed..

I had personally the same results with my CQR and a Britany anchor. until I started to study the problem and came with one solution.. A first prototype was then built at Ischmeler, the Industrial zone of Bodrum (Turkey) and an aluminium prototype in Marmaris (still in Turkey).. the first anchor especialy designed for the difficult conditions of the Med was born.. the Spade anchor..

On hard sea bottoms very often covered by weed, neither the CQR nor the Danforth anchors will work, the old Fisherman anchor will not perform better..



<hr width=100% size=1>