Anchoring overnight (peacefully)

Everybody (except a fool) worries occasionally at anchor if the weather changes dramatically - but with more experience and preparation this should be a rare event.
Key things IMHO include:
- careful checking of weather forecasts - much better than a few years ago
- planning the anchorage based upon potential weather (avoiding wishful thinking)
- decent anchor and plenty of chain (Rocna x 2 and over 80m chain in our case!)
- if in doubt about anything (weather, positioning etc) move before it gets dark, don't ignore and hope
- keep a tablet or phone with Navionics by your bunk - can check position without moving at all
- always keep clothes, lifejacket and torch in the same easily accessed place in case need in night
With good preparation none of this will be needed and will get peaceful rest to morning

PS. With Raymarine wifi I now have a customised data page for windy overnights - can see on iPad instantly distance & direction from waypoint, wind speed & direction, depth and heading. Can quickly see all needed (except where other boats are, but les of an issue in remote Scottish places)
 
One thing that puzzles me is that you see yachts arriving and anchoring, and then being powered astern to make sure the anchor is well set but when the tide turns and the anchor is then being pulled in the opposite direction, no one bothers to start their engine and reset the anchor in the new direction.
 
wully1 said:
Nah... New generation anchor would be money better spent ��
Click to expand...

I didn't literally mean he should pay to see a shrink - just that the problem's more mental than technical.

Still, a dirty great Spade wouldn't go amiss anyway :encouragement:

Pete
 
parsifal said:
One thing that puzzles me is that you see yachts arriving and anchoring, and then being powered astern to make sure the anchor is well set but when the tide turns and the anchor is then being pulled in the opposite direction, no one bothers to start their engine and reset the anchor in the new direction.
Click to expand...

Once the anchor's buried it should shuffle round in place. It's fairly unlikely to go jumping back out onto the top of the sand and need to be buried again.

(In practice I suspect it's quite often not pulled hard enough from the new direction to do either...)

Pete
 
I am astonished.

in 46 years of messing about in boats, I have never thought twice about anchoring, and I have dragged an anchor just twice, both times in conditions that were grossly unfair to the anchor (don't anchor on the terminal moraine of a glacier - when the the katabatic wind comes in it will have you off the nice shallow moraine and into the too-deep-to-anchor middle of the fjord in no time!)

Big anchor, heavy chain, an angel, case need (seldom!) riding light and go to sleep!
 
StormNorm said:
We take it in turns to get up through the night. If the weather turns bad we stay up. As you say, you can sleep later.
This seems to be the consensus with anchoring; do the best job you can of setting the hook, then be prepared to deal with changes of conditions. If you want an uninterrupted night's sleep, go into a marina!
Doubtless there will be others who say they've never dragged and never needed to get up during the night. I can't do that.
Click to expand...

Sounds like me.

Always convinced that something will happen. Roll over at every change of motion or new sound.
Seem to wake for the tide turning and then sit and doze in the cockpit with head torch, gloves and the engine battery on and the keys in the starter.

What circle of movement do people set their anchor alarm to? Is there a rule of thimb for the change in depth of water or something?
 
I generally set the drag alarm for 20m, if I bother using one. When I started out it would live under my pillow, great for peace of mind.
I am also quite partial to rowing out a second anchor- especially as it helps keep the boat in the right place.
 
Gwylan said:
What circle of movement do people set their anchor alarm to? Is there a rule of thimb for the change in depth of water or something?
Click to expand...

I set the radius at the length of chain that I have let out. This means that, because of the catenary, The boat should never be that distance (horizontally) from the centre (the point where I have set the anchor). The boat can move around anywhere within that circle but as soon as it starts to drag the alarm will sound.
I find it convenient and it also allows some leeway (excuse the pun) in the accuracy of the centre.
 
Anchoring (and most holidays) would be spoilt for me if I had to stay awake for part of the night with the anchor down.

I don't set an alarm (except for shallow and deep) but will probably get an app for this Summer and on most nights sleep soundly after a drink or two ashore or afloat. I tend to fret more in the hour after anchoring and reversing hard to set as other boats arrive around me, but with fenders out as soon as the anchor is down I don't fret much. By darkness everybody has settled or moved.

The only times we've done an anchor watch was in strong winds. On one occasion it was our second night in a bay with no yachts for 300 yards, no rocks and 200 yards off the beach so unusually free of hassle.. Winds howled down off the hills so tiny waves but a lot of surging. It was all fine actually but I couldn't sleep so stayed up in the cockpit for an hour. The second time the wind was persistent and 20-35knots and unfortunately for us veered a little after dark meaning that instead of being very sheltered there was an angle that led the wind and waves directly into the tiny shallow harbour we were in and stayed that way all night. As the bay outside was full of unmarked rocks and not good to go out into at night and the shallows were 40 yards behind us it was poor judgement made as night was falling and the main harbour was completely rammed, So anchor watch on and off all night, for the first time in 6 years but despite the pitching and white horses which looked horrible at dawn the anchor (as always) held perfectly.
 
Anchor angst is common and difficult to resolve, as it is often down to emotion not logic. Perhaps the best course of action is to get hold of a new anchor with better holding properties than the OPs and an anchor alarm app on an iPad or Android phone.
Like Rupert, we've spent a lot of time at anchor over the past few years, mostly trouble free. When the wind is forecast to rise and remain above force 5 or so, then we'll set the anchor alarm on the phone by the bunk and have clothes ready to put on in a hurry. If the wind goes much above force 7, then we'll mount an anchor watch from the saloon. Only once have we had the anchor drag to the extent that we had to reset it.
 
westhinder said:
Great video, thanks for posting!
And what was the anchor you used?
Click to expand...
It was a great day out and took a lot of planning!

Just a CRQ style that we carefully placed in sand then attached two warps into climbing gear on the rock. I stayed onboard and looked after the boat while the three climbers did their stuff as my climbing days have long gone. Being attached at three points allowed me to position the boat very accuratly. Once the climbers were off the boat I could take it away from the cliff.
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
+1

The OP appears to know how to anchor but has an excessive amount of worrying due to witnessing an event on a yacht that reads to be quite frightening. He needs professional help to reset his thoughts to normal levels of concern. I would hazard a guess that this traumatic event has affected him significantly at the subconscious level and it manifests itself consciously by excessive worrying that is affecting the quality of his sailing.

A few sessions with an appropriate counsellor may give the OP the techniques and methods to manage this and get back to where he was before. These things can fester away and impact other areas of life for many years.

That's how I see it, but I am not a psychologist.
Click to expand...


i think its reassuring knowing its just not me :), its the changing of the tide but i guess im not the only one who gets up to double check


dunedin said:
Everybody (except a fool) worries occasionally at anchor if the weather changes dramatically - but with more experience and preparation this should be a rare event.
Key things IMHO include:
- careful checking of weather forecasts - much better than a few years ago
- planning the anchorage based upon potential weather (avoiding wishful thinking)
- decent anchor and plenty of chain (Rocna x 2 and over 80m chain in our case!)
- if in doubt about anything (weather, positioning etc) move before it gets dark, don't ignore and hope
- keep a tablet or phone with Navionics by your bunk - can check position without moving at all
- always keep clothes, lifejacket and torch in the same easily accessed place in case need in night
With good preparation none of this will be needed and will get peaceful rest to morning

PS. With Raymarine wifi I now have a customised data page for windy overnights - can see on iPad instantly distance & direction from waypoint, wind speed & direction, depth and heading. Can quickly see all needed (except where other boats are, but les of an issue in remote Scottish places)
Click to expand...

interesting to know might have to look into some ipad related apps

LadyInBed said:
You have proved that you can set your anchor. Now get an anchor watch app for your phone.
Click to expand...

Any recommendations on apps?

Sandy said:
Don't let us put you off!


OK we did not sleep!
Click to expand...

great video, and obviously great hold on the anchor there!

duncan99210 said:
Anchor angst is common and difficult to resolve, as it is often down to emotion not logic. Perhaps the best course of action is to get hold of a new anchor with better holding properties than the OPs and an anchor alarm app on an iPad or Android phone.
Like Rupert, we've spent a lot of time at anchor over the past few years, mostly trouble free. When the wind is forecast to rise and remain above force 5 or so, then we'll set the anchor alarm on the phone by the bunk and have clothes ready to put on in a hurry. If the wind goes much above force 7, then we'll mount an anchor watch from the saloon. Only once have we had the anchor drag to the extent that we had to reset it.
Click to expand...

i've got a decent array of anchors for most conditions / bottoms, i have not delved into the app side of things - perhaps this will reassure me more :) and mean less checking!
 
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