kingsebi
Active member
Not at all. It’s just a general assumption. I’m sure there are charter captains that are much better sailors than I am.
Anchoring - who is responsible?
- Thread starter EugeneR
- Start date
webcraft
Well-known member
I don't think so. Golf rangefinders for around £100 are every bit as effective at measuring the typical distances of anchored vessels, maybe more so (see Nnoelex's post above) and do not involve spending several grand, decreasing vessel stability and exposing myself and crew to yet another radiation source.
- W
GHA
Well-known member
Not really. Ask anyone who is out sailing and anchoring year in year out.
Not all bad but it's safest to assume all charterers are a disaster waiting to happen.
July / August in Europe is drag racing time. Anchor upwind whenever possible.
That's not anyone's opinion but a non judgemental safety thing based on evidence.
GHA
Well-known member
But if you have the cash spare and the room to fit radar overlaid on opencpn is just such a wonderful thing when anchoring
capnsensible
Well-known member
Lots of peeps with radar have little idea of how to use it.....
noelex
Well-known member
Radar has many uses. A rangefinder cannot do many of the jobs that are easy with radar, but it remains the superior choice for measuring the distance of anchored boats in most (not all) circumstances.
Just my experience. I have both options.
Just my experience. I have both options.
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lustyd
Well-known member
They’re cheaper, sure. I didn’t say radar was cheap I said it was better, and it is. Radar and a decent plotter allows you to overlay vessels on the chart, see their distance from you and the pin where you dropped your anchor, and you can see that data over time as well. They also have the distinct advantage of also working in fog both in an anchorage and at sea. It’s also always at the helm and doesn’t need batteries or charging.
I realise it’s not for everyone, but for those who have it it’s extremely powerful.
Wansworth
Well-known member
With a sextant knowing the class of yacht and mast height…..
Roberto
Well-known member
Or aim with one eye closed at one extremity of the other boat with your finger and stretched arm, then switch to the other eye: the finger will "jump" to -for example- the other extremity of the boat. Multiply by 6 the length of the boat and that is your distance from it. More generally, adjust for the actual length covered by the jump of the finger, then multiply by 6.
To increase accuracy, measure the ratio between (the distance between your eyes) and (the distance from your eyes to the finger) and you have your personal multiplier (mine is about 6.5).
Wansworth
Well-known member
A handy tipOr aim with one eye closed at one extremity of the other boat with your finger and stretched arm, then switch to the other eye: the finger will "jump" to -for example- the other extremity of the boat. Multiply by 6 the length of the boat and that is your distance from it. More generally, adjust for the actual length covered by the jump of the finger, then multiply by 6.
To increase accuracy, measure the ratio between (the distance between your eyes) and (the distance from your eyes to the finger) and you have your personal multiplier (mine is about 6.5).
mainsail1
Well-known member
Now here is a similar problem but different. We anchored in a crowded bay in Corsica one evening last summer. Once we had settled we were about 10m from a mooring buoy which was fine until...... An hour later a 20m yacht decides to moor to the buoy on a long line. I guess the buoy was a public buoy, certainly not his. We had to leave the Bay and go elsewhere. I would never have dreamt of mooring my boat on the buoy in that situation but there we go.
NormanS
Well-known member
You have evidence? A devil's advocate might suggest that those who only anchor occasionally might be even more cautious than those who anchor every day.
Anyway how do you tell, other than by asking, how much annual anchoring and sailing experience a person has?
noelex
Well-known member
The original Santa Claus was Saint Nicholas, who is also the patron saint of sailors.
Be careful, each year he adds several skippers to the naughty list for their anchoring practices.
Be careful, each year he adds several skippers to the naughty list for their anchoring practices
.
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
Does a quick scan with the binos at the bow roller of new arrivals help? Should we up anchor and leave if they have only a rusty CQR?
Stemar
Well-known member
I find that a draft of 70cm is a great help in persuading most boats not to anchor too close
GHA
Well-known member
That's not actually relevant, see a charter boat come in, and you can spot them in a moment even without a www. on the boom, more often than not with a little delta on the bow an some skimpy chain. There's a very real chance they'll drag once the wind pipes up in the afternoon. Not a contentious statement in the slightest, everyone knows that's what happens. Anything else isn't really of interest, beware the charterers
The "a few weeks cruising in the summer" crowd are best treated with caution as well.
Load of solar, some plastic cans on deck, fishing rod next to the radar arch and a nice big new gen hanging off the bow ready to drop, far more likely to stay put
GHA
Well-known member
Fitted a new halo+ a little while back & it's never given any cause to doubt it, actually been a pretty major game changer anchored. So good coming in to find nice gap then anything the least concerning stick a waypoint in with range rings guessing the amount of chain out. Pity i don't have n image showing a target with ais as well which can be used to confirm.
Then you can see if something moves a couple of metres back quite easily, luckily rarely though
It plugs into a raspberry pi so if it's a breezy night just leave the radar on standby which is a few hundred mA and look at the Pi with a tablet so you can turn on the radar without getting out of bed to have a look at what's going on. Love it to bits, opencpn plug is excellent, right click to acquire a radar it behaves like an ais target with sog/cog & cpa. Very useful with nothing really to learn. Turn on and set mode & seastate, the auto gains will do a better job than we can
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
We draw even less when we need to.I find that a draft of 70cm is a great help in persuading most boats not to anchor too close
We also used to find that having baby clothes hung out to dry gave us a decent amount of swinging room.
Boathook
Well-known member
The nappy 'trick' was mentioned in a book that I read as a way to keep other boats away and the boat didn't have baby's. They found though that it attracted boats with baby's, etc !