Anchoring

[magicol]

Not the usual anchor thread, but looking to hear good practice once at anchor. We are experienced dinghy sailors with a few years now of sailing bigger boats. I feel I know how to identify an appropriate anchorage and properly set the anchor but to date have restricted our overnight anchoring to very benign conditions and in well established anchorages. I have never left our boat unattended and when overnight at anchor, I worry.

Now with the boat put to bed for the winter, thoughts turn to next year. Regularly anchoring further afield, in more challenging conditions, off the beaten track and providing opportunities to explore ashore are our objectives.

I am looking for advice and good practice. In particular, I would like to hear the protocols and strategies forumites use when at anchor. Do you set a watch? Are alarms useful? How often do you check the set of the anchor? How often do you take a fix? Do you leave your boat unattended, out of sight, for how long?

Oh…..and do you get any sleep?

 

[lustyd]

We drop a pin on the plotter when we drop anchor. We also take transits and check for about 20 minutes after anchoring.
After 20 minutes we’re happy to leave the boat and explore. With good anchoring setup you can trust it in most places, and by hood I mean any reasonably modern design anchor and enough scope for the depth. We don’t follow the RYA scope methods which are woefully out of date and don’t scale to deep water well. If you have several metres of chain on the bottom and enough scope for a reasonable layback then all good. Heavy weather put more scope out.

Yes, sleep like a baby at anchor except in Jersey when we had waves on the beam all night and I was too lazy to do anything about it

 

[Minerva]

Procedure is basically, drop hook to appropriate scope and drift back as you do so. Once hook bitten, power up in reverse to ensure firm held. Take transit once happy your firm.

Then, the most important bit; pour a g&t and enjoy some nibbles. Table your time to savour this bit - it is very important.

Once you’ve done the above, and taken 45 mins to do so (may need a second g&t). Take another transit. It should be the same as, or closer to the anchor than previously taken.

Then you’re all set to fully relax. Enjoy.

 

[neil_s]

I look for an anchoring spot where the wind is blowing across the tide. Thus, at slack water, the boat swings tidily around the anchor with no risk of fouling it. There seems to be less chain rumbling noise, too.

 

[johnalison]

I think you are quite right to do a bit of gentle research at this stage. Most of my anchoring has been done in benign conditions such as the mud of the East Coast, and I would need to have a good hard think if I were going to explore the West Coast of Scotland or further afield. Anchoring in good shelter needn’t be any more complicated than getting a good set and checking your position but there will be plenty of experienced folk with advice on extreme anchoring techniques.

 

[NormanS]

We use our boat to go to the "places ye cannae go in the bus", so spend a lot of time at anchor, and lots of time ashore. You'll find that you'll gradually become more confident, the more you anchor. Assuming that you have decent anchoring equipment, and choose sensible anchorages for the expected weather, you won't have any bother. Beware of weed on the bottom. Weed can give the impression of giving a good grip, and then fail when the winds gets up. Ideally you want to be on clean mud or sand. I use the Fishfinder facility on my plotter to give me a clear picture of the bottom.

I have left boats anchored, unattended, for periods of up to four weeks at a time, in Shetland and the Outer Isles, but admittedly that was always with two anchors in a "Bahamian Moor".
Most people now "set" their anchor using the engine, but if there's wind, it can just as easily be done under sail, and the anchor won't know the difference.

Anchoring gives you so much more choice, than moorings or pontoons. There is a lot of useful information in, for example, the CCC Sailing Directions. Highly recommended.

 

[FairweatherDave]

Procedure is basically, drop hook to appropriate scope and drift back as you do so. Once hook bitten, power up in reverse to ensure firm held. Take transit once happy your firm.

Then, the most important bit; pour a g&t and enjoy some nibbles. Table your time to savour this bit - it is very important.

Once you’ve done the above, and taken 45 mins to do so (may need a second g&t). Take another transit. It should be the same as, or closer to the anchor than previously taken.

Then you’re all set to fully relax. Enjoy.

I follow this pretty much. But made one mistake this summer not doing the reverse to ensure we were firmly held. Figured the wind increasing would do the job for us. We watched 3 other boats drag during the night and then we were dragging too. So we set the anchor properly and watched the anchor alarm for quite a while before being happy. 6 out of 9 of us dragged in a well known anchorage. So be prepared if it is a windy night, and do the job properly in the first place in daylight....we had hit the relaxation phase too early despite a modern anchor and a nice muddy bottom. It had been a beautiful evening .

 

[dunedin]

Procedure is basically, drop hook to appropriate scope and drift back as you do so. Once hook bitten, power up in reverse to ensure firm held. Take transit once happy your firm.

Then, the most important bit; pour a g&t and enjoy some nibbles. Table your time to savour this bit - it is very important.

Once you’ve done the above, and taken 45 mins to do so (may need a second g&t). Take another transit. It should be the same as, or closer to the anchor than previously taken.

Then you’re all set to fully relax. Enjoy.

This is good advice and covers most of it. The setting firmly and then waiting a while is important. Some of the shenanigans you hear about are from people who drop the hook and 5 minutes later they have gone ashore. Always wait and check how settling.

The only times we have kept an active “anchor watch” (ie somebody awake through the night) have been in exceptionally bad weather - indeed the worst was rafted on a pontoon in St Peter’s Port harbour on Guernsey, worse than any night on anchor so far!
Most nights in benign conditions don’t bother with an anchor alarm - but it doesn’t cost anything so if stronger wind or any concerns, use an Anchor app on the iPad. The alarm has never yet gone off in anger, but allows to sleep easier.

If the hook is well set and no change of weather, we are happy to leave the boat for a longish walk or meal ashore - but probably wouldn’t leave on anchor overnight (and some insurance companies may take a dim view of that).

Doesn’t apply much where we sail, but only other factor is when the tide turns - worth being on board at that time to check anchor resets properly, and don’t swing too close to other boats if crowded.

Enjoy!

 

[noelex]

We always set an anchor alarm. It is like having an extra crew to continually monitor the anchor position without drinking any of my single malt .

We very rarely set a watch (the last time was during Brett). The main reason is to have some warning of other boats dragging into us.

We are nearly always happy to leave the boat unattended, once again the worry (if any) is other vessels dragging.

In clear, warm water we nearly always dive on our anchor (and all the boats around us). Often we are going in for a swim anyway. It is great way to learn what anchors work well and it’s nice to know the type of substrate. If it is not clear and warm we only very rarely dive on the anchor.

Oh…..and do you get any sleep?

We anchor about 300 days a year and have done so for the last 15 years so we would be getting pretty tired by now with no sleep.

 

[SaltyC]

Agree with above, set anchor and take transit, put kettle on and have a Cuppa. If all is well No probs, like to be onboard for first change of tide. Don't tend to use anchor alarm but wind generator starts to Hummm at 20 to 25 knots which wakes you to check all is well, then shut it off and sleep well.

 

[wonkywinch]

I use an anchor alarm on my phone and/or Garmin handheld GPS as leaving the nav gear on all night will flatten the battery and I'd likely not hear the chart plotter alarm from my bed.

like to be onboard for first change of tide

Some places like the Dart, this is compulsory under harbourmaster rules.

 

[LBRodders]

Whilst not always possible, we preferred to anchor at low tide particularly in a new place.
At least that way you an discount one variable and know you won't dry out!

A useful tool for going ashore is the use of 'WhatsApp send live location'. Leave a crew phone on the boat with this feature on and you can be assured that your boat hasn't moved by monitoring it. Obviously requires signal and data.

I always found a decent breeze is your friend. Boat dependent, but a breeze will keep you penned in position over tide. You and other boats in the anchorage won't go wandering with tide (at varying degrees) overnight, get tangled or even collide).

Be considerate - don't park up in the middle of an anchorage taking all the best space. Whilst at first thought may be the best for you, may actually put others under pressure to do things they normally wouldn't, possibly in the dark on a late arrival.

Use a decent anchor light. Add boat visibility with deck and cockpit lights if possible.
Amongst the obvious, it helps with other boats transits in dark anchorages.

Look into the use of a snubber or tie off with a warp, far more forgiving for your boat and crew.

 

[FairweatherDave]

I think as with all things on a forum, there is a lot of reassurrance and a lot of experience. Some people like to give the impression of no bother and others will make out anchoring is a dangerous as it gets. It isn't at all dangerous where I have anchored as a South Coast softie. But I have seen anchors drag so often. And rarely have I seen people go to the lengths of a hard reverse under engine to "properly set" the anchor. Just do it properly, learn how to use an anchor alarm until you have 100% confidence and you will love the experience. So much better waking up and seeing your surroundings compared to a pricey boat car park, (not that I won't turn that down in a bit of a blow )

 

[RupertW]

I think as with all things on a forum, there is a lot of reassurrance and a lot of experience. Some people like to give the impression of no bother and others will make out anchoring is a dangerous as it gets. It isn't at all dangerous where I have anchored as a South Coast softie. But I have seen anchors drag so often. And rarely have I seen people go to the lengths of a hard reverse under engine to "properly set" the anchor. Just do it properly, learn how to use an anchor alarm until you have 100% confidence and you will love the experience. So much better waking up and seeing your surroundings compared to a pricey boat car park, (not that I won't turn that down in a bit of a blow )

I’m not quite sure whether you are or are not in favour of a hard reverse.

I always use hard reverse after slowly building up the throttle but never to set the anchor it’s always to test the seabed is right if a squall comes up.

I’ve been held firm just by a small rock and by an inch of sand over a rocky plateau and only hard reverse revealed the weakness.

 

[MontyMariner]

Being bilge keel, I tend to anchor in shallower water. I pick my spot from the Chart Plotter looking at bottom type and depth contours, anchoring in around 2-3 mtrs on the CP (not the echo sounder ) then scope out wrt tide range and conditions. Anchoring deeper if the wind is likely to swing me onshore and the range is large (CI's).

 

[lustyd]

Whilst not always possible, we preferred to anchor at low tide particularly in a new place.
At least that way you an discount one variable and know you won't dry out!

It doesn’t though. Tides and weather are different every day and it’s entirely possible that high pressure can make a higher low water lower than the previous day so leave some wiggle room. Also remember that shallower isn’t always better.

always use hard reverse after slowly building up the throttle but never to set the anchor it’s always to test the seabed is right if a squall comes up

Agreed, if you need the engine to set the anchor then a turning tide will be a problem but a test of the seabed can be sensible in a new place.

 

[lektran]

We reverse on the anchor and if we can't hold a transit then we try again until we can or we move on. We set our scope for high tide and ensure we won't bottom out on low tide anywhere within our circle. We've always set an anchor alarm using an app on our phones but last season I installed a raspberry pi and alongside our 4G router we were able to start going ashore with more confidence, now I receive an alert if the boat moves out of the defined circle we've set. Still working out a decent way to remotely view and alert on more boat data, like position/track/wind speed etc.

 

[benjenbav]

We always set an anchor alarm. It is like having an extra crew to continually monitor the anchor position without drinking any of my single malt .

We very rarely set a watch (the last time was during Brett). The main reason is to have some warning of other boats dragging into us.

We are nearly always happy to leave the boat unattended, once again the worry (if any) is other vessels dragging.

In clear, warm water we nearly always dive on our anchor (and all the boats around us). Often we are going in for a swim anyway. It is great way to learn what anchors work well and it’s nice to know the type of substrate. If it is not clear and warm we only very rarely dive on the anchor.



We anchor about 300 days a year and have done so for the last 15 years so we would be getting pretty tired by now with no sleep.

If you don’t mind my asking, what does ‘during Brett’ mean?

 

[LiftyK]

I think Bret was the name of a storm so probably the same as Brett above.

 

[Dutch01527]

I am very impressed with a phone app called “Anchor”. It has a remote function that allows it to be set on my iPod and linked to my phone. You can then go ashore and the phone acts as a repeater and alarm.

Needs cellular coverage and connectivity on both devices to link the two.