Anchors - yet again

[Nick_H]

Having just returned from a great trip which had some really mixed weather i have decided if we are going to anchor we have to be really sure of the weather of have someone on anchor watch.

On a windy day last week we anchored in the bay around the corner of Port Vauban, the wind was offshore, approx 30 knots. Strong enough to have that snatching effect on the anchor. We decided to head back to the comfort of the berth for lunch.

An hour later the wind picked up and swung round 180 degrees. There was A large sailing cat which was moored next to us, guessing it had 60M of chain out plus the cat was approx 30M. This means the swing radius was approx 180M. Being moored close enough to the shore meant it possibles became to close after being dragged and ended up on the rocks.

We were anchored in La Garoupe (the next bay along Cap d'Antibes) when the wind turned, from an offshore 5/6 westerley, to an onshore 7/8 easterly in 60 seconds, and caught out a lot of boats. The strangest thing was that the wind bought the waves with it immediately, flat calm to steep 2 metre waves within minutes.

One flybridge panicked and burnt out his windlass, so we hung around until they hauled the anchor manually, and we also heard on the VHF on the way back to port that one of the yachts moored behind us had dragged onto the beach (a different one to the cat in the next bay that MRC mentions).

Back in port, the forum's Antibes contingent were out in force helping us all berth in the cross wind. Thanks to JTB, EME and A&K for their help.

It's the third time in 6 years i've experienced this sudden wind shift in the med, although this was the most severe. Going back to the thread and the original question, we were able to get organised and weigh anchor in an orderly manner because I had faith in our Delta anchor to hold us indefinitely even in those conditions. I'm not sure a brick would have worked

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

It's the third time in 6 years i've experienced this sudden wind shift in the med, although this was the most severe. Going back to the thread and the original question, we were able to get organised and weigh anchor in an orderly manner because I had faith in our Delta anchor to hold us indefinitely even in those conditions. I'm not sure a brick would have worked

We had a similar experience in Croatia on Monday last week. For several days, there had been a light to moderate SW-SE wind and we had anchored overnight and during the day several times in different places. A strong NE (Bora) wind was forecast for the Tuesday morning so I planned to go into the marina at Korcula Town on Monday night because you really want to be attached to something solid when a Bora blows through. On Monday afternoon, we were anchored in a bay off Korcula and we were swimming and sunbathing as normal when suddenly the SW wind dropped to a dead flat calm which is very unusual during the afternoon as the sea breeze is normally at its strongest then. I must admit I was a bit spooked by this and much to the dismay of my crew, I upped the anchor and headed off to the marina. Literally within seconds of tying up in the marina, the wind switched almost 180deg and started to blow ferociously from the north, about 12 hours earlier than forecast. There was mayhem in the marina as incoming boats tried to moor and even large boats were seeking shelter by tying up to the outer wall. I suppose the moral of the story is to beware of sudden flat calms in the Med because something horrible is about to happen

 

[MapisM]

There was mayhem in the marina as incoming boats tried to moor and even large boats were seeking shelter by tying up to the outer wall.

Geez... I'd rather stay offshore, than docked on the outer wall of Korcula with a strong bora!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Geez... I'd rather stay offshore, than docked on the outer wall of Korcula with a strong bora!

Thats what I would have thought. We watched a Benneti 118 dropping it's anchor many hundreds of metres out from the wall and struggling to get lines ashore. They managed it eventually with much assistance. Maybe its the owners/charterers who insist that they have easy access to the shore during a Bora against the skipper's better judgement? The marineros were turning away smaller boats who wanted to tie up to the wall when the marina was full

 

[MapisM]

We watched a Benneti 118 dropping it's anchor many hundreds of metres out from the wall and struggling to get lines ashore.

By "it's anchor", do you mean just one?
Even on a Benetti 118, in those conditions I would have at least dropped both, if really forced to dock.
With a proper bora (and a fetch of what, a couple of miles?) bulding waves right on your face, which in turn snatches the anchor chain badly, a concrete wall is the last thing I'd want to have a few meters astern.
I take it that someone stayed on watch at the helm, ready to engage the engines if necessary?

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

By "it's anchor", do you mean just one?
Even on a Benetti 118, in those conditions I would have at least dropped both, if really forced to dock.
With a proper bora (and a fetch of what, a couple of miles?) bulding waves right on your face, which in turn snatches the anchor chain badly, a concrete wall is the last thing I'd want to have a few meters astern.
I take it that someone was on watch at the helm, ready to engage the engines if necessary?

I don't know whether it was one or 2 anchors. To me it looked as though he dropped one. I had other things to think about at the time as a yacht had drifted on to my bow lines and managed to foul it's prop on them.
Yup the fetch is probably about 1-2nm across the Korculanski Canal but the wind was blowing straight down the channel at that point and there was some shelter given by Korcula Town itself. In truth, whilst the Bora wind was very strong maybe around F7, it wasn't as strong as the worst Boras I've seen out there