Baffled by charter yachts anchoring technique

[oldmanofthehills]

Well we all can get it wrong, and on unfamiliar holding ground in the Tamar with a "strange" anchor even I felt it prudent to ask a local for advice this Saturday.

Most Marina boats and some charters I have seen in UK have greatly inadequate anchors, usually light to help the crew manage it and cheap to minimise cost/profit. No excuse for letting out inadequate chain though. But I bet on charters the most experience person on board is at the helm/throttle and some less experienced souls sent forward to fight the ironware

 

[laika]

I don't think anyone is making fun of anyone. It's more a question of "Why don't they know?"

I'm baffled why people don't use google to see the answers posted in all the previous appearances of this and related "why can't these johnny-come-lateley city folk do X?" questions tsk.

Making fun of? No. And some respondents here are just relating interesting stories. But there does seem to be a little tutting involved in some of these "questions".

If it were a non-rhetorical question we know the answer: most people don't regularly anchor and on an RYA dayskipper course you'll probably anchor once in 4m in osborne bay in mud without having to worry too much about swinging room: doing it a year later with no intervening practice in a crowded anchorage in water 3x deeper than any examples in the RYA manuals on a charter boat which provides you with minimal chain with a nervous inexperienced crew and a bunch of tutting onlookers probably isn't a recipe for success. At least the people giving it too much welly in reverse are trying to achieve the right objective (albeit with the wrong technique).

Vic's 3m in 3m in Lakka is a rather different story. I don't think there's many more osborne-bay like anchoring experiences in the ionian. That's simply not having read the fine manual.

 

[AndrewB]

We've been cruising in the Ionian this year and have observed the pigs dinner that most of the charter boats make of anchoring. The technique that is almost universally employed is to select a spot to drop the anchor and start lowering it using an electric windlass. Simultaneously they start reversing across the anchorage at full throttle with the anchor dragging along the bottom. Having reversed most of the way across the anchorage they will then haul the anchor up and repeat the process, often two or more times.

Who on earth is teaching them to drop an anchor like this?

It's heart-breaking to see this technique practiced on coral. The amount of damage done, until some massive lump of brain coral pulls them up short, is incalculable. There are places like Friendship Bay, Bequia, where the former extensive coral bed has been completely destroyed.

I've tried the quiet word, but invariably "this is the way the charter staff told us to do it".

 

[ashtead]

Watched a very informative u tube vid on anchoring this am which I am sure others have seen but something like that shown as part of charter induction or as a pre charter viewing link might assist. I wonder though how many charter boats have a Rocna fitted though which seem s to reduce setting issues from what was said?

 

[alant]

Well we all can get it wrong, and on unfamiliar holding ground in the Tamar with a "strange" anchor even I felt it prudent to ask a local for advice this Saturday.

Most Marina boats and some charters I have seen in UK have greatly inadequate anchors, usually light to help the crew manage it and cheap to minimise cost/profit. No excuse for letting out inadequate chain though. But I bet on charters the most experience person on board is at the helm/throttle and some less experienced souls sent forward to fight the ironware

I am reminded of a charter boat crew in the caribbean, who each day came back to base & asked for another anchor. Finally dawned on the charter company that they were cutting the anchor rope each morning, they had been instructed upon how to drop the hook, but not how to recover.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Watched a very informative u tube vid on anchoring this am which I am sure others have seen but something like that shown as part of charter induction or as a pre charter viewing link might assist. I wonder though how many charter boats have a Rocna fitted though which seem s to reduce setting issues from what was said?

The anchor isn't the problem , they just need to lean how to anchor ,
we have a Ronca but before that we lived on our hook for five years with a Delta and before that a Bruce .
You could give some people the best over size anchor in the world and they will still drag .
Let get some thing clear , there a good amount of privately own boats who have the same problem .
How would a Rocna help for example when they drop it with so little chain that it just about touch the sea bed , or go roaring back at 5 kts .
Although they seen to hold when they drop it up wind then motor over three other boat chain to reverse into a slot someway down fro. Where they drop it .
Mmmmm maybe the other three yacht chains have something to do with it .

 

[Mistroma]

I don't think anyone is making fun of anyone. It's more a question of "Why don't they know?" But then, it's not that long since PBO had an article on anchoring which started (I paraphrase) "You may have to do this as an emergency manoeuvre some day, so why not practice it on a nice day first?"

I guess a lot of people are used to using marinas only, but when chartering companies let relative beginners loose in an area where anchoring is going to be needed, perhaps they should check that they know how to do it?

Spot on. We watched a flotilla arrive today and heard instructions on VHF. One boat arrived early and lead boat told him what to do and said "reverse quite a bit to dig your anchor well in". Not much advice when remainder arrived later as lead boat was a bit busy. We heard that one boat had gone to the quay and snarled his anchor chain on windlass, lead boat went over to sort it out. Wind got up a tiny bit and changed direction 90 degrees a little later. Every boat around us from the flotilla dragged and had to re-anchor, with one exception. Yes, the guy who'd been told what to do and had followed instructions.

Not just charter boats though as we regularly see clueless owners, even those many miles from home. I think that most only anchor for lunch at home, if at all.

Everyone has problems at some time, I know I do. You don't mind when there's a reason (poor holding, sudden shift, rubbish on bottom etc.).

 

[Metabarca]

And I don't think a licence makes a difference if the Italian licensing system is anything to go by.

Before throwing out a gratuitous insult, at least check your facts...

 

[JumbleDuck]

we have a Ronca

A definitely dyslexia win there, as it's so pleasingly close to Ronco (as seen on TV). Is it an anchor?Is it a jumper debobbler? It's an anchor and a jumper debobbler!

 

[sailaboutvic]

Before throwing out a gratuitous insult, at least check your facts...

Metabarca don't take it personal, I a Brit and I openly say some of the worst anchoring and mooring I seen has been from British boats .
most people the only contact they have with Italian sailors are gain from the Ionian , yes i said this before here , but the Ionian seen to bring out the worst of people .
we met and have some lovely Italian sailing friends , we sailed both legs of Italy and away from the Ionian we met nothing but welcoming and friendly sailor , who at times have offed us their berth while they wasn't using them .
we had many a good eating and drinking night on their boats too

 

[sailaboutvic]

A definitely dyslexia win there, as it's so pleasingly close to Ronco (as seen on TV). Is it an anchor?Is it a jumper debobbler? It's an anchor and a jumper debobbler!

I blame it on my key board who has a mind of it own

 

[JumbleDuck]

I blame it on my key board who has a mind of it own

I wish mine did. I could do with the help.

 

[[163233]]

...and thirdly when people do a course be it RYA or another type very little anchor is involved if any .

I just got back from an RYA course, we didn't use a single marina berth, one night on a visitor buoy, and the rest at anchor including the stops waiting for the tide.

So while many might be like you say, it ain't necessarily so..

 

[sailorman]

In Greece and Croatia, yes, I believe so. It doesn't seem to help much though.

Richard

That was my point :encouragement:

 

[sailaboutvic]

I just got back from an RYA course, we didn't use a single marina berth, one night on a visitor buoy, and the rest at anchor including the stops waiting for the tide.

So while many might be like you say, it ain't necessarily so..

Hi
I sure there are schools that will do some over night anchoring and its good you had one of them , it do depend where the school is located , on the east coast there a good chance that you will get to do some over night anchoring .
the point I was making ( badly at that )was during a five day course I don't know any instructor and I did know a few ( I did some years instructing many years ago ) that would spend a day out of the five days given each student time at leaning to anchor ,
main reason mostly was there just wasn't enough time to get every thing in.
I all ways been a big lover of anchoring sailing on the East coast we had plenty of choices .

 

[jordanbasset]

Would like to add there are many very experienced charterers who have no problem anchoring, but unfortunately there are some who do not really know what they are doing, or perhaps more fairly what they are doing in the med. Also agree it is not just charterers
Just recently I heard one person who had gone stern to say to another that they would leave their anchor to settle down for 15 minutes before they saw if it held. So the anchor chain was loose and they never did bother tightening it up. Of course later on the wind gets up and they are leaning on other boats.
I suppose in thick gooey mud that is found in some UK places that is fair comment but in the med often you do need to dig an anchor in.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Would like to add there are many very experienced charterers who have no problem anchoring, but unfortunately there are some who do not really know what they are doing, or perhaps more fairly what they are doing in the med. Also agree it is not just charterers
Just recently I heard one person who had gone stern to say to another that they would leave their anchor to settle down for 15 minutes before they saw if it held. So the anchor chain was loose and they never did bother tightening it up. Of course later on the wind gets up and they are leaning on other boats.
I suppose in thick gooey mud that is found in some UK places that is fair comment but in the med often you do need to dig an anchor in.

Well there no chance of us dragging any where , not that I have a special secret way of anchoring , more that two days ago a 50 mts motor cruiser came in and decided to go stern on to the rock while we and others was free swinging and dropped not one but both chains over ours and another boat anchors , be interesting this morning as we want to go .

 

[RichardS]

Well there no chance of us dragging any where , not that I have a special secret way of anchoring , more that two days ago a 50 mts motor cruiser came in and decided to go stern on to the rock while we and others was free swinging and dropped not one but both chains over ours and another boat anchors , be interesting this morning as we want to go .

Sounds very similar to our experience a few weeks ago which I posted about. On that occasion we managed to up anchor and move even though it was almost midnight.

Let us know what happens, Vic.

Richard

 

[Davy_S]

One of the oddest anchoring techniques I have ever seen has been at Agia Efimia, every August a group of Italians (sorry Metabarca) arrive with big ribs, they have a canvas cuddy cover that they fix up at night, looks quite snug, there are around six of them, kids, family the lot, they seem to have a great time, one of them told me that they tow the ribs from Italy(catch the ferry to Sami). when they berth for the night, they go bows to the quay, tie the bow up, then throw the anchor over the stern, thats it! they obviously all end up alongside one and other, then they swing into the nearest yacht, job sorted, quite comical to watch, no stress involved at all

 

[jordanbasset]

Well there no chance of us dragging any where , not that I have a special secret way of anchoring , more that two days ago a 50 mts motor cruiser came in and decided to go stern on to the rock while we and others was free swinging and dropped not one but both chains over ours and another boat anchors , be interesting this morning as we want to go .

Nice to have thoughtful neighbours