Crossed anchor advice - Fiskardo

Cardo

Cardo

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www.yacht-tinkerbell.co.uk
We're in a bit of a pickle. We've been moored up here in Fiskardo since saturday as we're doing a diving course. We should be finishing this today and were planning to leave tomorrow.

Unfortunately, we're in a bit of a pickle. There's a boat moored to our left (was initially two boats over) who arrived around monday or so, closed up the boat and the crew have not been seen since. In proper Fiskardo tradition, another boat further along to the right of us managed to completely mess up their exit and picked up a load of chains/anchors with their own anchor as they lifted this up. This included our locked up friend to our left. To make matters worse, the exiting boat managed to take hold of the locked up boat's anchor and dragged it across the harbour, parallel to the quay, before dropping it around 10-15 metres to our right. The exiting boat got loose and fecked off, leaving a bunch of people to sort out their mess.
Everyone else has since left, but we're left with a problem. We've got about 25m of chain out and our anchor is still properly set. The locked up boat's chain is at an angle towards us, crosses over and is caught on our chain at about the 10m mark, then their chain carries on to our right, parallel to the quay, under three other chains for boats that have since arrived, then sits in a pile with the anchor sat nearby.
The locked up boat is currently held off the quay by our chain, where it is caught. I don't see how we can get away cleanly, and if we start messing with our chain, the locked up boat is going to start flopping about, causing problems.

I've spoken with the dive school, who might be able to help, as long as PP authorise it. I've spoken with PP who said it was fine for them to sort it. However, why should the dive school have to sort out this mess? I'd rather not hassle them over this, and I certainly won't be paying for this, as I am completely blameless. As I see it, the blame lies with departing boat, and the locked up boat's skipper who shouldn't just dump and run.

So, advice, please?
 
board the boat, break into his lockers for the spare anchor and warp, run it out clear of everyone else and lay it; ease the current anchor chain out to the end, buoy it and release it, sort out your own anchor; re-attach awkward boat to his anchor if you feel charitable.

Film everything before and after.

A potato shoved up his exhaust pipe should provide a bit of an intellectual challenge, or a dead fish or two into one of his dorade boxes or ventilators will give a meaningful souvenir of the port.
 
Nasty pickle.

Boats lying end on, and using their own anchors, will frequently have them lifted by other vessels at departure time. And departing vessels will escape fast once they have disconnected, very rarely stopping to sort the mess they have left behind. Therefore, never leave your boat untended at departure times if you're on your own anchor. But you know that.

Your locked up boat didn't. He laid himself open to having his anchor lifted . . . and suffering damage. Rash decision. If you feel friendly towards him, you'll stop him from bumping the quay in some way while sorting things out. (ps, just seen Sarabande's retribution for erring after posting. An option if he needs punishment!)

But, what to do.

In big knitting problems like this, you usually have to release one end of the chain, and pull through from the other end. Easiest, of course, if you can grapple up your own anchor and detach it, which will usually call for springs to your neighbours, or a kedge laid first. It's also easier if you can free dive to your anchor and lay a loop under the shank to lift it into the dinghy, and do the detaching there. Leave a rope tail on the end to do some jiggling if the chain sticks on its way through.

The underlying threat is that even if you can do this, chain does not pull easily when in contact with another chain, and as for being pulled past several chains, you'll sometimes create a lock. So lift top chains by asking some boats to tauten, and loosen underneath chains to drop them. Harbour teamwork needed here. Mapping out the detail before hand helps a lot.

Easing the problem in the future? Go bows to in busy harbours with a rope rode and just 3m of chain to the kedge. Much easier to un-thread!
 
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What every you do , DONT break into another boat , your in Greece and you could be asking for trouble .
I would also make sure the PP know what's going on and maybe as them to send out the CG other wise is this boat drags and someone takes you details they could try and Blane you for the problem , your first suggest is best get the diver to sort it out and make sure the other anchor is still in ,
As I said I the other day , your in Greece this is going to happen time and time agin , keep away from walls and quay , free anchor is my advise or find a rock to tie back on . One thing you could do with the PP consent and help from another sailor is go side on to the other yacht , and tie on to it , drive it over your anchor but then make sure his anchor is still dug in .
Hopefully by the time you read this you would had sorted it .
Enjoy Greece , this happen hundred of time a day some where in Greece .
 
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To be honest, I think I can sort out our own anchor relatively "easily". Well, it wouldn't be easy, but can be done. The biggest issue is locked up chummy is currently being secured by our chain. If we remove our chain, he is going to be loose and will be flopping about. But I guess what I'll do is let the PP know and then it's their problem!
But first I'll make sure my idea for freeing us up will work!
 
If you are able to disentangle your chain,can you then maneuver him alongside the quay and moor him there?
 
Cardo said:
To be honest, I think I can sort out our own anchor relatively "easily". Well, it wouldn't be easy, but can be done. The biggest issue is locked up chummy is currently being secured by our chain. If we remove our chain, he is going to be loose and will be flopping about. But I guess what I'll do is let the PP know and then it's their problem!
But first I'll make sure my idea for freeing us up will work!
Click to expand...

I think that's all you can do. Where exactly in the harbour are you? If near the Captain's Cabin, we can see you on the webcam! It is a crazy place to leave a boat un-attended. If he has checked-in with the PP, they will have SOME contact details for him. Even if not, it is their responsibility in these kinds of circumstances to do the job they are paid for. I would request that they attend your departure with a suitable small boat and the necessary equipment.

Incidentally, from the webcam, it looks like Tassia's Pontoon is back in place. Can you confirm this?
 
Steve C Cronin said:
I think that's all you can do. Where exactly in the harbour are you? If near the Captain's Cabin, we can see you on the webcam! It is a crazy place to leave a boat un-attended. If he has checked-in with the PP, they will have SOME contact details for him. Even if not, it is their responsibility in these kinds of circumstances to do the job they are paid for. I would request that they attend your departure with a suitable small boat and the necessary equipment.

Incidentally, from the webcam, it looks like Tassia's Pontoon is back in place. Can you confirm this?
Click to expand...

We've managed to disentangle our chain this morning. Went out with the dinghy, under locked up chummy's chain, pulled up the anchor, back under locked up chummy's chain and then relaid it over his chain. We're now secure again with no crosses aside from locker upper. He is now insecure. I've tried to inform PP, but it seems 10:15 is far too early in the morning for them to be at work. Not too much of an issue at the moment, but as soon as the wind picks up, locked up boat will start swinging around and will be taking chunks out of his rudder on the underwater ledge on the quay. We'll try PP again in a bit.

Just had a look at the webcam. We're in front of Lagoudera, so off to the left of the image. You can just about see a bit of our foredeck (behind the green cover on the small mobo in front of us) and our mast is the short one with the radome and radar reflector just above it. Woohoo! We're famous!
The taller mast to the right of ours is locked up chummy. If you watch, you can see it moving around with the wind.
 
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Cardo said:
We've managed to disentangle our chain this morning. Went out with the dinghy, under locked up chummy's chain, pulled up the anchor, back under locked up chummy's chain and then relaid it over his chain. We're now secure again with no crosses aside from locker upper. He is now insecure. I've tried to inform PP, but it seems 10:15 is far too early in the morning for them to be at work. Not too much of an issue at the moment, but as soon as the wind picks up, locked up boat will start swinging around and will be taking chunks out of his rudder on the underwater ledge on the quay. We'll try PP again in a bit.

Just had a look at the webcam. We're in front of Lagoudera, so off to the left of the image. You can just about see a bit of our foredeck (behind the green cover on the small mobo in front of us) and our mast is the short one with the radome and radar reflector just above it. Woohoo! We're famous!
The taller mast to the right of ours is locked up chummy. If you watch, you can see it moving around with the wind.
Click to expand...

What is the name of his boat and what type is it? It just might be a member of one of the cruising clubs, so I might be able to contact him for you
What about Tassia's Pontoon, is it there or not?
 
Steve C Cronin said:
What is the name of his boat and what type is it? It just might be a member of one of the cruising clubs, so I might be able to contact him for you
What about Tassia's Pontoon, is it there or not?
Click to expand...

PP seems to have got hold of the owner. It's an Italian boat, and the owners are apparently back in Italy. They got hold of someone local to come and sort out the boat. Said person then proceeded to pick up the anchor of the boat between us (SH flotilla boat) and locked up boat and relay this crossing it over our chain. Why he did this? Because he's a blimming muppet, as far as I can tell. Fortunately, the SH flotilla skipper was happy to go for a dive and relayed the anchor again, in an appropriate position.

Tassia's Pontoon is gone. Apparently they haven't got a licence for this year, so it's been removed completely. I hear it may be brought back next year?
 
Cardo said:
PP seems to have got hold of the owner. It's an Italian boat, and the owners are apparently back in Italy. They got hold of someone local to come and sort out the boat. Said person then proceeded to pick up the anchor of the boat between us (SH flotilla boat) and locked up boat and relay this crossing it over our chain. Why he did this? Because he's a blimming muppet, as far as I can tell. Fortunately, the SH flotilla skipper was happy to go for a dive and relayed the anchor again, in an appropriate position.

Tassia's Pontoon is gone. Apparently they haven't got a licence for this year, so it's been removed completely. I hear it may be brought back next year?
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. We get out there on 25/06; late due to business sale. Maybe see you around.

Steve & Gill

"Mary Flavin"
 
Ah! Fiskardo.

A lovely place but in the total of 7 weeks I've spent there 6 crossed/lifted anchors and one cut warp. The morning's stately pavane of the anchors.
It really has little to do with the place but everything to do with incompetent sailors. From experience of this sort of situation, the PP are very sensibly hiding from having to take any action and expose their posteriors.
Usually the Neilsen lead boat crews are very helpful (beyond the call of duty) and I'd advise against taking any action against the absentee (I probably know who it is and they'll be down from the villa to sort themselves out).
Good luck to you Cardo.

PS though Jim's suggestion is very sensible, I ALWAYS go bows to with a Delta on 25m chain and 50m warp - doesn't stop people picking it up or grimly wrapping it around their prop. As I said, incompetence always triumphs to produce disaster.
 
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