saab96
Well-Known Member
I quite liked the video. I didn’t agree with everything but who does? It’s a contribution to an important debate. My first comment is that any boat anchored within the surf line is in trouble. Even the great Bernard Moitessier lost his iconic Joshua because the surf line moved inside him. It looks like boats are anchoring too close inshore – but why? Because the normal conditions let them get away with it? Because they don’t want a long dinghy ride? Those things have nothing to do with anchor size because when the surf gets up you are screwed. Second, like other blue-water liveaboards I don’t follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. A survey of long-term cruisers found that their preferred weight was always much heavier than recommended in almanacs or by the makers of the anchors. The reason for this, so I have been told, is that more boats are used in inland waters or in reach of a safe haven and are unlikely to face the strong winds that long distance cruisers meet after travelling weeks to arrive in some barely indented bay. Third, of course weight isn’t everything because the surface area of the flukes is also vital to achieve grip but a good default is that heavier ground tackle is still good insurance. Put down the heaviest anchor you can handle and don’t bother with calculations of minimal acceptable weights. Make this your main anchor because, as MacRich says, when bad weather comes in the early hours of a dark and rainy night this is not the time to be messing around laying another anchor. In extreme conditions, of course, you will need a really heavy brute that has to be brought up out of the bilges in its components. But when extreme weather is on its way you will probably get plenty of warning. Third, there is no wonder design. Some anchors are suited to particular sea beds but you don’t always get the chance to examine the bottom or to carry the appropriate anchor. So cruisers carry a good anchor for most conditions. People like me played the odds with a CQR on one bow roller and big Fisherman on the other. Also, don’t believe the PR. One test by a major anchor manufacturer concluded that test boats often failed to get the anchor to hold well enough to even begin the test. And they were tooled-up experts. Moral: with anchoring you get good, bad and terrible days. A seabed video I have shows the anchor behaving in an unlikely or unpredicted manner. An anchor that gripped would later drag for no obvious reason. Moral: never assume it will hold, even if it has held all week in gales. I agree with the video: when you look at manufacturers’ tests you learn most from the worst cases. But beware the claims for the new generation of high holding power anchors. What do you think the 246 foot, no expense spared, super yacht Mirabella V had down when she hit the rocks near Nice? A High Holding Power anchor. What happened: it broke out. Fourth, anchoring is a system, not just an anchor. I like heavy chain and dropping an angel/chum to help the catenary. Low tech. Fifth, don’t assume you will never drag. Dragging an anchor is the natural consequence of anchoring and if it isn’t your anchor that’s dragging it will be someone else’s and if you can't see them going by just now they will be along in a minute. Sixth, when there are many ways to do something it means that mankind hasn’t yet arrived at the method that works. Anchoring is a great case in point. There are so many opinions on anchors and anchoring that you can be sure there is no fool proof way of doing it. Seventh, sailing is the enemy of hubris and never more so than when we anchor. Watch out in case you get your come-uppance.
