Greek anchoring, bows in.

dgadee

dgadee

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Having arrived in Greece I now find I have no idea how to moor with an anchor and no slime lines. We always go bows in (to protect rudder).

How should I set up a system to make this work?
 
We always go stern in , I can't think of a time we every been bow in , for a start it's much easier to get off . .

What we do and we are a CC boat so it much harder then a stern cockpit where you can see what's going on ,
My partner drops the anchor and lets out X amount of chain while I go astern to set the anchor at the same time once the scope that need to be drop she goes off to the back ready with the lines to step off or on the odd time pass to someone , we prefer to do the lines our self by hey if there a boat we know we will pass them over , normally the chain will get tight just before we reach the wall , I can then drop more chain from the cockpit .
Hope that help , a couple of season and it be you given advise on Greece to other newbies.

Edit

If you don't have a switch at the helm and can't drop from the cockpit once the anchor holding you could leave it in tick over in a stern and go forward a drop a bit more chain
 
I agree with Vic. For me the key is to ensure the anchor is well set before you approach the quay. SWMBO was always ready to step off with the lines but in popular places it's rarely necessary. Everyone helps everyone else and you almost always find a willing hand ashore to take your lines. Again, the key is knowing that your anchor is well set before you start tightening lines up.
 
I always found I had significantly less prop walk doing the above, and as a consequence able to keep a straighter line, which you'll find important for you and your neighbours.
 
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sailaboutvic said:
Privacy goes out the window mate , your cruising plus you get to meet more people like that , if you really want Prvacy stay at anchor .
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Agreed. Plus I've been in some hairy little ports when a katabatic blows up in the late evening (just as it's gone dark). Knowing that my biggest bow anchor is well set removes an awful lot of worry. I've seen too many bow-to boats on little kedge anchors astern break free in these kinds of (not uncommon) conditions. And...the last thing you want when you need to start your engine to stop the bow thumping into a concrete quay is a slack anchor line in the water astern of you.
 
Tony Cross said:
Agreed. Plus I've been in some hairy little ports when a katabatic blows up in the late evening (just as it's gone dark). Knowing that my biggest bow anchor is well set removes an awful lot of worry. I've seen too many bow-to boats on little kedge anchors astern break free in these kinds of (not uncommon) conditions. And...the last thing you want when you need to start your engine to stop the bow thumping into a concrete quay is a slack anchor line in the water astern of you.
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I really getting worry now Tony as now I finding myself agreeing with you too , :)
It's about time we buried the hatchet:)
 
Anchoring is preferred. Every now and then, unfortunately, a marina.

I take the point about strength of anchor.
 
Ps. Do you have a set length of chain you prefer to let out, or does that depend upon location.

I have wireless windlass control so can see how that would help.
 
Simi used to be the place for entertainment! One has to drop in 20 meters, time and time again we would watch boats (mainly charter) motor the anchor out and go astern at 4 knots and wonder why the anchor wasn't holding. In most cases it was still dangling!
 
reefknot said:
Simi used to be the place for entertainment! One has to drop in 20 meters, time and time again we would watch boats (mainly charter) motor the anchor out and go astern at 4 knots and wonder why the anchor wasn't holding. In most cases it was still dangling!
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Agina's fun on the weekend, a mixture of Athens Man and charter boat anchoring back 4/5 deep on top of you, shame as it's a nice town.
 
Having just returned from Greece I have to say I'm reminded that this is a crazy system, anchoring off and heaving up to a quay.
The number of nice boats I've seen this last fortnight with hideous damage and worse to gelcoat and layup caused by crunching into concrete quays when the wind pipes up unexpectedly was considerable. This year we also sadly saw the results of much harder crunching - sunk boats, some with sterns/bows virtually torn out of them.

The system is fraught with problems. If you don't set your chain dead straight you foul someone elses. If other people don't set straight you either lay yours across theirs unknowingly or they lay across yours causing no end of shenanigans and often ruinous expense for the sharks with scuba tanks to come and untangle the snarl-up.

It's all very well believeing your anchor is dug in - it may well be - but if someone fouls your chain while you're away from the boat and pulls it up your boat may still be released onto the concrete grinder. No matter how well dug in you are if the wind pipes up it only has to stretch the caternary by two feet and ditto, your transom is being torn apart on the quay. A strong cross-wind can loosen anchors by excessive lateral loads that anchors are not designed to handle (think of the loads you can achieve sweating a halyard by pulling it laterally) and all the boats grind themselves together. Few charterers seem able to set an anchor properly at the best of times even when good holding isn't essential so it seems strange that they adopt a technique that requires a perfectly set anchor every time - in fact turning every mooring into an anchor-critical event.

It's not an easy technique to get right either, and given the 'skills' of the average charterer and the multiple ways other peoples' errors can cause you problems using this method I'd always use the dinghy from a safe anchorage by choice.
 
I may indeed turn back! Was going to go into Kassiopi for foodstuffs but was put off by the anchor requirement. They were going to charge me €34 for two rings on a wall. In Gauvia now with slime lines instead at €35.

If my anchor held in seagrass (see other thread) I would have used the dinghy.
 
Slowboat35 said:
Having just returned from Greece I have to say I'm reminded that this is a crazy system, anchoring off and heaving up to a quay.
The number of nice boats I've seen this last fortnight with hideous damage and worse to gelcoat and layup caused by crunching into concrete quays when the wind pipes up unexpectedly was considerable. This year we also sadly saw the results of much harder crunching - sunk boats, some with sterns/bows virtually torn out of them.

The system is fraught with problems. If you don't set your chain dead straight you foul someone elses. If other people don't set straight you either lay yours across theirs unknowingly or they lay across yours causing no end of shenanigans and often ruinous expense for the sharks with scuba tanks to come and untangle the snarl-up.

It's all very well believeing your anchor is dug in - it may well be - but if someone fouls your chain while you're away from the boat and pulls it up your boat may still be released onto the concrete grinder. No matter how well dug in you are if the wind pipes up it only has to stretch the caternary by two feet and ditto, your transom is being torn apart on the quay. A strong cross-wind can loosen anchors by excessive lateral loads that anchors are not designed to handle (think of the loads you can achieve sweating a halyard by pulling it laterally) and all the boats grind themselves together. Few charterers seem able to set an anchor properly at the best of times even when good holding isn't essential so it seems strange that they adopt a technique that requires a perfectly set anchor every time - in fact turning every mooring into an anchor-critical event.

It's not an easy technique to get right either, and given the 'skills' of the average charterer and the multiple ways other peoples' errors can cause you problems using this method I'd always use the dinghy from a safe anchorage by choice.
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My god after reading this if I hadn't sailed in Greece for over 30 years I wouldn't be going there .
How did I survive so long :)
 
dgadee said:
I may indeed turn back! Was going to go into Kassiopi for foodstuffs but was put off by the anchor requirement. They were going to charge me €34 for two rings on a wall. In Gauvia now with slime lines instead at €35.

If my anchor held in seagrass (see other thread) I would have used the dinghy.
Click to expand...
You don't want to be going into Kassiopi unless the weather good .
What €34 now , there having a laugh.
You can anchor in Gouvia bay the holding good there and dinghy ride into the Marina 10 mins in a slow dinghy and get your supply in the super market out side the marina or the small one in the marina
 
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