Las Palmas Anchorage for 3 weeks?

[Tim Good]

Would you leave your boat at anchor in Las Palmas for 3 weeks unattended?

Curious if people have done this or if it is generally regarded as safe. Lots of boats around so would assume is fine in that regard.

 

[geem]

Would you leave your boat at anchor in Las Palmas for 3 weeks unattended?

Curious if people have done this or if it is generally regarded as safe. Lots of boats around so would assume is fine in that regard.

I would never leave my boat at anchor for three weeks unattended anywhere! Your insurance company may also have a view on it

 

[GHA]

Lots of boats around so would assume is fine in that regard.

That would be the worry, someone dragging into you. I've met cruisers will happily leave the boat for extended periods in good anchorages but LP too much of a worry that someone will bang into you if a low goes over with wind shifts.

 

[sailaboutvic]

I also wouldn't , its bad enough on the odd overnight let alone three weeks . Lots can happen in that time and as said , I doubt you be insurance .

 

[phantomlady]

Holding there is patchy at best. We went to the supermarket one day and an American boat came in and dropped his anchor over our chain went below and straight to sleep and as soon as it blew up it yanked our anchor out. Luckily a friend of ours was in his cockpit nearby and rescued our boat! Always a very crowded anchorage...would never leave a boat unattended there...no.

 

[All_at_Sea]

Would you leave your boat at anchor in Las Palmas for 3 weeks unattended?

No,no,no,no,no,no,no!!!!!

 

[RupertW]

I'm intrigued - is there anywhere that people would leave their boat at anchor for 3 weeks?

I have spent a whole day away from our boat at anchor but haven't yet even spent an overnight away from it unless tied up in a harbour (and I don't mean anchored back to a harbour wall either as chains could get tangled), but I suspect I'm at the over-cautious end of the spectrum there.

 

[TQA]

I'm intrigued - is there anywhere that people would leave their boat at anchor for 3 weeks?

I have spent a whole day away from our boat at anchor but haven't yet even spent an overnight away from it unless tied up in a harbour (and I don't mean anchored back to a harbour wall either as chains could get tangled), but I suspect I'm at the over-cautious end of the spectrum there.

Let's see
Simpson Bay Lagoon St Marten
Falmouth Harbor Antigua
Cul de Sac du Marin Martinique
Prickly Bay/Mnt Hartmen Bay/Hog Island/Clarks Court Bay all Grenada

Any of the above is good for three weeks outside hurricane season. [ Providing you have a Rocna on chain of course]

 

[sailaboutvic]

Let's see
Simpson Bay Lagoon St Marten
Falmouth Harbor Antigua
Cul de Sac du Marin Martinique
Prickly Bay/Mnt Hartmen Bay/Hog Island/Clarks Court Bay all Grenada

Any of the above is good for three weeks outside hurricane season. [ Providing you have a Rocna on chain of course]

These maybe good anchorages , but what happens while your away and some one anchors and foul your anchor then goes off leaving the boat drifting on to other people boats or just as bad onto rocks , plus not sure people insurance would pay out in that case , I know of a friend who wanted to leave his boat at anchor while returning back to the Uk for a week and although he had someone who was going to check it over each day ,his insurance made it clear that he wouldn't be covered .
Talking for our self , I wouldn't leave my boat at anchor more then an over night stop and then I be looking at putting out more then one anchor , not because my main anchor wouldn't hold but on the off chance someone did dislodge the anchor hopefully the second anchor would hold .
There been so many times over the years I seen boat that's been helped on there way by other people boats.
I would go as far as to say , it's unseamen to leave your boat at anchor for days at end . Who can tell what the weather going to do in a week time let alone in three weeks .

 

[RupertW]

Let's see
Simpson Bay Lagoon St Marten
Falmouth Harbor Antigua
Cul de Sac du Marin Martinique
Prickly Bay/Mnt Hartmen Bay/Hog Island/Clarks Court Bay all Grenada

Any of the above is good for three weeks outside hurricane season. [ Providing you have a Rocna on chain of course]

So you have left your boat unattended in those anchorages for weeks?

I've been to three of the ones you mention and as a land visitor to Falmouth Harbour in Antigua and anchored nicely in Grenada and St Maarten but would never know who would come in tomorrow. Very different staying on land and checking the boat a couple of times a day (although I would still be nervous) and flying away somewhere for weeks.

 

[capnsensible]

Interesting difference in attitudes in the Caribbean islands. Long term anchoring seems to be far more common. I've certainly anchored in one spot for three weeks whilst living onboard, boat didn't need any tending to at all....apart from regular hull cleaning!

Despite that, would I personally be happy leaving the boat? Probably not, I'm European trained.

 

[Tim Good]

It's funny how attitudes differ in general over seamanship. Many people wouldn't leave Harbour without ais, radar, gps and insurance nowadays. It wasn't that long ago that engines in sailing boats really were regarded as auxillary and if they worked it was a bonus. I've spoken to a few old boys in Cornwal that remember the days of leaving boats at anchor for long periods as a matter of course... and this was before the days of rated shackles, all chain rides and the new generation anchors.

I kind of feel like a fair few of us are a bunch of pansies nowadays, me included. Although I'm happy to be single handing and keeping my sextant in use still... so hopefully I'll be ok when GPS gets turned off by the yanks ��

 

[TQA]

So you have left your boat unattended in those anchorages for weeks?

I've been to three of the ones you mention and as a land visitor to Falmouth Harbour in Antigua and anchored nicely in Grenada and St Maarten but would never know who would come in tomorrow. Very different staying on land and checking the boat a couple of times a day (although I would still be nervous) and flying away somewhere for weeks.

I have indeed left my home on the hook in the aforementioned anchorages . I go skiing for 3 weeks every year usually in Feb. .

 

[geem]

In my experience here in the Caribbean, the numpty charter brigade don't often know how or where to anchor. Particularly in the French islands our experience of charter barges has not been great. My biggest fear here would be some numpty anchoring on top of you, snagging the chain, banging into you and then scarpering with hull damage on your boat. Try explaining that to your insurance company. Where were you whilst the boat got damaged? 3000 miles away ��

 

[sailaboutvic]

It's funny how attitudes differ in general over seamanship. Many people wouldn't leave Harbour without ais, radar, gps and insurance nowadays. It wasn't that long ago that engines in sailing boats really were regarded as auxillary and if they worked it was a bonus. I've spoken to a few old boys in Cornwal that remember the days of leaving boats at anchor for long periods as a matter of course... and this was before the days of rated shackles, all chain rides and the new generation anchors.

I kind of feel like a fair few of us are a bunch of pansies nowadays, me included. Although I'm happy to be single handing and keeping my sextant in use still... so hopefully I'll be ok when GPS gets turned off by the yanks ��

I am happy to stand up and say any one who asnt got insurance should be shot , in just the last two season I know of two boats that have lost everything because they had uninsured boats smack into them one had over 30k of damage the other a total lost , and as the uninsured owner where penny less , they lost what they worked for all there life and in one case nearly lost Their child .
I agree with you about AIS, GPS and so on , the seas would be much less crowded if you remove all the toys , I just gobsmack the amount of people who says the only way they can navigate is with toys .
As for the good old days , I can only say in them days for a start there wasn't that amount of boats there are to day , taken it one stage further , most knew what they where doing , unlike today , you only have to read some of the forum on here . How many anchoring thread have there been ? Or what the best time to leave X harbour to cross to X harbour .

 

[sailaboutvic]

Interesting difference in attitudes in the Caribbean islands. Long term anchoring seems to be far more common. I've certainly anchored in one spot for three weeks whilst living onboard, boat didn't need any tending to at all....apart from regular hull cleaning!

Despite that, would I personally be happy leaving the boat? Probably not, I'm European trained.

Cap I think you would agree there a big different between living on board in one anchorage for long periods and anchoring your boat and jetting off somewhere .
We spend many a weeks in one anchorage , no way would I gone off for weeks on end.
That's nothing to do with being a pansies more of being responsible for not only my boat but also for others around me .

 

[GHA]

I am happy to stand up and say any one who asnt got insurance should be shot , .

You're gonna need a lot of bullets Vic
An awful lot of the planet few will have insurance, no locals, no fishing boats, no ferries few cruisers. So your seamanship really better be top notch cos you're on your own - no one is coming to help you, no running to a Harbour master if someone spanks into you - skippers job to be close to psychic with predicting what might happen and spot who's dodgy to keep them downwind and where the dodgy anchoring spots are. Like it or not that's the way the big bad world is out there.

It's fantastic!

 

[sailaboutvic]

You're gonna need a lot of bullets Vic
An awful lot of the planet :

Maybe shot isn't the right word to use. But uninsured boat should be confiscated once caught or at less held until insured and A fine given.
As you said there many who haven't got any insurance , boats that are valued so low that the owners couldn't care less what happens ,
Keeping that in mind , would you really want to leave you pride and joy at anchor for weeks on ends , ofcause if you pride and joy happens to be a worthless bit of junk I guess it wouldn't make any difference.

 

[GHA]

Maybe shot isn't the right word to use. But uninsured boat should be confiscated once caught or at less held until insured and A fine given.
As you said there many who haven't got any insurance , boats that are valued so low that the owners couldn't care less what happens ,
Keeping that in mind , would you really want to leave you pride and joy at anchor for weeks on ends , ofcause if you pride and joy happens to be a worthless bit of junk I guess it wouldn't make any difference.

Big world out there, lots of it is very different from the one you know. Not just the very few who couldn't care less run with no insurance, the many that do *really* care, better be very good cos there's no one else to blame.

 

[jordanbasset]

Am not happy with people not insuring their boats for the reason Vic mentions, but it happens, so be it.
But not sure why they (or others) then expect people to donate money to help them when something unfortunate happens for which they don't have insurance