lowering of standards

Phoenix of Hamble

Phoenix of Hamble

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mishapsandmemories.blogspot.com
I always thought that the East Coast was the UK's home of anchoring. Sure lots of other areas anchor lots, but surely us folks on the East Coast have cornered the market with the practice....

So it was with some amazement I saw so many boats over the weekend anchored without an anchor light.....

In particular Sunday night in Hamford Water.... a truly dismal evening weatherwise.... a dark and grey cloudy night which resulted in a total darkness by 21h00, with not even a hint of moonlight.... utter blackness....

and with 20+ boats in Hamford Water, I watched a few culprits fade into the darkness and slowly but surely vanish....

As a few late boats arrived, I watched, almost holding my breath as they motored or in one case sailed past where I knew boats to be anchored...

and it wasn't only Hamford Water... the previous evening, I watched boats anchor in the channel in the Deben, and settle in for a night below oblivious to their invisibility....

an accident waiting to happen....

So... have we, the guardians of the art of anchoring, finally lost our way?
 
Its one of my first tasks.... usually within 10 mins max of the anchor going in.... mostly within 2 mins....

I am a staunch supporter of the anchor ball... but could live without its use in certain cirumstances.... but no anchor light?..... unforgiveable....
 
Neil, I agree with you whole-heartedly about anchor lights. We have been amazed at how few people put on a light now! Over the summer we anchored in a number of places and noticed those without lights, in Hamford, Twizzle Creek, even in the Orwell, Levington side of Shotley! In some of those place sit is sheer madness not to have a light on!

On the flip-side, there were 4 boats on the buoys at Ramsholt Saturday evening with anchor lights on. I assumed they were for finding the way home in a dinghy after coming out of the pub!
 
I have to confess that I seldom put up a ball at a recognised anchorage. It is hard to think that anyone would confuse my stationary craft with a dirty great chain leading into the water from the bow with a boat under way. Never do without a light though.
 
johnalison said:
I have to confess that I seldom put up a ball at a recognised anchorage. It is hard to think that anyone would confuse my stationary craft with a dirty great chain leading into the water from the bow with a boat under way. Never do without a light though.
Click to expand...

I have to confess that I do likewise. Seldom se a ball but ALWAYS throw a light up at night. Seems dangerous not to and am sure the insurance would use it as a (good) reason not to pay if the seemingly inevitable happens.
 
Anchor lights on a mooring

I know it is controversial and the arguments for and against have been aired many times before but I am puzzled that it should be a matter for surprise that anyone should rig an anchor light on a mooring in an area charted as moorings. As I was gazing out down the Crouch river the other night I couldn't help speculating on what might happen if a stranger should decide to pass that way. It was so dark that there was absolutely no sign of any of the multitude of boats that I knew to be on their moorings.

I don't put a light on Jessie, although I deliberately bought one of those with the photoelectric switch so that I could leave it there permanently when I was not aboard. But I get the feeling that there are those who would think me unseamanlike for showing a light when on the mooring.

To me it makes more sense to show a light and be sure that someone is not going to barge into me for want of it. And it also seems strange to cavil about the difference between anchoring and mooring when surely the only purpose of rule 30 is to make sure that vessels in navigable water, and stationary because they are attached to the bottom in one way or another, are visible to other vessels. Is it really such a chore to show a light and is there any real downside to doing so?

Michael
 
None.

Its not that unusual to see vessels in the Orwell with lights on moorings.... especially in certain places where they are more vulnerable to shipping movements (or indeed small craft movements)

IMHO, in the right circumstances, its a seamanlike thing to do
 
has anyone heard of any stories of insurers trying to refuse claims for insurance when an anchor ball or light is required , but not shown ?

Verifiable evidence needed - for a change please !
 
When I did my VHF course, about 6 years ago, the examiner said that a few years before that a family had been asleep in a yacht on one of the Orwell moorings when one of the Ipswich ships ploughed into them and sank the yacht. He said they survived, but I can't remember any details.

Do the colregs actually say you shouldn't use an anchor light when you are moored?
 
AliM said:
When I did my VHF course, about 6 years ago, the examiner said that a few years before that a family had been asleep in a yacht on one of the Orwell moorings when one of the Ipswich ships ploughed into them and sank the yacht. He said they survived, but I can't remember any details.

Do the colregs actually say you shouldn't use an anchor light when you are moored?
Click to expand...

i belive the Ipswich HM recomends a light on a mooring
 
AliM said:
Do the colregs actually say you shouldn't use an anchor light when you are moored?
Click to expand...

There was a long thread on this in April (Scuttlebutt?). Got a bit heated at times. Seems colregs are open to interpretation, but at the end of the day, a vessel at anchor or a vessel on a (uncharted) swinging mooring are both attached to the ground, and same potential hazard for shipping.After domestic debate, Popeye agreed that an anchor light, on a mooring in furrin parts (Croatia), would prolly count more as good seamanship than a nuisance / breach of colregs
 
I usually set an anchor ball if stopped for lunch or similar, as catamarans tend to lie differently to wind & tide and it may not be immediately obvious we are anchored from the chain which is often hidden between the hulls. I think the anchor ball removes doubt about the situation/status of a vessel and is usually visible from further away.

For anchoring at night I have a masthead light and a low level oil lamp at the stern (which also gives some useful light in the cockpit), and I wouldn't sleep easily without them!
 
Full Circle uses this reassuring device.

feuerhand.jpg


Accept no substitute.:D
 
Anchor Lights

Full Circle - I have just come back from Sweden where I purchased a hurricane lamp as displayed for the precise purpose (having not been able to find one anywhere in the UK). However I would also suggest a masthead all round white light with a range of up to 2NM as per the colregs. Indeed any and al lights you can afford to don whilst at anchor are acceptable - as long as they are not nav lights.

In the RN it is customary to turn on all upperdeck lighting as well as mast head all round whitelights as soon as the Navigator declares that the "Ship has her Anchor".
 
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