What Now (Son of WNS)

[timbartlett]

Thanks to MJF for

Anchorage - gets too busy (whats the policy)

His real-live What Now that has been modified slightly to become:-
You anchored in a popular river this morning, and reserved a table for dinner ashore this evening. But a sailing boat came into the river during the afternoon, and anchored close upstream of you.

As the ebb tide starts to ease, and your boat swings to face the freshening onshore wind, it becomes obvious that you and your new neighbour are likely to collide.

The sailing boat crew have already gone ashore. There are no vacant moorings, or obvious alternative anchorages, and the pilot book strongly advises against entering or leaving the river within two hours of low water.

What Now?

Please note that this is not exactly the same situation as the real live one: I have deliberately made the "safe option" of abandoning your anchorage much less attractive!

All the usual WNS "rules" apply: we'll publish selected replies in Motor Boat and Yachting (October issue) edited as necessary for length, style, spelling, and grammar, credited to your forum user name.

I can't guarantee to publish every reply, but short, sensible answers are more likely to get in than long ones or ones that are full of "in" jokes.

Enjoy

 

[jfm]

Deploy fenders if helpful, consider whether p/book is correct (I will assume yes) then in order:
1. Radio his boat name (if there's any chance he took a h/h)
2. Place post on here describing his boat to see if get an instant mobile number for him
3. If I can avoid collision by letting more chain out on my boat, do that.
4. If I can do same by safely winding my chain in, do that
5. If I can avoid collision by letting his chain out, do that
6. If I can do same by safely winding his chain in, do that
7. Deploy his/my (in that order) kedge to stop him swinging. set it using my tender probably. (Include in the definition of "his kedge" anything heavy like his outboard, genset, battery, toolbox, mast, etc.)
8. Find another anchorage ( a non obvious one, as obvious ones are not available)

 

[epervier]

Change your boat, buy a STEEL ex fishing boat with the trawl net doors still hanging over the sides, you'll find they won't anchor within a hundred yards

 

[Nick_H]

Another option to consider (depending on the exact situation) is to raft his boat to yours.

 

[benjenbav]

Put a kedge out (own boat). Check boat is sitting comfortably for 10 minutes or so. Go ashore and enjoy the fine dining experience. The boat is trying to ride to the wind and if it's reasonably comfortable stern-to the wind, it will stay similarly comfortably for the next couple of hours as the tide turns and begins to fill.

The kedge needs to be a decent thing capable of holding the boat on its own for this, not some toyshop grapnel from the dinghy. An alternative might be a nordic style moor to a tree if there happened to be a convenient tree-clad eyot just downstream of the anchorage.

 

[Firefly625]

Another option to consider (depending on the exact situation) is to raft his boat to yours.

+1

That was going to be my answer, & we have done just that, ever so slightly different but was in Newton & the other boat's anchor was dragging, nobody aboard and it just came along side us in a very slow and graceful manner. We put out fenders and just secured the boat to us. The most amusing part was when the owners did return in their dingy an hour later and the skipper could not even wait to get on board his boat before telling us that it was not the done thing to tie up to an anchored boat.... It was lovely to explain the actual situation and see the penny drop.

 

[DAKA]

Add a drone (bucket on a 5m line) to both boats , this should move both swings apart .

I carry cheap polypropylene rope as ' give aways' for this and similar tasks , I have been known to add a line to another boat to a navigational post in the past and wouldn't hesitate to again if there is a convenient one to hand.


I also carry inflatable fenders (huge like dinghy race marks) and think Nick's idea of rafting the boats together is worth consideration but a little concerned about the anchor dragging in high winds, is there a HM to call out ?

 

[gjgm]

I carry cheap polypropylene rope as ' give aways' for this and similar tasks , I have been known to add a line to another boat to a navigational post in the past and wouldn't hesitate to again if there is a convenient one to hand.

I was beginning to panic a bit there, in that your WNS solution wasnt going to involve lots of rope.
Phew !

 

[mikemcgregor]

Assuming you have a mobile phone... ring the Pub where you have made a reservation asking if the skipper of (boat name) is there and tell him of the situation!

 

[DAKA]

I was beginning to panic a bit there, in that your WNS solution wasnt going to involve lots of rope.
Phew !

I reckon you've solved this one.
Go aboard and use one 200m warp to thread it through to the next boat and then back to your boat.
use second 200m line to thread to the boats in front and behind until the whole anchorage is covered with a cats cradle.

It might not solve your current issue but at least no more prats can get in