Would you have stayed on board?

[Sea Change]

It is a tactic to consider but in limited visibility (and these named storms always kick up so much spray the visibility will be limited even during daylight hours) it is easy to lose track of where the anchor is located and end up placing a side load on the anchor or motoring too far forward in a lull and consequently causing a higher load as the boat gathers some reverse momentum.

The above problems are not inevitable, but you are likely to be tired, cold, etc increasing the chance of mistakes.

Better is to have a large good quality anchor that provides enough reserve capacity to cater for these rare weather events.

We always drop a waypoint so we know where the anchor is (or is supposed to be!) and find that the GPS is generally accurate enough that we know where we are in relation to it.
But yes the ideal situation is to have an anchor capable of holding in the conditions you encounter. Using the engine should be a last resort!

 

[lustyd]

Modern radar can also be used to see where other boats are in relation to the anchor pin on the plotter. It can be useful to let them know if there’s an issue.

 

[dunedin]

....

Point 1 - Monitor the weather systems in a wide area using Windy or similar to get a sense of what's developing. Monitor the forecasts for the few days before a gale hits - with Amy it went from a normal gale to severe in the days before it hit. Decide where best for you to weather a severe wind when you still have time to get there. It could be an anchorage, marina, pontoon or mooring. Be wary of pontoons - some are really quite exposed and offer false comfort.

...

Thats great advice for Scotland. Never just rely on short term forecasts like Inshore Waters, always keep an eye on the 7 day forecast and create a plan for any seriously bad weather well in advance, as may take several days to get to preferred shelter.

 

[GEM43]

Thats great advice for Scotland. Never just rely on short term forecasts like Inshore Waters, always keep an eye on the 7 day forecast and create a plan for any seriously bad weather well in advance, as may take several days to get to preferred shelter.

I’ve noticed that storms over West Scotland such as Amy can “creep up” on the unsuspecting. Two years ago we were stooging around about the Clyde when what was just a “summer blow” of F6/7 suddenly became a named storm with pretty short notice. We endured it at anchor but it was pretty unpleasant.

 

[lustyd]

Never just rely on short term forecasts like Inshore Waters

Do people still use those anyway? With the various apps making it so much easier to see I’ve given up even listening to the inshore forecast

 

[GEM43]

Do people still use those anyway? With the various apps making it so much easier to see I’ve given up even listening to the inshore forecast

I do listen to the inshore waters forecast because, I believe, it has been through the brain of a meteorologist whereas the online models are purely mathematics. Therefore taking note of both sources seems the most resilient approach to knowing what’s coming.

 

[lustyd]

But it does have the disadvantage that you have to wait for that human to reprocess when the changes happen so can be very bad for the same reason. I get the point though there is some comfort in that. I think I get my comfort from the pretend detail in the animations

 

[ProMariner]

As a relatively inexperienced skipper, I try to learn from others' experiences and consider two things:
1) how do I avoid the situation being described, which has been covered in this thread.
2) if I'm in the same situation, what should I do? In this case a dragging anchor and a storm.

My question to the group is, would or even could you run your engine in this situation to take pressure off the anchor, you're not aiming to move forward, just reduce the strain and prevent dragging.

Storm Amy was very well forecasted. Anyone can be unlucky with the weather, but in this instance, if you were paying attention to the forecast, you would have had 5 days to make and execute a plan. I would have taken the boat to Craobh Marina or Ardfern, begged for a sheltered berth where I could tie the boat off between two fingers, and used every bit of rope and fender I could get my hands on to secure the boat best I could. Then taken the headsail and cockpit tent off, and maybe the stack pack and spray hood too. Then driven home and looked out some candles, before opening a nice bottle of wine, and relaxing on the sofa.

 

[Cerebus]

I am not going to get into what I would do or wouldn’t do; I do not feel qualified enough for a start.

All I want to say is: FORCE 11 !

ELEVEN?

Bravo to all those that were there, either by choice, duty or circumstance.

 

[Sandydog2]

I am not going to get into what I would do or wouldn’t do; I do not feel qualified enough for a start.

All I want to say is: FORCE 11 !

ELEVEN?

Bravo to all those that were there, either by choice, duty or circumstance.

I thought that their statement that it was gusting up to violent storm force 11 was rather misleading. If it was a force 9 for instance you would expect gusts that are higher than 47 knots. A 60 knot gust wouldn’t make it a force 11 wind though.