The Art Of Anchoring

[catalinajack]

See my post #50. Ours is an 88# Manson Supreme. Damn thing sets with almost no scope. I once ran aground with both a stiff current and a 30 knot wind pushing me against a shoal. The tide was coming in and every time I floated free the wind and current pushed me hard against the shoal again. I then thought to drop the anchor. Staight down it went and set and held right there even with that stiff wind and current. I kinda like my anchor.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Cat,
The Supreme is very good at short scope. That’s why I bought one.
Even a light breeze will set most any anchor.
But that dosn’t mean it will hold your boat when the wind picks up.
Setting the anchor tests the seafloor and more or less guarantees the anchor and seafloor will continue to perform. May not but setting the anchor is the best way to test the seafloor for anchoring.

Most all seafloors are sedimentary deposits. As one goes up and down in the substrate large changes can take place. On the surface it’s loose mud ... the last deposit to be made. Several thousand years ago a layer of fine gravel came to rest on the same spot. And so it continues.

Letting the light breezes to set the anchor will work to some degree. Very little penetration will almost guarantee you will still be in the first layer of sediments. You could depend on luck or you could back down w several hundred lbs of tension. MUCH less luck needed.

 

[O C Diver]

Can the folks who are advocating NOT setting an anchor please cite date besides personal experience that the anchor will somehow burrow in on its own? This is contrary to guidance from many well know sources that novices may read. I suggest it is responsible to caveat your technique accordingly and give some justification why it's a bad idea for you to set an anchor against conventional wisdom.

Peter

BoatUS recommends backing down to set an anchor.
https://www.boatus.com/expert-advice/expert-advice-archive/2019/february/anchoring

Practical sailor recommends backing down to set an anchor
Angle of Vanishing Stability

West marine advisor (who has sponsored many anchor tears over the years) recommends backing down to set an anchor.
https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/How-To-Anchor-Securely

I don't need any data. I think you guys are nuts and wish you'd put some sort of mark on your boat that says "setting anchors is a bad idea" so I could avoid you like super-spreader event.

I cited three publications, including one from a major insurer. Feel free to go your own way, but to recommend to others without citation? Sorry, I find that irresponsible.

BTW - the anchor tests in PS did not support Hippos hypothesis either. Conclusion was different though - dual anchors, one of which being a fortress.

Peter,

Simply, things change. Back when I was getting into anchoring overnight, there was this book called Chapman Piloting Seamanship and Small Boat Handling, the bible of small boating. Before there were new generation anchors, the scope rule was 7:1 overnight and 10:1 for severe weather. Based on the anchors of that time, backing down to set the farm implement was the only reliable way to know it was going to hold.

Welcome to the 21st century. We have next generation anchors, people scope 4:1 (and live to tell about it), and some East coast boaters can set their anchors without backing down.

While I can't comment on Practical Sailor as I don't read it for obvious reasons (I'm a power boater), the other 2 write to a boating level I passed 3+ decades ago. My technique with a Rocna anchor and 7:1 scope in less than 20' of water, has worked for me, over 100 times, flawlessly. It may be that my boat has more windage and the anchor sets when the slack has drawn tight. It may be that I'm often in tidal currents that accomplish the same thing. But it works. If my cruising consisted of anchoring on rock piles, coral, or kelp forests of weeds, I might have to change my technique. Until that time, I'll stick with what works for me.

Ted

 

[Bigsfish]

Two of the people I respect their opinions most on this forum are Ted and Scott. I have a 130 pound Spade with an all chain 3/8 HT rode on my boat and it has held perfectly since I’ve owned but I don’t have the balls to not set the anchor. I’ve always set my anchor for over 50 years. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I have no doubt that Ted and Scott are 100% truthful that their technique works fine for them.

Maybe one day after a few beers I may test their theory. Wait, I never drink until I’m sure the boat is secure. LOL

 

[BruceK]

Why would anyone not want to test the set by applying some power or observing the holding if wind/current is enough to load the set? Better to know the set is good rather than wonder. Every anchoring is an individual event and needs to be treated as such.

 

[Nomad Willy]

I like that Bruce.
“Every anchoring is an individual event and needs to be treated as such.“

 

[Simi 60]

9 times out of 10 if have had any more than 15 knots of breeze, when we go to pull the anchor the clutch on the windlass slips (I have it set there so as to avoid windlass damage) and we need to bob about for a few minutes, pulsing the chain in tighter to wiggle it out, like pulling teeth.

When the anchor breaks the surface, usually there is a wheelbarrow sized plug that we have pulled out.

In wilder weather, (40+ knots, we have seen 80+) it takes a fair bit more patience and effort to pull it.

Sounds set to me.

 

[SteveK]

Interesting posts & links. I may have missed it, did not see this in any link and do not recall reading this in any post.

Captain picks the spot to drop anchor, reverses engine and lowers anchor following the linked suggestion to set the anchor, proper scope and all.

The only problem I saw is that the boat backed into the wind/current because no one told them to set downwind, backup with the current. When the boat swung 180 the anchor reset on its own so all good in the end.

Too obvious I suppose to include in how to set an anchor.

 

[mvweebles]

Peter,

Simply, things change. Back when I was getting into anchoring overnight, there was this book called Chapman Piloting Seamanship and Small Boat Handling, the bible of small boating. Before there were new generation anchors, the scope rule was 7:1 overnight and 10:1 for severe weather. Based on the anchors of that time, backing down to set the farm implement was the only reliable way to know it was going to hold.

Welcome to the 21st century. We have next generation anchors, people scope 4:1 (and live to tell about it), and some East coast boaters can set their anchors without backing down.

While I can't comment on Practical Sailor as I don't read it for obvious reasons (I'm a power boater), the other 2 write to a boating level I passed 3+ decades ago. My technique with a Rocna anchor and 7:1 scope in less than 20' of water, has worked for me, over 100 times, flawlessly. It may be that my boat has more windage and the anchor sets when the slack has drawn tight. It may be that I'm often in tidal currents that accomplish the same thing. But it works. If my cruising consisted of anchoring on rock piles, coral, or kelp forests of weeds, I might have to change my technique. Until that time, I'll stick with what works for me.

Ted

Ted - short scope has been a topic since the Bruce came out 30 years ago. It's still a very popular anchor in some places due to its ability to set and reset in deeper water. It was widely tested with 3:1 scope. It was a vast improvement over the CQR/Plow style at the time.

The links I sent recommending that anchors be set - as in backed-down, were recent. I think only the PS one was a bit older - from 2016. Mind you, these were not opinion pieces. These were tests. Now, anchor tests are notoriously difficult to extrapolate from, and the PS article definitely contains caveats on anchor selection vs bottom type, but nowhere will you find a recommendation to not set an anchor. In fact, the PS article mentions experiencing fouled rode due to stacking atop the anchor was not uncommon during their tandem tests, especially with a Fortress which is still the best in mud - - - by far.

People have been hurling anchors over the side for generations. Nothing new there. You rusk putting too much faith in your style of anchor. People did that with the Bruce 30 years ago. There is nothing 21st century about proclaiming an anchor revolutionary. Heck, I'd guess that's been going on for 100s of years. Nothing new there - what is new is the suggestion that an anchor no longer needs to be set. On that you should cite data, not opinion.

I'd still like to see data beyond your testimonial. The world is full of stuff that's sold via testimonials and not much else. Two people with 40k posts at a computer between them telling people "new anchors are so good you don't have to set them" may be your opinions. Perhaps you can send a link from the Mantus site that recommends a set is not needed?

Peter

 

[mvweebles]

Last comment. Y'all are so enthralled with an anchors ability to reset. What if it can't set in the first place. Wouldn't that be good information to have before you turned in for the night?

 

[Simi 60]

Last comment. Y'all are so enthralled with an anchors ability to reset. What if it can't set in the first place. Wouldn't that be good information to have before you turned in for the night?

Surely if your boat has, with current and wind, stopped and the chain is lifting out of the water on the gusts you would consider it set.
Yes?

Its not like we drop the pick and instantly go to sleep, we sit around for a bit and observe.
Its pretty obvious when its grabbed, which 100% of the time for us, (thus far) is within minutes.

 

[mvweebles]

Surely if your boat has, with current and wind, stopped and the chain is lifting out of the water on the gusts you would consider it set.
Yes?

Its not like we drop the pick and instantly go to sleep, we sit around for a bit and observe.
Its pretty obvious when its grabbed, which 100% of the time for us, (thus far) is within minutes.

No worry about conditions worsening overnight?

Curious, why not back-down a bit? Takes all of 2-mins, and it gives a lot of information. Not only is the anchor is set, but where your boat lies when rode is taught, and you can visually check rode angle for proper scope. Why not do it? What's the big deal that it's a bad idea to set an anchor?

Much of my anchoring was in San Francisco Bay. Many anchorages see 2-3 kts of reversing current. I just find it unfathomable to not find out sooner rather than later that I somehow found a bad patch of seafloor. Especially because it's so easy to set an anchor. Someone's already at the helm with engine running.

I realize the "no-set" crowd are set in your ways for whatever reason. But for people reading and perhaps learning to make their own decision, with rare exceptions, please set your anchor. Just because someone has a lot of posts on a forum does not make him/her an expert in a topic, it just means they have too much free time on their hands (certainly the case for me with my boat in a boatyard 3000 nms away).

 

[catalinajack]

Wow, another anchor debate. When I posted my experience with a Manson Supreme setting very quickly with just wind or wind/ current I was merely recounting two experiences. I was not advocating power-setiing or not doing so, only saying that the Manson seems to set very quickly. When we did the loop two years ago, I power set the anchor every time. In every case except one, after attaching an anchor bridle, when I powered back at about 1, 200 RPM the anchor set so firmly that the boat was actually snapped back when the rode was fully tensioned. The exception was in a beautiful anchorage somewhere on the Georgian Bay (Canada) where, in some places, the bottom is just plain rock, the Canadian Shield. We had to up anchor and find another place. This example argues strongly for power-setting.

Now contrast this with anchoring in the soupy mud of the Chesapeake, where we live and boat, where our experience is that the Manson does better when allowing its 88 pounds to settle into the mud. We have found that immediately trying to power-set often results in dragging that anchor through the surface soup. On the Chesapeake not power-setting has worked for us every time. Howerever, I do use an anchor monitoring app (Vesper 8000 AIS) and check it every hour before going to bed to ensure that, somehow, we have not dragged. In every case when the wind had picked up and the bridle had become fully-tensioned, the anchor had set firmly and retrieving it required some effort to break it free from the bottom.

Some would recommend a different anchor for the Chesapeake, a Fortress, for example, but I, and many others, do not have the option of keeping two anchors so a choice must be made.

My point is, I guess, that anchoring is both art and science, no single best answer, only the collective experience of this group for reference and one's own experience over time.

 

[Brisyboy]

Surely if your boat has, with current and wind, stopped and the chain is lifting out of the water on the gusts you would consider it set.
Yes?

Its not like we drop the pick and instantly go to sleep, we sit around for a bit and observe.
Its pretty obvious when its grabbed, which 100% of the time for us, (thus far) is within minutes.

I`m with you Simi - as we are slowly backing down, anchor goes down to hit the bottom, chain goes out hopefully at a rate so it lays in a straight line on the bottom (not in a pile)until the calculated scope is out, stop the chain and watch firstly the chain take the strain and lift out of the water and secondly a reference point - another boat or a point on the shore to make sure we have stopped. A bit of a squirt in reverse and watch the chain lift and we are getting close to beer time BUT keep an eye on my reference point for 10 mins or so.

 

[Simi 60]

No worry about conditions worsening overnight?

Curious, why not back-down a bit? Takes all of 2-mins, and it gives a lot of information.

Like I said earlier and I know this doesn't apply to others, but with a 48 inch propeller in a kortz nozzle we have a 5 tonne plus bollard pull so the interwebs say.
Giving it any more than a quick in and out of gear gives frightening results.
How far does 20mm nylon (same strength as the chain, 5 tonne) stretch before it goes bang???

Plus, 65 tonne of high windage boat drifting back makes it pretty obvious if you have a set within minutes.
100% results on over 1500 consecutive sets.
Been through several 40, 50 and 80+ knot blows on drop and soak anchor setting.

I don't wake up for 40+ anymore.
Get a decent anchor and use it often, you may feel the same.

 

[mvweebles]

The exception was in a beautiful anchorage somewhere on the Georgian Bay (Canada) where, in some places, the bottom is just plain rock, the Canadian Shield. We had to up anchor and find another place. This example argues strongly for power-setting.

My point is, I guess, that anchoring is both art and science, no single best answer, only the collective experience of this group for reference and one's own experience over time.

Had a similar experience. Due to unusual wind direction, I moved to an anchorage on south side of the bay where Stillwater Cove (Pebble Beach) is, the picturesque anchorage you see off the golf course for the AT&T ProAm golf tournament. After 5-6 tries of finding nothing but hard bottom, we left and went back to the rolly anchorage and anchored inside the kelp line. It was dead calm when we arrived - had we not attempted to set the anchor, would have never known the bottom was foul.

Which brings up the operative question: an anchor will only re-set if it can set in the first place. How do you know it will set unless you test it? Hope there's enough wind/current to set it? Active Captain reviews? Why wouldn't you want to know? It takes all of 2-mins to gently power-set an anchor, its not like anyone is suggesting diving on your anchor. Why not do it and know for yourself? (Simi's example notwithstanding - most large boats with big engines do fine with idle-reverse power set).

EDIT - It's been 15-years since the anchoring event I mentioned, and I had to look-up the name of the cove ("Whalers Cove"). If you look closely, there's a slightly truncated anchor-symbol in the middle. Granted, this is pretty extreme voyaging - I'd be surprised if this cove gets more than a handful of boats using it a year due to prevailing weather from NNW and this cove is only viable on the rare days weather is from the south.

 

[psneeld]

This isn't a debate...its like many conversations we have in all walks of life these days now.

Some people just hear their opinion and thats that.

Both Ted and I have said different situations may or may not require setting. So obviously we are not part of the "no set" crowd......more like we paid attention that different situations may only require certain things, not everything on the magazines beginners checklist.

I too am with Simi, within minutes the set is determined, and hasn't failed me yet. But AS I HAVE said, if bottom or situation is different, I do back down.....

Backing down is like destructive testing...you are still never sure you haven't filled your anchor with a big, now packed mud ball. The anchor could break free any second now but can't reset for the mud ball or grass clump....been there, done that. Unless you dive, backing down guarantees NOTHING.

Here is my post #10.......



"With my new 60lb Manson Supreme, I think I back down, maybe 20% of the time.


Most other times the current or the wind has already signaled to me a good set.


If I feel I have a good set but want to check it because it is forecast to blow over 25 knots (less than 10% of the times I anchor) hen a backdown is warranted for checking. "

Here is #19


Yes as I said...I do back down occasionally....usually in situations where I can't minimize certain dangers or uncertainties. But I also know like some...many times I anchor, the chain is doing the holding overnight...the anchor doesn't even have to be there. Experience also teaches me to be able to predict that much of the time...so I leave the anchor attached. "

Rest my case, cant discuss something when the other doesn't read all of your post's logic.

 

[mvweebles]

This isn't a debate...its like many conversations we have in all walks of life these days now.

Some people just hear their opinion and thats that.

Both Ted and I have said different situations may or may not require setting. So obviously we are not part of the "no set" crowd......more like we paid attention that different situations may only require certain things, not everything on the magazines beginners checklist.

I too am with Simi, within minutes the set is determined, and hasn't failed me yet. But AS I HAVE said, if bottom or situation is different, I do back down.....

Backing down is like destructive testing...you are still never sure you haven't filled your anchor with a big, now packed mud ball. The anchor could break free any second now but can't reset for the mud ball or grass clump....been there, done that. Unless you dive, backing down guarantees NOTHING.

Here is my post #10.......



"With my new 60lb Manson Supreme, I think I back down, maybe 20% of the time.


Most other times the current or the wind has already signaled to me a good set.


If I feel I have a good set but want to check it because it is forecast to blow over 25 knots (less than 10% of the times I anchor) hen a backdown is warranted for checking. "

Here is #19


Yes as I said...I do back down occasionally....usually in situations where I can't minimize certain dangers or uncertainties. But I also know like some...many times I anchor, the chain is doing the holding overnight...the anchor doesn't even have to be there. Experience also teaches me to be able to predict that much of the time...so I leave the anchor attached. "

Rest my case, cant discuss something when the other doesn't read all of your post's logic.

I do read your posts fully, The logic sometimes fails me, and there is often too much emphasis on exceptions without much guidance on how to apply them. Just a dependence on your self-stated expert status. You may very well be an expert - I don't know you. But I would prefer a more fact-based discussion given the arms-length nature of email threads between strangers.

But my point is not to convert the converted. This is an important topic and less-experienced folks look to these for guidance. Normally I wouldn't care, but the notion that setting an anchor is not a best-practice is disturbing to me and sets a poor example for those seeking basic knowledge.

For those interested, "Steve" on S/V Panope is legendary for filming anchor sets and re-sets and doing a fair amount of analysis on things like tip-weight and ability to penetrate seaweed and such. He recently concluded that his test-site is too easy so is looking for more challenging seafloors. CatalinaJack - he does several fairly recent tests on Manson Supremes, including removing part of the shank which has the effect of increasing tip-weight.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy1Fn_m9nfcf4asEG_bulHA

Peter

 

[O C Diver]

Which brings up the operative question: an anchor will only re-set if it can set in the first place. How do you know? Active Captain reviews? Why wouldn't you want to know? It takes all of 2-mins to gently power-set an anchor. Why not do it (Simi's example notwithstanding - most large boats with big engines do fine with idle-reverse power set).

Do you just depend on Active Captain reviews? It doesn't sound like any of you dive on the bottom (now that's work!) and few locations have water visibility to observe the bottom conditions. How do you know your anchor can set, especially if it's dead calm for hours after you arrive and your chain hangs vertical? Why wouldn't you want to know?

Peter

Peter,
I frankly don't know how you can sleep at night on your boat. With your obsession about power setting your anchor, you have to realize it's only a matter of time before you experience a reversal where the anchor breaks free. Without your divine guidance it can't possibly set on its own, and your anchor drags on some impenetrable material until the boat falls off the edge of the flat earth. I am at an absolute loss to understand how a person can be so obsessed with power setting and so indifferent to a reversal where the anchor might break free.

I have yet to recover my anchor from a night on the hook, where I didn't have to break it out of the bottom. So clearly it sets. Maybe I'm just better at picking anchoring spots than you.

Ted

 

[O C Diver]

For those interested, "Steve" on S/V Panope is legendary for filming anchor sets and re-sets and doing a fair amount of analysis on things like tip-weight and ability to penetrate seaweed and such. He recently concluded that his test-site is too easy so is looking for more challenging seafloors.
Peter

I watched Steve's videos and I appreciate the effort he made to produce them. That said, his testing conditions have no relevance to where and how I anchor, so of little overall value. If I were anchoring where there were the currents he was trying to replicate, it wouldn't be with a short scope. I'd be more inclined to add scope (chain on the seabed) to slow the boat down.

Ted

 

[mvweebles]

Not at all indifferent to re-set. As mentioned, I've spent a lot of time anchoring in areas of strong reversing tidal currents. But that's a different topic from power-setting an anchor in the first place, which there is considerable evidence that it's a best practice (including from the anchor manufacturers themselves, including Fortress, the foremost mud-anchor around these days). There are certain steps that can be taken to identify fault conditions ahead of time that are, in my mind, just good practice and should be continued even if you've done it 1000 times and never been surprised (testing a bow thruster prior to departure/arrival, for example).

I don't doubt that your anchor needs to be broken-out in the morning. I just want that knowledge when I anchor, not the next day. That's what makes a good night's sleep to me.

I am surprised that the folks here have such uniform success in good-holding grounds, so much so that many forego power-setting an anchor. Cruising sailboats tend to carry over-sized ground tackle and report they always power-set their anchors, many also dive on their anchors. Why? Because at one time or another, they've all experienced dragging, poor set, or some other form of fouled anchorage. Maybe they should spend more time on The Loop?

Peter

 

[rslifkin]

Simi, for a boat like yours, I think a power set would involve a few brief bumps in reverse to slowly move the boat back, then as the rode comes tight, idle reverse (definitely no more). Idle reverse would probably be equivalent to a good bit of wind for you.

 

[O C Diver]

Not at all indifferent to re-set. As mentioned, I've spent a lot of time anchoring in areas of strong reversing tidal currents. But that's a different topic from power-setting an anchor in the first place, which there is considerable evidence that it's a best practice (including from the anchor manufacturers themselves, including Fortress, the foremost mud-anchor around these days). There are certain steps that can be taken to identify fault conditions ahead of time that are, in my mind, just good practice and should be continued even if you've done it 1000 times and never been surprised (testing a bow thruster prior to departure/arrival, for example).

I don't doubt that your anchor needs to be broken-out in the morning. I just want that knowledge when I anchor, not the next day. That's what makes a good night's sleep to me.

I am surprised that the folks here have such uniform success in good-holding grounds, so much so that many forego power-setting an anchor. Cruising sailboats tend to carry over-sized ground tackle and report they always power-set their anchors, many also dive on their anchors. Why? Because at one time or another, they've all experienced dragging, poor set, or some other form of fouled anchorage. Maybe they should spend more time on The Loop?

Peter

Peter,
I think you have identified your problem. Maybe Psneeld can offer you help in the best selection of anchoring locations. :lol:

Ted

 

[Nomad Willy]

In the late 60’s when I had a 17’ Bryant mahogany OB cruiser I met a girl at college whose father had a Chris Craft. She told me about setting anchors. I thought it was positively stupid. After all if an anchor was any good that’s what they were designed to to. And I had a good anchor .. a Danforth. I placed the Dan in a good spot. In the morning I pulled it up. Easy.

That girl and her dad were both smart and I eventually got on the bandwagon. Been there ever since. Didn’t like new stuff whether it was something to do or buy. I still don’t like new stuff. But billions of men have come before me and billions are yet to come. Perhaps guys set anchors so they can look down on those that don’t. Guys love to get on a high place and look down on other guys. Girls? They just listen to daddy or read a book.

 

[Fletcher500]

I usually avoid anchor threads on here and the people who are on this thread are very experienced and have thousands of anchor sets under their belts so whatever works. Here is my .02: I have a fellow TF member periodically check my AIS on his computer screen remotely when I am out at the Channel Islands. At one anchorage recently I was changing direction so many times, big swings, he thought I may have had some issues. There is a lot of water moving through these areas and wind is a whole different subject. I am in the set and apply power camp. I have to break it free fairly often, which is a pain, but I am ok with that. I have never boated on the east coast, but I think there Are differences with the more protected waterway areas the east coast guys are referring to compared to the areas Peter is referencing.

 

[psneeld]

The East Coast gets some strong currents too...this was my old marina in NJ...this is a storm current, but not uncommon during many Noreasters that plow through every year.

 

[mvweebles]

The East Coast gets some strong currents too...this was my old marina in NJ...this is a storm current, but not uncommon during many Noreasters that plow through every year.

HOLY CRAP!!!!!

I did a lesson for some folks on the Columbia River in Oregon. Their slips were perpendicular to the stream. Single engine, no thruster. Was child's play in comparison to this..

Peter

 

[psneeld]

HOLY CRAP!!!!!

I did a lesson for some folks on the Columbia River in Oregon. Their slips were perpendicular to the stream. Single engine, no thruster. Was child's play in comparison to this..

Peter

I am guessing it's between 6-8 knots of current....that's from multiple years and types of measuring current methods in that waterway. (personally leaning toward 6).



I have had hundreds of people on the East Coast talk about bad currents at different marinas up and down the East Coast tell me about 10 knot, 12 knot...etc...etc.... docking experiences.


Yeah.... its hard not to laugh in their face.....I just chalk it up to inexperience and grit my teeth.


Every place can have occasional currents to scare you...but its rare, not a daily occurance.

 

[ghost]

I also rarely power set an anchor. I’m in the PNW and anchor in both shallow and deeper water and always deal with tidal swings and current.

I carefully place the anchor on the bottom, let the anchor draw out the scope, and let the momentum of the boat set the anchor as I quickly close the brake on the windlass. The wind and current then finish the job. I only do more if I can’t get the initial strain feedback where the chain comes taut as the boats slow momentum is arrested. I feel the chain and the vibrations in the chain anchor will tell me if it’s still moving, and often whether I’m in rock or mud. If I can’t get the feedback I’m looking for, I move.

Nobody told me to do this, I did not like power setting as it nearly always caused some initial unnecessary dragging and I’d wind up somewhere other than where I wanted to be and I’m fairly particular in where I want to place the boat. I’ve always found that as the wind picks up, the anchor will dig further, but with very little drag. I also want to minimize tearing up the bottom, and reduce the chances of finding some old loggers cable or other treasure too.

More often than not my boat stays put when the wind blows. Oh, and I have that CQR I still haven’t replaced.

 

[mvweebles]

More often than not my boat stays put when the wind blows. Oh, and I have that CQR I still haven’t replaced.

Angel Island in SF Bay is one of the best anchorages in the Bay. But the moorings fill-up so I was anchored around the corner in Hospital Cove (there are now moorings there too I believe). 25-years ago on my first Willard 30-footer which carried a decent sized CQR. Probably a decent 4-kt current came through overnight and I dragged but didn't know it until I got up in the morning (and yes, I had power-set the anchor). The only thing that kept me from floating out the Golden Gate (slight exaggeration) was my anchor fouled on not one but two abandoned anchor rodes, one of which was a very nice Fortress. What a mess to bring that aboard.

But I never trusted that CQR again. Sort of like a cheating lover - I got rid of it and replaced with a Bruce, the best anchor of the day.

PSN - that video looked like more than 6-kts. Surprised no kayakers were trying to white-water it.

Peter