Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 05-01-2022, 04:45 PM   #1
Veteran Member
 
City: Cannes
Vessel Name: Octant
Vessel Model: Grand Banks 42 MY
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 58
Anchorage mishap

Yesterday I anchored close to an island, which usually gets busy in the summer, but wasn't yet this early in the season. Wind stronger than forecasted, was maybe 20 knots. Depth around 8m (25 feet), I lay out 5:1 scope, and a snubber.
Here comes another GB, the guy anchors right in front of me, probably over my rode, and leaves the boat to get ashore to the restaurant, indicating to me that he would be watching his boat from his table.
Then his boat started drifting towards me. I called the restaurant, the guy rushes in (the restaurant has a tender that they use to pick up and drop off people). His boat is drifting fast, by the time he gets on board and starts the engine, he's on me. I protect my bow as much as possible with a fender and he manages to move forward. Good.
But now comes trouble. He's alone on board, and has to walk down to the windlass to operate it. While he's doing so, his boat drifts back down on me. When I yell "too close", he rushes to the fly bridge (why not downstairs??), motors forward, then put the gear back in neutral, runs to the windlass and raise the anchor some more.
The circus lasts for maybe 20 minutes, he finally has the anchor up.... with my rode in it, of course. I hail the tender driver to ask him if he can help removing the rode, which is too much under tension. They have to work together with a line to suspend my rode, release the anchor down, then release the line. And during all of this time, the guy keeps running up and down, attending the windlass and the engine, drifting close all the time.
In the end, he manages to free up my rode, and his boat drifts now much faster sideways, until my pulpit rams into his saloon window. I keep protecting with a big fender, and this would be the only damage - I'm glad my bow roller didn't catch on his window frame and hooked the two boats together....
- I could not raise my anchor and leave, he was on my rode and this would have gotten me closer
- I could not lower my anchor some more, I was close to the end of the rode and this would just have defer the issue by a few meters, but gotten me too close for comfort from the guy anchored behind me
- I had started my engines to be ready to move, but couldn't really go anywhere
The only thing I basically did was stand at the bow, use a fender to protect our boats, shout instructions when he was drifting too close.
What else could I have done? Dump all the rode, cut the line loose and move away? Try to move the boat sideways to "circle" around him, with my rode forming a U, and wait there until he sorted it out? What would you have done?
Thanks
Guilhem is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 05:12 PM   #2
Guru
 
HTurner's Avatar
 
City: Corpus Christi
Vessel Model: Willard Vega Horizon
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 500
You could have transferred to his boat and helped him out as he was solo... just a thought....
HTurner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 05:22 PM   #3
Guru
 
psneeld's Avatar
 
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,149
It is almost impossible to say what I would have done....

I have lots of experience in high tension situations and I have learned that unless I was there to see, hear, smell, feel almost every possibility...then knowing what I would have done, precisely when and in what order is nearly impossible.

I learned that from being a military investigator ad trained aircraft accident investigator.

Be very careful of even reasonably associating many "what I would have done" answers as with as little as one factor different, could change what almost anyone could have done.

Even with pages of information concerning what happened, most eyewitness accounts are sketchy at best till backed by hard evidence (mine included it's just human nature).

So guessing the best course of action is all but impossible at this point.
psneeld is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 05:30 PM   #4
Guru
 
SteveK's Avatar
 
City: Gulf Islands, BC Canada
Vessel Name: Sea Sanctuary
Vessel Model: Bayliner 4588
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 5,017
none of this was your fault, and you called to let him know.

Tell us, in hindsight what you could have done.
__________________
SteveK
You only need one working engine. That is why I have two.
Sea Sanctuary-new to me 1992 Bayliner 4588
SteveK is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 05:45 PM   #5
Guru
 
rgano's Avatar
 
City: Southport, FL near Panama City
Vessel Name: FROLIC
Vessel Model: Mainship 30 Pilot II since 2015. GB-42 1986-2015. Former Unlimited Tonnage Master
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,984
You did well protecting your boat. Getting aboard his sounds like it would have ensured you took damage. The thought passed my mind while reading this, "Why didn't he buoy his rode and slip it to get out of there. But I wasn't there. Two more thoughts now arise. Had you employed a buoy to your anchor, he would have thought twice about anchoring over you. Last thought is I think if I get into a crowded anchorage I will rig a buoy to the rode at my roller so I can slip it all and get out whether or not I also use an anchor buoy.
__________________
Rich Gano
FROLIC (2005 MainShip 30 Pilot II)
Panama City area
rgano is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 05:57 PM   #6
Guru
 
High Wire's Avatar
 
City: Cape May, NJ
Vessel Name: Irish Lady
Vessel Model: Monk 36
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,964
We have had endless "How to dump the anchor rode in an emergency" discussions. This would be the time to consider the lesser of two evils. Lose the anchor or crash.
__________________
Archie
Irish Lady
1984 Monk 36 Hull #46
Currently in Cape May, NJ
High Wire is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 07:11 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
DCDC's Avatar
 
City: New Orleans
Vessel Name: Stella
Vessel Model: Seaton 56
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 272
Last June we were anchored in Boca Ciego Bay near Gulfport, FL. for a week waiting on weather to cross GOM to Appalachicola. Good anchorage but a lot of boats, half on moorings, half at anchor. Quite a few with live-aboards and many with no one in attendance.

Weather was hot and humid with frequent rainstorms. I was sleeping in the pilot house as it is cooler and I can see what’s happening around us. A 30 knot squall with lightning and horizontal rain hit about midnight and I noticed a 40’ sailboat off the bow a lot closer than it had been, beam to the wind and dragging down on us. After starting the engines and motoring to port the sailboat dragged by a boat length to starboard. Luckily their anchor missed our chain and the boat stopped dragging a 100 yards behind us as it got into shallower water and the winds eased.

We radioed a pan-pan and notified the Coast Guard, who referred us to the sheriff’s office, who said they would not respond. The next day we called the local marina who manages the mooring field. That afternoon someone moved the boat across the bay.

We would surely have been tangled up if we had not a red and it was just reflex that we chose the best evasive maneuver.
DCDC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 07:37 PM   #8
Guru
 
motion30's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,181
There's actually a term for what that guy did. It is called a splash and -There's actually a term for what that guy did. It is called a splash and dash. You should have stayed on the boat for at least an hour to make sure it was stable
motion30 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 08:29 PM   #9
Moderator Emeritus
 
Comodave's Avatar
 
City: Au Gres, MI
Vessel Name: Black Dog
Vessel Model: Formula 41PC
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 21,187
I found out something that could be an issue with our new boat’s anchor is that Formula apparently bolts the anchor chain bitter end inside the rope locker, but out of reach so you can’t undo it. It did give me an excuse to buy a new tool, a cordless grinder. Just for this type situation. If I need to release the anchor in an emergency I can use the grinder to cut the chain. I can attach a fender to some small stuff and tie it to the bitter end of the chain. Then I can recover the anchour and chain later after the emergency has passed. I keep about 40’ of 1/4” nylon for this purpose.
__________________
Boat Nut:
If you are one there is no explanation necessary.
If you aren’t one, there is no explanation possible.
Comodave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 08:53 PM   #10
Arc
Guru
 
City: Long island
Vessel Model: Eastern
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 633
There is one thing I know could have helped. But it’s an afterthought. I often anchor in a very busy area. I have learned people have no clue about anchoring . They are always on top of me. So I keep a crab float with line on my bow. I clip it to the anchor so it marks the drop point. It keeps other boaters away.
Arc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 09:16 PM   #11
Guru
 
soin2la's Avatar
 
City: West Coast
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 1,008
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arc View Post
I clip it to the anchor so it marks the drop point. It keeps other boaters away.
Here, with a 15 foot tidal range, all that would do is tell everyone there is a crab float in the anchorage.
soin2la is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 09:19 PM   #12
Arc
Guru
 
City: Long island
Vessel Model: Eastern
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 633
Yes but boater are always afraid of fouling a prop . They generally stay away
Arc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 09:35 PM   #13
Guru
 
SteveK's Avatar
 
City: Gulf Islands, BC Canada
Vessel Name: Sea Sanctuary
Vessel Model: Bayliner 4588
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 5,017
It would be an interesting anchorage if everyone had a float over their anchor
__________________
SteveK
You only need one working engine. That is why I have two.
Sea Sanctuary-new to me 1992 Bayliner 4588
SteveK is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 11:00 PM   #14
Guru
 
hollywood8118's Avatar
 
City: Port Townsend Washington
Vessel Name: " OTTER "
Vessel Model: Ocean Alexander Europa 40
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,378
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comodave View Post
I found out something that could be an issue with our new boat’s anchor is that Formula apparently bolts the anchor chain bitter end inside the rope locker, but out of reach so you can’t undo it. It did give me an excuse to buy a new tool, a cordless grinder. Just for this type situation. If I need to release the anchor in an emergency I can use the grinder to cut the chain. I can attach a fender to some small stuff and tie it to the bitter end of the chain. Then I can recover the anchour and chain later after the emergency has passed. I keep about 40’ of 1/4” nylon for this purpose.

i wouldn't wait until an emergency situation to cut the chain, do it at the dock at your leisure and add line to get the chain above deck so you can cut it with a knife in an emergency.
hollywood
hollywood8118 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 11:05 PM   #15
Moderator Emeritus
 
Comodave's Avatar
 
City: Au Gres, MI
Vessel Name: Black Dog
Vessel Model: Formula 41PC
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 21,187
Quote:
Originally Posted by hollywood8118 View Post
i wouldn't wait until an emergency situation to cut the chain, do it at the dock at your leisure and add line to get the chain above deck so you can cut it with a knife in an emergency.
hollywood
I have been thinking about doing that but if I did it right away I wouldn’t have had a reason to buy a new tool. My wife says I have never met a tool that I didn’t need…
__________________
Boat Nut:
If you are one there is no explanation necessary.
If you aren’t one, there is no explanation possible.
Comodave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2022, 11:07 PM   #16
Guru
 
hollywood8118's Avatar
 
City: Port Townsend Washington
Vessel Name: " OTTER "
Vessel Model: Ocean Alexander Europa 40
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,378
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guilhem View Post
Yesterday I anchored close to an island, which usually gets busy in the summer, but wasn't yet this early in the season. Wind stronger than forecasted, was maybe 20 knots. Depth around 8m (25 feet), I lay out 5:1 scope, and a snubber.
Here comes another GB, the guy anchors right in front of me, probably over my rode, and leaves the boat to get ashore to the restaurant, indicating to me that he would be watching his boat from his table.
Then his boat started drifting towards me. I called the restaurant, the guy rushes in (the restaurant has a tender that they use to pick up and drop off people). His boat is drifting fast, by the time he gets on board and starts the engine, he's on me. I protect my bow as much as possible with a fender and he manages to move forward. Good.
But now comes trouble. He's alone on board, and has to walk down to the windlass to operate it. While he's doing so, his boat drifts back down on me. When I yell "too close", he rushes to the fly bridge (why not downstairs??), motors forward, then put the gear back in neutral, runs to the windlass and raise the anchor some more.
The circus lasts for maybe 20 minutes, he finally has the anchor up.... with my rode in it, of course. I hail the tender driver to ask him if he can help removing the rode, which is too much under tension. They have to work together with a line to suspend my rode, release the anchor down, then release the line. And during all of this time, the guy keeps running up and down, attending the windlass and the engine, drifting close all the time.
In the end, he manages to free up my rode, and his boat drifts now much faster sideways, until my pulpit rams into his saloon window. I keep protecting with a big fender, and this would be the only damage - I'm glad my bow roller didn't catch on his window frame and hooked the two boats together....
- I could not raise my anchor and leave, he was on my rode and this would have gotten me closer
- I could not lower my anchor some more, I was close to the end of the rode and this would just have defer the issue by a few meters, but gotten me too close for comfort from the guy anchored behind me
- I had started my engines to be ready to move, but couldn't really go anywhere
The only thing I basically did was stand at the bow, use a fender to protect our boats, shout instructions when he was drifting too close.
What else could I have done? Dump all the rode, cut the line loose and move away? Try to move the boat sideways to "circle" around him, with my rode forming a U, and wait there until he sorted it out? What would you have done?
Thanks

if you do it while there is room to still maneuver motor forward and to the upwind side and swing your chain out of his way. if you get lucky the offender may miss you and your chain. Don't run over your own chain.
Hollywood
hollywood8118 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-02-2022, 12:38 AM   #17
Veteran Member
 
City: Cannes
Vessel Name: Octant
Vessel Model: Grand Banks 42 MY
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 58
Thanks all for the feedback. I see a few useful suggestions.
Transferring to his boat and help: thought about it, would have meant to leave my boat unattended and unprotected, a sure way to take damage, and also the other thing I thought about is that I would then become partly responsible for any escalation of the issue, that his insurance could blame on me.
Floater on the anchor position: nobody does this in this anchorage, just too crowded, and people tend to use too short a scope, so they wouldn't even be bothered by a buoy that appears too far from a boat and would not even think it's part of my rode...
Dumping my anchor: could not be done by dropping all the chain down, then cutting the bitter end of the line, as this would have meant backing into whoever was behind me. Could have been done with a hand-held, full charged-up grinder on dock, probably the best course of action here.
Another option that, in hindsight, could have been doable, was to move all my fenders to port side, the engage my engines to turn the boat to starboard and motor up towards the anchor, hoping he would slip past me.
Maybe the best - but I'm only seeing this now a day after, would have been to tell him to release and dump *his* rode all the way, so that this boat would slide past me. Counterintuitive, as he wanted to free himself to regain manoeuverability and leave, but dropping his rode was a way to regain movement quickly. And he had the possibility to unwind it all.
I could also have decided to move the minute I saw him drop anchor on my rode...
Anyway, nobody got hurt, my boat got nothing, his a broken window, and the people at the restaurant had a good show to enjoy over their lunch :-) !
Guilhem is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-02-2022, 05:45 AM   #18
Guru
 
O C Diver's Avatar
 
City: Fort Myers, FL... Summers in the Great Lakes
Vessel Name: Slow Hand
Vessel Model: Cherubini Independence 45
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 12,834
I use a small fender ball instead of a crab float to mark my anchor (no confusion). It uses a pulley and weight system so that the ball is directly above the anchor. I am not shy about telling people they're too close to my anchor, before they drop their anchor.

I've never used more than half my anchor rode. From my rough calculation, you had 125' in the water. Would suggest that you double the rode (so you could put more out), even if you have to switch from chain to rope.

Ted
__________________
Blog: mvslowhand.com
I'm tired of fast moves, I've got a slow groove, on my mind.....
I want to spend some time, Not come and go in a heated rush.....
"Slow Hand" by The Pointer Sisters
O C Diver is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-02-2022, 07:05 AM   #19
Guru
 
jleonard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 5,037
I might have swung my boat to one side or the other to let the drifting boat get beside me, then rafted it up.
Then cooler heads could have untangled his anchor mess so he could motor away and once again anchor hopefully not on top of you a second time.
__________________
Jay Leonard
Ex boats: 1983 40 Albin trunk cabin, 1978 Mainship 34 Model 1
New Port Richey, Fl
jleonard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-02-2022, 07:47 AM   #20
Guru
 
City: Rochester, NY
Vessel Name: Hour Glass
Vessel Model: Chris Craft 381 Catalina
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 7,553
Quote:
Originally Posted by O C Diver View Post
I've never used more than half my anchor rode. From my rough calculation, you had 125' in the water. Would suggest that you double the rode (so you could put more out), even if you have to switch from chain to rope.

I take the same attitude. If I even think about using all of my rode in any normal situation, the rode isn't long enough. In my case, I've got about 375 feet usable. The last 100 feet has only been out of the locker when I've cleaned the locker.
rslifkin is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:14 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012