Which is the better spot to anchor?

I've got a question on which spot makes a better anchorage in a west wind.

The chart attached is one of the local bays. 2 of my preferred spots to anchor there during the day are represented by the red and yellow dots. But in a decent west wind, both of those spots put me on the lee shore. During the day, assuming reasonable weather, I'm ok with that. But if we stay overnight, it's more concerning.

As far as geography, the bay varies between about 2000 and 3000 feet wide, so there's not a large fetch anywhere in the east/west direction, and most of the east and west shorelines are fairly steep. The second picture below the chart was taken looking south while anchored in the mouth of the cove marked with the red dot. The east shoreline along that cove is basically cliffs somewhere around 50 - 60 feet high, so it makes a good wind break.

Given a solid 20 kt west wind and anchoring overnight, what spots in the bay look better? I'm thinking I'd want to be closer to the west shore, but there's less north/south protection there, more docks and such along the shoreline, and it just generally doesn't strike me as having any great anchorages. I definitely wouldn't want to be in the yellow dot area, but red dot might be ok, as I'd be around 2500 feet off the west shore and with a good, tall wind break a few hundred feet downwind of me. Plus that cove is about 50 feet deep, so almost nobody anchors in it, leaving me plenty of swing room for long scope. Holding is good mud in the whole bay, a bit softer and more silty towards the south end.

What's everyone's thoughts on the matter?

Not sure what you define as an anchorage, to me is any spot with OK holding and as near waveless and windless as possible for the duration of my anchoring.

I would normally hug the Weatern shore if waves or wakes or general traffic was tolerable.

Okay expected winds 15 knots or less...... probably no big deal where you anchor 20 and above, I would have to see the wave action to be to the east.

psneeld said:

Not sure what you define as an anchorage, to me is any spot with OK holding and as near waveless and windless as possible for the duration of my anchoring.

I would normally hug the Weatern shore if waves or wakes or general traffic was tolerable.

Click to expand...

The bay is narrow enough that wakes are a problem anywhere in there, but the windier it gets, the less traffic there is. And the wake issue is mostly during the day anyway.


Wave action in the east/west direction is never more than a couple inches in there with the narrow bay and steep sides. North/south it can get a bit worse.

Then it probably doesn't matter unless you are expecting wind shifts or one spot has a nicer view, swimming, fishing, etc.....

My preference would be on the western shore with a forecast wind from the west in about 15-20 ft unless there was some other compelling reason to be on the downwind side. On the eastern side, IF you drag, time to respond is shorter. If the wind picks up (that never happens, right?) you will be in a bad spot and wished you were on the west side.

In my experience, the best place to anchor is right where that guy with the fast boat that passed you an hour ago is anchored.
He’s smack dab in the middle of the bay with one anchor out at about 30:1 scope and swinging Back and forth across the entire bay.
Have a nice day!

I ended up putting this to the test yesterday evening in 22 kts gusting to 33. Sat nicely in the opening of the red dot cove. Winds calmed down to a steady 15 kts and dropping before bedtime, so no concerns for sleeping. Fetch wasn't too bad, I don't think the waves even quite reached 6 inches during the worst winds. The lee shore behind me wasn't ideal, but for reasonable weather in not concerned, as there's good holding and lots of swing room.

I took a look at the cove marked as Bay view. Not a great spot even though the shelter is better from the West. Too much traffic and too many docks on the shore, leading to lots of boats passing close, often just dropping off plane and throwing a huge wake. The whole east shore is more populated and busier unfortunately.

So I'll just go with not staying overnight in the bay if the weather is going to kick up too much out of the west. This bay is close to home anyway, so no need for storm shelter here.

I'd want to be off Bay View. Also protected from prevailing NW winds.