![]() It is useful to agree on the signals you'll be using to indicate whether or not to drop the anchor, and whether to go to port or starboard. Depending on the length of the boat and the wind, you also need to agree how you will communicate with the person dropping the anchor at the bow. ![]() The important thing is that no one obstructs your view, distracts you during the manoeuvre and everyone knows what to do and what not to do. This might simply be just sitting in the cockpit and being quiet. Split the roles upĪs with any boat manoeuvre, you need to brief the whole crew on what you're about to do and assign everyone a role. If this happens, you'd then have to pull the anchor up, remove the slimy algae or grass (which nobody wants to do) and drop it again. It should preferably be free of seagrass and algae, otherwise the anchor might immediately get tangled up and won't hold. When the unsuspecting crew of the other boat discover their anchor isn't holding, they certainly won't thank you for it.Ĭhoose a specific place to return to and drop anchor. In the worst cases, a newly arriving boat can pick up the anchor of another boat and cut it off. If you are in a bay where there are numerous boats, be careful not to hook your anchor onto someone else's anchor chain or anchor. How many boats there are and where their anchors and chains are.Whether there are any obstructions, rubbish, cables, thick seagrass, etc., on the seabed.How close the shore is and whether there are unmarked rocks just below the surface.Send one crew member to the bow and have them report back to you what they see. Naturally, it's a good idea to check the pilot for the area and read up on the bay for basic information on depth, currents and recommendations. However, this is more advanced and not common sailing practice. We will, of course, be dealing with anchoring on engine power, not under sail, although this is possible as well. When anchoring, there are certain principles and procedures that need to be followed, which we will outline below. However, you'd be surprised how many sailors simply drop anchor randomly somewhere and consider it a success. The principle of anchoring is basically simple. So, you have chosen the bay, assessed the quality of the seabed and now all that is left is the anchoring itself. If the wind were to pick up and with force, you could literally get trapped here, unable to anchor or fight your way out against the wind. Avoid bays like this and don't attempt to anchor there. driving the boat ashore, is a real hell for sailors. A place where the wind blows towards the bay, i.e. If conditions don't allow this, the wind should at least be travelling out of the bay. The bay should be as sheltered as possible. Expected wind directionĬhoosing a bay to anchor overnight should primarily be done with expected wind direction in mind. It is also an issue when dense seagrass or algae cover the bed, as the anchor can it pick up and not hold as it should. It is largely agreed that an anchor holds best on a bed consisting of mud and clay, or clay and sand, the worst being rock or very soft mud. What type of seabed is best for anchoring? That's the million-dollar question. Therefore choose bays that tend to be wider and where moving around will not put you at risk of colliding with the shore or running aground. Therefore, the narrower the bay, the more likely you are to get dangerously close to the shore. Consider that a boat at anchor rotates around a certain point in a radius determined by the length of the chain.
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