Loud music... anchoring too close!

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by stevensuf

And all this was in winds of less than 45 kn.

Welcome to the the Med. My rule of thumb is when the wind gets above 25k (as an average, gusts will be higher) 50% of boats will drag.
This is an appalling figure, but it has held true on many occasions.

The numbers of dragging boats are higher than in other parts of the world I have sailed, even in other areas where there are a significant number of unskilled charterers.
I think the combination of hard sand and weed in many anchorages is unforgiving of poor anchor design and technique.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by stevensuf

So I come around the corner to avoid yet another blast of wind, everyone has anchored sensibly for a north easterly, all good,but at 9 pm along comes a charter boat , drops the hook right next to me, puts out **** all chain, i have out loads, i know when the wind turns my arse will hit their nose,(assuming they dont drag first- god im eventually getting good at this anchoring thing) i shout at them to let out more chain they look mystified and eventually reply reply by dropping another 5 meters.

So now i am applying my new jedi mind trick, turn the stereo up full blast and see if i can annoy them into moving, yes childish, but hey if i am going to get no sleep watching them for a collision!

So whats the adult way of talking to people who have done no homework and are in rental boats so dont really give a s*^t about hitting other people?

The adult response is to relax, smile, pull up your own anchor, and move somewhere where you feel safe.

Also do keep in mind that it is remarkable how rarely anchored boats swing into each other. In 90% of cases where it seems another boat is anchored far too close, it is actually not a problem.

For a perspective from the other side, have a read through this thread:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ain-86277.html

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Palarran

I spent this summer in the Med and learned quite a bit about anchoring that hadn’t been apparent in the Caribbean. The distances that boats anchor to each other is easily 50% less. It is often that a boat will drop their anchor 10' or less off your stern and slightly to one side. The scope is on average about 3 to 1. And few ever back down at all on their anchors. It also isn't a faux pas to cruise around with all fenders deployed and is the norm to deploy upon setting anchor no matter how far away other boats are.
A few stories. One is that at St. Tropez we anchored outside of the harbor and had plenty of room between us and the next boat. But as the wind shifted we did get much closer until we were maybe 40 to 50' away. The captain of the boat asked (at 11:00pm) if I thought we were too close, which I didn't. I moved anyway as I knew it would bother him, which would bother me. It took all of 15 minutes.
In St. Jean Cap Ferrat we anchored over night during a 40 knot blow. I had let out maybe 7 to 1 scope which was fine as there were few boats nearby. The next day was Bastille Day and in short order about 200 boats anchored in a small radius around us. There is a mass on the water and a Bishop performed the service about 100 meters away from us. In the middle of this, the wind shifted about 30 degrees and since I hadn’t adjusted scope, I started to swing close the large motor yacht who had anchored about 1 hour earlier. In order to not continue into him, I shorted the scope which for a period actually made us closer (40'). The captain/owner of the boat came unglued. He could have had a heart attack from the pressure exerting on his brain. Who's to blame? Maybe I should have adjusted the scope earlier but I had been there before every one of these boats arrived. I just waved to him and said sorry.
In any case, I never saw anybody actually bump into each other this whole summer. Does it happen, I'm sure. Is it something you need to go ape shi$ over - I personally don't think so. One last thing about doing retaliatory actions - be careful as the results may come back to figuratively or literally bite you. I have a sound system that is very, very, very, very loud and my son is a big rap fan.
My own opinion is that I don't own the water and neither do you. If I don't like the neighborhood for whatever reason, it's up to me to change locals or accept it.

Exemplary seamanship, and attitude!!

Would that everyone were so wise!

[ranger58sb]

This last Saturday a 40+ (or so) power cruiser entered the popular anchorage where we were, dropped a smallish Bruce anchor quickly about 40 yards off our stern and sightly abeam, rode straight down with no signs of attempting to set it, and then they started partying on the foredeck.

About 15 minutes later they drifted into a smaller motor boat which had been there all along. Shouts of warning from one boat to the other, power cruiser guy on the flybridge for a while apparently trying to remember how to start the engines, some fending off (sorta-kinda), power cruiser's anchor dragging apparently right over the top of the smaller boat's rode (couldn't tell how that worked).

After the brew-ha-ha the power cruiser moved to another part of the anchorage, more exposed to the breeze, and this time it looked like they were setting the anchor... by backing into the wind. They were apparently stable by the time we left, but if they were to drag there, they'd end up ashore in the tree line given the wind direction.

-Chris

[chef2sail]

when I have watched a nearby boat put out way way too much rode,- wsmurdoch

Rarely do I see this problem, its usually the opposite.

Dave

[foggysail]

Anchoring will always cause confrontational problems. The late arrival, the guy with too much scope, the guy with too little scope, the guy with inadequate anchor for the bottom type, the party boat and the list just goes endlessly on.

Sure and I have tried it, explaining to the the newcomer my concerns many times matters not! Pushed to the limit it becomes a contest about whose boat or captain is bigger. I have over 30 years of anchoring experiences. I find the best approach is to anchor as far away from others and hope for the best. Sure, not everybody is going to give you a problem. I find the worst offenders are those who have anchors that seem to be more in the toy category than in the holding category who hope to compensate for the deficiency by using enormous scope . Just try to enjoy being out there should be everyone's goal or why bother.

Foggy