Anchorage Etiquette

[Bash]

Originally Posted by cuthbert

Are you sure about this one? I'll mark mine as a "courtesy" to others and like similar when arriving so I can estimate rode. It also helps to take a belt and braces/suspenders approach just because
a) I have it in the anchor locker
b) I may have deficiencies in sailing, but t

I'm absolutely positive. Let's suppose I swing over your anchor. Without your marker, absolutely nothing goes wrong, because you'll be as far from your anchor as I am from mine. However, If I pick up your marker (on my keel, rudder, prop, dink, whatever) two things now happen: first, I'm no longer swinging properly, second, I'm likely to trip your anchor, which means you will probably drag shortly thereafter. And at that point I'm not going to be able to use my engine to reposition my vessel.

A belt and suspenders approach is often counterproductive. This is why you have people laying down too much rode in an anchorage, and/or putting out one anchor too many, or laying out markers as a "courtesy" to others. Avoid all these mistakes! They are the sure sign of the rookie cruiser.

Start with a solid (slightly oversize) primary anchor, the most modern design you can afford. Back this up with CHAIN, and I'm not talking about just 50' here. Back this up with knowledge. And a good snubber. That's the belt + suspenders. Beyond that, tossing out excessive rode, or extra anchors when the conditions do not demand extra anchors, or anchor markers that function like lobster pots, and you become part of the problem.

[Boracay]

We anchored just off Taronga Zoo (Sydney) for the NYE fireworks.

25kts was forecast and it felt like it too for most of the evening, yet save for the odd late arrival not a single boat looked like it dragged. Not even the mega motors using toothpicks.

I was disappointed. I'd expected a real show.

It might have been my imagination but it looked like we had more space round us than any other boat. Maybe steel hard chine has an advantage after all.

If you want real entertainment round Sydney you need to anchor near one of the nicer public moorings and watch as they're argued over.

And the other part of anchoring etiquette:- Just how much can one look (without being rude) if the neighbors are really "interesting"?

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Boracay

We anchored just off Taronga Zoo (Sydney) for the NYE fireworks.

25kts was forecast and it felt like it too for most of the evening, yet save for the odd late arrival not a single boat looked like it dragged. Not even the mega motors using toothpicks.

I was disappointed. I'd expected a real show.

It might have been my imagination but it looked like we had more space round us than any other boat. Maybe steel hard chine has an advantage after all.

If you want real entertainment round Sydney you need to anchor near one of the nicer public moorings and watch as they're argued over.

And the other part of anchoring etiquette:- Just how much can one look (without being rude) if the neighbors are really "interesting"?

Boracay, we too were anchored in that location NYE.

You'r right about the wind, I took three goes to set the anchor but didn't move after that. We arrived early and had some entertainment as others arrived and anchored, some without a clue sadly but we had a great night, a really good show with a comfortable sail home New Years day.
Cheers Rob.

[catty]

May I add, one shouldn't tear around the anchored dragging half the ocean with them looking for somewhere to anchor, and when one is securely anchored don't tear around in your dingy, keep the wash down.

[handmer]

Warning - long rant ahead about what not to do when anchoring!!


I was anchored off Balls Head for the Sydney NYE fireworks.

It was a nightmare!

We got in early before any other boats in the area and still had to re-anchor once when we seemed to snag something on the bottom and started to drag. We were on my 38ft Ferro yacht, Ferro Settee. (not my name, but apt)

We then spent the afternoon watching little finishing boats try and anchor. They would huck a tiny anchor, 1m of chain and a bit of line over the side and crack out the beer.

We estimated we were in 5m of water. At the rate some of these boats drifted past us we reckon that some didn't even put out enough rode to get the anchor to touch bottom!

Still, eventually they figured it out. It wasn't till a bit later a shiny new 40+ft Flybridge Rivera tried to anchor in a tiny spot upwind of us.

First they dragged back onto a little runabout. They didn't even notice till the guy pounded on the side. They backed off him and away from us and we though we were in the clear.

Once behind him they powered forward, anchor still down. It finally caught on something and swung them towards us. Rather than back off, the driver tried to steer against the anchor.

Seconds later, they hit our (wood) bowsprit square on and sheered it almost entirely off. By this stage they put it into reverse and backed up, still caught on the bowsprit, snapping the chain bobstay. at this stage all that was holding the bowprit on was gravity and the headstay!

As we frantically secured out anchor chain with a halyard and roped the bowsprit on we noticed we were getting pulled forward. They had caught our anchor chain and were pulling us along behind them as they tried to anchor in the same spot.

After a lot of yelling they finally noticed they had hooked and and tried to back off. All that happened was they slid along our anchor chain and forcefully rafted up with us, fender free.

The anchor was still hooked on our chain and rather than pull it up and unhook it, the driver just kept powering forwards and back to try and free us. We even noticed him firing the bow thruster the wrong way, pushing his boat into ours...

Of course our stanchions got all bent up, our rub-rail torn up and some cracks put into our hull. To add insult to injury, once they finally freed the anchor chain, they backed up as they swung around, hitting out rear hung rudder with their swim platform, damaging our roped off tiller.

The crazy thing was the entire time the accident was going on, the driver and his friends did not once make eye contact or say a single thing to us. At the end they took off without giving us any details.

Luckily a mate took pictures and video of the entire thing, plus a maritime boat witnessed it. Still pending the maritime getting their details for me though.

We also watched them try and anchor 7 more times. 2 of those times inside the marked exclusion zone! By the time we had everything roped down and checked they had disappeared and we couldn't dinghy over there.


Later in the night we had a little ali runabout drift too close to our bow and catch the end of our hanging bobstay under their swim ladder. That slowed them down a bit!


And finally, at the end of the night it took us a solid hour to get our anchor up. Apparently having a giant powerboat yanking down on our anchor set it extremely well! Once we finally got it up it had another entire anchor attached, plus chain

[catty]

And, don't anchor too close to someones anchor buoy so that you may trip their anchor.

Worse still, Don't pick up someone else's anchor buoy thinking is a free mooring even if its a good 15 meters in front of the owners boat.

[aquarian]

Originally Posted by Bash

Pblais' point about poor anchorers arriving late is well taken. I've certainly done it.

My biggest all-time breach of anchoring etiquette happened one night when I sailed in through the Golden Gate around 0200h. . . . . . .

Too funny. Thank you for sharing!

[aquarian]

Originally Posted by Mark Johnson

Besides the valid thoughts above, and giving as much room to other boats as the anchorage allows, (EVEN moving on at night IF the anchorage is already FULL), avoid making ANY ongoing unpleasant noise, that can carry as far as the nearest boat. (say... 150')? Sound carries SO far on the water, and boats are so "sound transparent", especially with all hatches open or when hanging out in the cockpit. This means... NO loud music, jetskis, angry screaming at spouses, barking dogs, or Air-X wind generators! NOT when you are sharing an anchorage with others.

Cruising requires a totally different mindset from the land life. None of us are on "OUR property" any more, or "has a right to"... We are all sharing the space together, and with enough consideration to one another, we can all enjoy the experience.

And of coarse... ALWAYS set the hook for a gale! I've had 60+ knots of wind, in an evening thunderstorm, over 25 times!

Cruising, more than any other lifestyle, is what we make it...
M.

WELL SAID.

[cuthbert]

Originally Posted by Bash

I'm absolutely positive.......Start with a solid (slightly oversize) primary anchor, the most modern design you can afford. Back this up with CHAIN, and I'm not talking about just 50' here. Back this up with knowledge.

I was just being light hearted on a Sunday night. I'll pull my anchor up post haste and sail back to the technical forum.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by handmer

Warning - long rant ahead about what not to do when anchoring!!


I was anchored off Balls Head for the Sydney NYE fireworks.

It was a nightmare!

Rule 1: Don't anchor close for fireworks!

Fireworks attract drunks and neophyte thrill-seekers trying to impress their girls and guests. They're not paying attention and even worse, don't understand about night vision -- after dark when the mob breaks up they're blind and stoned confused, and overconfident.

1/2 mile away (and off-track of the main exit routes) is better for the safety of your boat and crew. You miss the heavy concussion of the close fireworks, but you still get to see it all and with better safety. Wait a while for the mob to disburse before getting underway, or better yet -- spend the night.

[matauwhi]

G'day, mate. Not only poor ediquette, but here in the Bay of Islands, you would be in violation of our harbour by-laws if you anchored inside the mooring field and definitely make you un-welcomed very fast! Cheers.

[hummingway]

The first time I anchored in the bay I now have a permanent mooring in, I rowed over to where I could see some folks working on their boat and asked them if they thought I was OK where I was. They told me it was the better holding in the bay and then pointed out a smaller, quaint wooden sailboat at anchor further in, in a field of private mooring balls. They told me people often drop in that spot but the holding isn't good. They said it didn't seem to bother that fellow. He had been "bouncing" off boats there for a couple of days. They had gone over to talk to him but he figured it wasn't a problem. He put a bunch of fenders down and just let himself drag until he bumped into something. Apparently he had no experience or training to speak of; he'd bought the boat and moved aboard and headed off. No navigational equipment or much in the way of modern amentities, just a nice old boat and desire to be out there. He weighed anchor and toodled off shortly after I arrived so I didn't get to witness it first hand. I guess he figured the other boats were there to stop him from running aground!

[boden36]

Don't anchor (especially close upwind of another boat) and then go ashore to party. Always spend some time to see how your boat is lying if you must leave it unattended. Also a good idea to leave a message with your mobile number in one of the windows so you are contactable if necessary.
Regards, Richard.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

Rule 1: Don't anchor close for fireworks!

Fireworks attract drunks and neophyte thrill-seekers trying to impress their girls and guests. They're not paying attention and even worse, don't understand about night vision -- after dark when the mob breaks up they're blind and stoned confused, and overconfident.
.

I would have to agree with this this. They shoot fireworks in the harbor where I have my mooring. Gets real crowded before hand and afterwards it is spooky watching boats drifting around. Besides being a good place to see the fireworks it's good to be on the boat just to protect it some.

[David_Old_Jersey]

As my last post didn't quite work

Plan A)

Be Nice.

and maybe make a point of asking folks for info ("how much scope out?" "chain or warp?", "any holding problems?", "how long you staying?" - but definately do not ask permission )..........both when circling / drifting and even after, via dink.

Plan B)

Car Tyres and Fender Boards (Something with a bit of rough on them - helps grip their Car Tyres).


Plan C)

Cutlass