Where Is the Best Place to Anchor?

[maxingout]

Until we went though the global tsunami in Thailand, my wife always wanted to anchor in shallow water.

The tsunami taught us that it is much safer to anchor in deep water when you are cruising in tsunami high risk areas. If you are anchored in shallow water, when the harbor water empties out, you are sitting on the seabed waiting to get hit by a tsunami wave. The yachts anchored in deep water in Niharn Bay in Phuket, watched the current go by at 10 to 15 knots as the water sloshed in and out of the bay, and as long as their anchor held, they were in great shape unless they bumped into another anchored yacht as the tsunami water changed directions.

One of the main advantages of a multihull is being able to tuck up into the shallow water to get away from a crowd of monohulls. In certain situations, that can be a real benefit. But it can also get you in trouble in malaria zones when cruising around the world. Mosquitos don't mind flying out to the shallow areas, whereas those anchored farther offshore don't have to worry about malaria mosquitos causing a problem at anchor. In Vanuatu, yachties leave the shore and head out to their offshore yachts before the mosquitos come out in the late afternoon and evening.

Mosquitos and tsunamis are at the far ends of the "natural disaster" spectrum, but they can all ruin a cruise if you anchor in the wrong location.

Where do you feel is the best place to anchor your multihull or monohull?
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[GordMay]

Originally Posted by maxingout

... it can also get you in trouble in malaria zones when cruising around the world. Mosquitos don't mind flying out to the shallow areas, whereas those anchored farther offshore don't have to worry about malaria mosquitos causing a problem at anchor. In Vanuatu, yachties leave the shore and head out to their offshore yachts before the mosquitos come out in the late afternoon and evening ...

Great introduction to, what should be, an interesting & informative thread.

The avoidance of mosquitoes, by distance from shore, might be problematic.

Mosquitoes locate (we) blood-hosts by scent, sight and heat. From 100 feet away (30 meters) mosquitoes can smell your scent, especially the carbon dioxide (CO2) you exhale. Because CO2 is present in the atmosphere (plants take in CO2 and give off oxygen), mosquitoes respond to higher-than-normal concentrations, especially when the CO2 is mixed with host-odour. They follow your scent upwind, and can see you at a distance of about 30 feet (10 meters).
Most mosquitoes remain within a 1 mile radius (some much less) of their breeding site. One study found that the maximum flight distance of Anopheles Quadrimaculatus (malarial mosquito) was about 0.4 mile.