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GILow · 27-11-2014, 03:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by YvetteandJohn

...Hope we bump into you guys sometime!

Figuratively speaking.

I can sympathise about the nerves, I don't sleep at all well at anchor yet.

See you out there!

Matt

scruzin · 27-11-2014, 18:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by YvetteandJohn

Hi Matt and scruzin
Thanks for the info. We have anchored on the south side of the breakwater for an afternoon and a swim but was too nervous to stay the night. We keep second guessing ourselves regarding whether our anchor is good enough etc.

Re anchors, I thoroughly recommend the Rocna roll bar anchor, if you have space for it. The rollbar enables the anchor to roll over and reset if the direction changes. Other makers have models with a similar concept. There are newer versions, including Rocnas, claiming to achieve the same rollover capability without the rollbar, but I haven't any experience with them. The roll bar does work though, including in some very challenging locations such as the American River channel which experiences 5 knot tidal currents.

Regardless, you are quite right to not necessarily rely on the anchor that came with your boat. Most boat designers and builders hardly give the anchor a second thought. My boat, Arriba, came with a CQR "plough" type anchor which is completely useless in seagrass - and, as you know, we have lots of that in South Australia.

GILow · 27-11-2014, 18:26

Eeeek! An anchor thread hits Adelaide!

Seriously though, I have the Sarca roll bar type on the bow at the moment, but all the cruising boats at the club have the old fashioned stockless or fisherman's anchors, as they seem to suit our terrain. I will be adding the stockless to my array of anchors (currently there are 5, all 60lb+ on the boat, so something will have to go) before I do any serious anchoring out in SA.

Now I have not had problems with the current anchor(s) but I defer to the wisdom of the experienced sailors at the club and they all frown heavily at the Sarca and have warned me that I will have problems sooner or later.

Matt

scruzin · 27-11-2014, 19:55

It's true the stockless anchors can penetrate weed well, but they are still very prone to losing their grip when the direction changes and then not resetting. I see sailors arriving in American River with their stockless anchors and fretting that they cannot find a mooring, because they're afraid to anchor in the strong tidal channel. In contrast, I've anchored in the channel there over a dozen times with my Rocna, and the only time I had a problem was when I accidentally fouled an old anchor - the fault of the anchorer, not the anchor

GILow · 27-11-2014, 20:01

Any chance you snagged one of the disused moorings in the area?

See the note on Anchorage at the Squadron page on the area:

Royal SA Yacht Squadron - FOX SPORTS PULSE

Matt