My Worst Anchoring Experience....

[micah719]

"the prop with shaft parted from our engine and shot out the stern. I broke off the end of a broom handle and shoved it in the hole. "

Yipes!!! Talk about learning the hard way? Ok, all chain rode for me, asap. Not sure about the propshaft, but will certainly carry a suitable plug. Now, why did they call it Cape Fear?



"....the holding in these creeks is abysmal by discussing the tying of the boat to mangrove trees...."

Thanks Reefmagnet, that prompts me to get a giant screwpicket made for just this kind of occasion...and any other where a DIY mooring pile is needed. Also, plenty of long mooring lines...

"....at 11 oclock at night with 50 odd knots.....,.........Stripping off I swam out to the mooring bouy astern......"

Lol, Stormpetrel, you should shave a sliver off that expensive oar and frame it as a conversation piece. "Let me tell you about the night I almost died....". Kudos for the training urge though!

Lmao mrohr....oh he must have been steaming about that one for weeks. Note to self....get velcro attachments for boat's nameplates, and carry, er, spares. And paint, and a spare set of strikingly different sails, and a razor to transform a 6" unkempt beard into babyfaced innocence in 1/2 hour....

[tbodine88]

This was written just after I bought Frimi my West Wight Potter and before I sailed across the Caribbean. I was a little nervous then
On the Rocks at Krause Springs

In short I panicked over nothing and lost an anchor in a tree.

I am now a little more relaxed

[Weyalan]

We cruise with plenty heavy anchor and lots of chain, but since we also still race, we have a set of racing tackle that would make most cruisers gasp and giggle. For sheltered waters racing, we carry a 30 pound plough, with about 30' of chain and 170' of 14 mm (7/16") nylon rode - which is actually marginally more than required by The Blue Book (Racing Rules).

We had occasion to spend a night in a less than stellar anchorage with winds gusting to 65 knots and rarely dropping below 50 (sheltered waters, my ass!)... swinging on that little anchor, with that short little run of chain and that rather anemic looking rode. We never moved an inch, but not much sleep was had, let me tell you!

[Snowpetrel]

Hi Weyalan, I wonder how much of the success of the small anchor was due to the elasticity of the Nylon? Also very curious how the heavy anchor gear effects performance and comfort at sea. What anchorage? Cheers

[Weyalan]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Hi Weyalan, I wonder how much of the success of the small anchor was due to the elasticity of the Nylon? Also very curious how the heavy anchor gear effects performance and comfort at sea. What anchorage? Cheers

Believe it or not, the "anchorage" was a couple of hundred metres south of Cartwright Point, Sandy Bay, on the Derwent (Tasmania). I mentioned enclosed waters, right? The wind was gusting over 70 knots from right on the nose and even through we could make way (just), it was not pleasant and there was no way I was game to try to get into the marina / pen in those conditions, plus we were not, at that stage, 100% confident in the motor. Riding it out on anchor seemed like the best thing to do (we were not alone in this respect - at least half a dozen other boats made the same decision and anchored around us. Luckily we found a leg of lamb in the fridge that we had forgotten about and had a lovely roast.

[Fiveslide]

Before I found sailing and cruising, I was a powerboater and one of the best slalom skiers around. It was at the end of the slalom skiing era and the beginnings of the wakeboarding and other so-called extreme watersports. So nobody particularly cared that I was any good at slalom skiing.

I knew as much about knots and anchors as I do about brain surgery.

I had an old mushroom looking anchor and the remains of old ski ropes for rode. I tied my best knot to that anchor, really spent time and effort crafting this knot, and grabbed it and threw it over the side and watched as the tiniest tug on that rode, before the anchor even touched the water, was more than my best knot was capable of withstanding. The surrounding boaters errupted with laughter like they could do so much better. Perhaps some could but certainly not all, right?

I havn't had any mishaps on our sailboats while anchoring. However, I credit that to my skills at being a fair-weather boater, not my anchoring skills. I'm pretty good at looking at a crappy forecast and saying, "screw that," and finding something better to do other than be on an anchored boat.

Sent from my SCH-S738C using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Pelagic]

Hate to admit it....but I have had many embarrassing and hair raising anchoring experiences on yachts very big and small!

On common factor was that the location was convienent to a great SCUBA location, that my paying guests desired to explore.

Reef strewn
Strong tidal currents
Deep drop offs
Rocky bottom
Limited protection

Basically all the conditions a sensible skipper would avoid.

However, when a tantalizing dive site beckons.... You begin to rationalize the risks....duh!

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by micah719

............ Now, why did they call it Cape Fear? .................

I guess this does deserve an answer. The name can be traced back to the 1590's and it seems to be associated with the "Frying Pan Shoals" that extend 28 miles out from the Cape Fear and have a history of grounding ships far from land. Of course, this begs the question, Why do they call it Frying Pan Shoals? 'must get pretty hot out there grounded in the doldrums!

[Capt Phil]

While I can't claim to have participated in this debacle, I had front row seat and it has stuck in my mind ever since. The anchoring activity took place in the late 1950's in Snug Cove on Bowen Island, a favorite watering hole for the wealthy of the day from the Vancouver Yacht Club set. This guy pulls in aboard one of those hugh sport fishers with a tuna tower at least 50 feet above his deck. He is steering the boat from the top station and creeps in about sunset on a quiet summers' eve, wife on the bow handlng the anchor. In muted voice over his loudhailer he instructs her, 'drop anchor'. She dutifully obeys and he backs down and directs her to 'snub it'. The vessel slows but obviously loses its grab and he directs her to 'up anchor'. In front of about 10 of us already anchored for the evening he goes through the same drill again... and again... and again. Wifey dutifully responding to his increasingly agitated instructions. Finally, after about the fifth attempt he screams at her, 'get that GD anchor up!'.
She calmly turns, looks up at him at the top of his tuna tower, flips him the bird and shouts, 'F*** You!', walks into the wheelhouse and disappears leaving him literally high and dry with his anchor hanging off his bow roller. To the standing ovation she received from all of us, he climbed down from his tower, reeled in his anchor and left never to be seen again! Still remember to this day and still laugh about it! Phil

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

........She calmly turns, looks up at him at the top of his tuna tower, flips him the bird and shouts, 'F*** You!', walks into the wheelhouse and disappears leaving him

My new definition of Anchor Snubber! LOL

[micah719]

Once upon a time, a young man (a friend of mine....) went for a holiday at an island in FNQ, a tropical paradise, a veritable Daydream*.

There were some mighty smart fish in that area....they had stolen a chart and learned that there was a Fishing area, and a No Fishing area. You almost couldn't snorkel in the No Fishing area because you were too busy shoving fish out of the way. So he told me.

The young man was stubborn, optimistic and law-abiding, and hired a tinny and went fishing; where the chart said to. He figured in the logic of the place that since young bipedal female mammals dressed as available and behaved as though they weren't but actually were, the fish likewise followed this Law of the Island.

The boat was very bare, the sole anchoring equipment consisted of a reef grapnel with a boat-length of dog chain and a cunningly knitted ball of poly line, marked Ark #1, OEM.

After some hours baking in the sun, marinating rotting squid on the end of his line, he decided his valiant effort was sufficient and the hire period of the vessel was about up. Also, the bar was about to open.

The grapnel was grapneling most tenaciously. Declining to crawl down the rode to investigate, our dehydrated youngster expended considerable energy in trying to haul the infernal thing free using Muscle Mk 1, the original winch. He was impressed by how deeply the bows immersed under herculean straining, and wondered how expensive the gear would be if it were to sadly come adrift.

The next Brilliant Idea (tm) was motoring free. Visions of squandered bar-money, aka equipment bond, inspired him to resourcefulness and daring. Alternative spelling: "desperation". The 6 tired nags trapped in the transom scrap managed to spur the tinny to a rate of knots that were sure to either un-grapnel the grapnel, or un-boat the boat.

Hauling in the rode as his aluminium steed surged forth, the youngster contemplated the distance to shore; where he espied a suitable route for evading the Keeper of Boats, should the venture go the grapnel's way. At the correct moment, he snubbed and cringed.....the boat slewed and dipped, the cleat groaned and creaked....and then, signs of a loosed restraint, one way or another.

Surprisingly, the grapnel and chain were still attached, though the "anchor" retained little resemblance to anything you'd use to attach a vessel to the sea floor. A few minutes bending to-and-fro on the <redacted> restored the thing to a passable excuse of its former function; the tinny was returned and a wiser man retired to the beckoning watering hole, another zone marked on the charts as suitable for trying one's luck.



*hint