Anchor choices

[wingssail]

I'm really happy to stick with my 20kg Bruce and all chain (5/16 HT).

For the last week we were anchored in a vary deep small cove where the only place to set a hook was in 70' of water in a very small patch about 50'x50' about 150' from a rocky shoreline. Inshore it was deep right up to the shoreline and away from shore the bottom dropped off to 100-200' quite quickly.

I knew it was doubtful but I wanted to try to stay in that place.

We dropped the bruce with 150' of chain. Yes, 2:1 scope! But more scope than that would have permited us to swing into the shoreline. We DID NOT set it hard as would be our normal practice, due to the limited scope.

The wind shifted two times every day: Afternoons were SW winds up to 12 knots and lots of swell and wind waves rolling in from the open bay outside. Not pleasant. Nights, after midnight, the wind switched to the NE up to 15kts, with no waves. Mornings and evenings were calm and peaceful. Not your ideal anchorage, but it was beautiful and had a quaint village.

So, for seven days our anchor, the 20kg Bruce, switched directions twice a day. The bottom was rocky, we could hear the chain dragging over rocks as we swing around each time. But the anchor never moved as our ranges ashore showed.

We kept shallow and deep water alarms running every night but the anchor never dragged. The ranges and GPS showed us in exactly the same position every day. We never moved other than to swing on about a 75' radius.

This is not the first time we have had good results with the Bruce. We've used it for over 20 years. It has virtually always held and it always resets immediately after a wind direction change. The shape of the fluke area causes it to roll in and dig in when pulled from the side. AND it is a light anchor compared to todays standard. It is 44lbs for a 43' boat (we also carry a 30kg-66lb Bruce as a storm anchor, but it is VERY rarely needed).

No, it is not trendy or a new design, but it works without resorting to doubly heavy anchors.