Are We Crazy ?

[Khagan1227]

I'd be dozing at best, but I'd try to sleep.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by kb79

what do you guys think? in a protected bay with no lee shore, good holding ground, a rocna at 7:1 with all chain, no boats behind us, a dragging alarm set and 30 to 35 knots of wind, how often would you get up to check on things?

Since you asked:

My standing orders when working commercially, if winds sustained 25knts and above, we had a permanent anchor watch on the Bridge and I was informed when they sustained 35knts.

On my own Stargazer, in the conditions you described, when all is secure, I sleep in my cabin after supper till midnight, while others cleaned up and kept an eye on radar fixes.

Then I would take it from Midnight till 7am in my pilothouse …. Reading a book, maintaining a radar/wind watches and rest/snooze with one eye on the radar and wind gauges for short periods. Always alert for sounds on deck and ready to act.

In my opinion, setting a GPS anchor alarm is great and I do that also, but it is not enough to consider everyone going to bed when you are near gale force winds.

From your bed:

It does not show you a commercial fishing boat, sliding in beside you in the middle of the night to rest

It does not tell you instantly the direction of the drag, or the speed over the ground, (or if it is a neighbor who is dragging, I have saved a few)

It does not help you determine if squalls or bullets are increasing / any changing direction to signify a possible danger

My Radar runs continually and is set up with offset indexes to show me the safe heading out of any land danger, so I am always intimately aware of the solution needed

Lastly, you must consider the condition of yourself and the other crew on board after a prolonged few days of gale force winds at anchor.

In those conditions, if you are sleeping…. will they be?

Odds are no, they are a bit scared and will be keeping their own ineffective unofficial watch, because they see you are not.

But if they know that the skipper has organized safety watches, then those off watch can rest/sleep a lot better knowing you are managing the situation effectively.

I believe you should train the rest of your crew to understand that safety watches are part of the adventure.

The great thing about our Pilot House is that I can stretch out comfortably and monitor all the instruments around me, so it is no big deal to spend the night there and I actually enjoy being there knowing my loved one can sleep safely below.

[North26West80]

You seem to be saying that you were not overly concerned. Ok, why? Do you know the anchorage well? Have you anchored there before? Was the weather going better than forecast? How "oversized" is your anchor? How loud is the anchor alarm? Do you have a lot of experience in these conditions? Was your backup plan already rigged and ready to go? How far can you drag without hitting something? Etc.

Myself, without some favourable answers to the above questions, I'd probably be up a lot during the night whether I was concerned or not, but that's just how I feel about being in command.

[hummingway]

When swinging in current or strong wind I tend to wake up a couple of times in the night. I peek out the nearest portal, notice it's to dark to see anything anyway and go back to sleep. If there's boats with anchor lights I feel obligated to spend a few moments deciding if everything seems right ... and then I decide I can't tell anyway and go back to sleep

Last winter I slept through 50 knots tied up to a dock. It was about the third windy night in two weeks and I figured I couldn't do anything more with my lines anyway. I got up in the morning and retied a neighbor who'd broken free, tied up anothers parted topping lift and watched a few hulks drift by. I guess I was getting used to it.

[delmarrey]

It's not myself I worry about. It's the other guy. This last summer I had two boats drag down on me. One of them was a small ship (steel yacht 60') After beating on his hull for a couple minutes the guy and his GF got up pulled away without even a Sorry!

Yeah! When it's windy I don't sleep well.

[boris]

do you guys consider anchoring in 35kts+ unusual

[Pelagic]

Not unusual… but significant!

[witchcraft]

For us it depends. In current our vessel will clock so during the time of current change ( that is when the behavior occurs) we stand anchor watch. If the anchorage is crowded we stand anchor watch, cause it's not just us that may have a problem. I 35 knot winds at anchor we dont tend to sleep as well anyhow, so if one of us is up the other can sleep better, just like being on an offshore passage. We also set alarms, depths and anchor. We trust our anchor, however odd things can happen besides dragging when the wind picks up.

[boatman61]

Are We Crazy.....??

Yes if you choose a life full of risks and then stay up all night fretting about it...

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by kb79

...............what do you guys think? in a protected bay with no lee shore, good holding ground, a rocna at 7:1 with all chain, no boats behind us, a dragging alarm set and 30 to 35 knots of wind, how often would you get up to check on things?

Looking back at the original question, I would sleep well with two added criteria. Is the fetch small?.....I assume you're close enough to shore for no harsh wave activity. Are there boats anchored upwind?...and do you have confidence in their ground tackle & scope? If the fetch is small and no vessels upwind, Yes, I'd sleep soundly. If not, then I'd be on Pelagic's plan.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Are We Crazy.....??

Yes if you choose a life full of risks and then stay up all night fretting about it...

Boatman… I know you were kidding, but there is a lot of difference between being proactive and standing safety watches as opposed to “Fretting”....

fret

….to feel or express worry, annoyance, discontent, or the like: Fretting about the lost ring isn't going to help.

[LakeSuperior]

We were tied to a mooring in Scotland last summer with gusts to 60 knots. Set a triple bridle on the plug as chafing was hard to prevent. Needless to say the captain/crew did a watch that night. Dingy kept trying to go airborne...it was a pain.

[psneeld]

My rule of thumb is if I CAN'T sleep peacefully I should pick another anchorage no matter what conditions within reason. If I can't find a sleep worthy anchorage then my restless sleep and my random checks are as good as most "anchor watches or alarms".....

[boatman61]

Pelagic... I've had my 'Meercat Moments' over the years as well...

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

Assume a boat anchor in a northerly breeze off an east coast. You are approximately two miles from the shore points on which you are taking a bearing.

If you take a bearing to point A and it's 60 degrees M and a bearing to point B and it's 120 degrees M, and you have compensated for deviation, you get 180 degrees. If the boat swings in tide or breeze so that A bearing and B bearing are now different, a simple plot should confirm if they've maintain the same distance off, which tells you if you've moved. If A is the same bearing and B is different, you've also moved in some respect, directly away from A bearing. B is the same and A is different, you may be over your anchor.

I think I recall this stuff from my coastal pilotage course. It's the counterpoint to "how far off am I/how fast am I going?" calculations using bearings.

Generally, I'd be sleeping.

However, it depends a lot on the bottom. Something consistant (sand, good mud) I sleep. Weeds or shells, not so well, since even a Rocna can pull its point in a shell. Also in weeds or shell, it might not re-set so well.

However, in generally, if I can't sleep through, that means I either need to add anchoring gear or move. There is no point in anchoring in such a way that you can't sleep. If I'm tired it increases the odds of a mistake the next day. I take the extra time.