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**Hudson Force** · 09-06-2013, 16:49

As tropical storm Andrea came north up the East US Coast this week we took to our usual plan of seeking an inland, little fetch, shallow, good holding, forgiving shoreline, high surrounding topography, little debris and uncrowded anchorage. Now, I'll admit, it's hard to find all of these, but we did well at N35*52.644 W75*51.764 with all but the high surrounding topography and good holding. As it turned out, we had a stand of good size trees a few hundred feet to windward, but the bottom was that primordial ooze that is most like pumpkin pie filling. In a depth of 7 feet we put out 150 feet of chain from our bow and with the wind gusting at ca 45mph we were dragging at a rate of 60 feet/hour. We moved after a few hours to a point further upwind and after setting our primary anchor, I dropped a secondary anchor off to starboard at about 50 degrees. I usually prefer the single anchor, but as we would swing, we were doing most of our dragging with the freeboard windage presented to the wind. I was pleased to see that just the one anchor off to starboard prevented, not only our swing to port, but to starboard as well. Removing the half cycle of the swing seemed to block most all of the swing. We also dropped our roller furling genoa to the deck to reduce windage. We have kept our old Schaffer Rig with the roller furling separate from the headstay with this as an option,- most can not drop their roller furling and keep the sail in a furled package in high winds. These actions brought our drag rate down to about 12 feet per hour and allowed us to gain some sleep through the night. After the tropical storm we moved out to an area of more open water with, as luck would have it, far better holding. Here, June 8th, we were set upon by the strongest blast from a thunderstorm that I have experrienced in our 43 years of liveaboard cruising. We were still well protected with no more than a 1.5 mile fetch, but the water around us was lost from view in a white smoke as if we were flying in a howling cloud. 'off again today across the flat calm Albemarle and enjoying all.

Note: I have not included specific anchors that I used because there's no need for more of that debate.

charliehows · 09-06-2013, 23:23

mangroves mate, ask any queenslander...but no doubt they're more advanced over there in the USofA at removing them wholesale then we are here, so you might have a bit more trouble finding a good crop of natures cyclone medicine...

**Hudson Force** · 10-06-2013, 04:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by charliehows

mangroves mate, ask any queenslander...but no doubt they're more advanced over there in the USofA at removing them wholesale then we are here, so you might have a bit more trouble finding a good crop of natures cyclone medicine...

I use the mangrove strategy when it's available. It's wonderful for it's ability to absorb the force of the storm. Mangrove isn't found naturally north of Daytona Beach, Florida. You are correct that many mangrove areas where Fort Lauderdale and Miami are now location were lost to development back in the 1920's to 1940's, but for the last fifty years they have been vigorously protected. Mangroves where I am now are as rare a find as they are in Bass Strait.

SailFastTri · 10-06-2013, 05:01

Removing your roller furling might have also helped stop your sailing on the anchor.

**Hudson Force** · 10-06-2013, 05:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

Removing your roller furling might have also helped stop your sailing on the anchor.

I'm sure your right and this was a factor, although, I had moved forward after dragging on two occasions. In the long version of the event I had deployed the starboard anchor after the first move and this slowed my drag from 60'/hr down to about 30'/hr .....and then at the second move I also dropped the roller furling which gave me the drag rate of about 12'/hour. At the second move I also positioned myself closer to shore and with less fetch. All of these factors came into play. It's hard to quantify the value of each, but I would agree that taking down the high windage was significant. The best choice of all would have been to have found a place without the very soft mud, but this was a new place for us and I didn't find the better holding area until after the storm. I've never observed a corelation between the frequency of sand, clay or soft mud further up the creeks or further out in the body of a river. I know lighter sediments will fall to the bottom in the slower moving areas, but I don't seem to be able to predict these better holding spots. Chart data for bottom features is not available or specific in most of these wilderness areas.

charliehows · 15-06-2013, 04:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptForce

I use the mangrove strategy when it's available. It's wonderful for it's ability to absorb the force of the storm. Mangrove isn't found naturally north of Daytona Beach, Florida. You are correct that many mangrove areas where Fort Lauderdale and Miami are now location were lost to development back in the 1920's to 1940's, but for the last fifty years they have been vigorously protected. Mangroves where I am now are as rare a find as they are in Bass Strait.

oops, geographical seniors moment...glad you got thru it in one piece anyway...