Sarca Excel

[Cotemar]

Mr B,

The long slot maybe strong, but have you ever used it?

No one ever talks about it. Never hear anyone say, you know what, that long slot in the anchor shank really got me out of trouble.

Only see it used on just a few anchors.

[Mr B]

It works in reefs or rocks when its caught under neath the rocks or reefs, you can pull it out backwards,
But I do know a few people that have them, and they say its better than losing an anchor that gets stuck and have to just cut it free and leave it,

No I personally havent used one, But it is definately the next one I will buy, Super Exel.

I have a Bruce 15 kg anchor, which is about as good at anchoring as praying for rain.

I have a delta that is bent at about 30 degrees, which did its job before it let go, and put me on the rocks,

The Bruce and the Delta came with the boat, And I didnt get the chance to replace them,

Bot these anchors gave me a lot of sleepless nights because they both dragged,

[Mr B]

Anchors are very personal items,
I went sailing on Sunday in a Mono Yacht, 28 footer, he swears by his Bruce anchor, and a couple of the other yachts in the flotilla had the Bruce as well,

There were 7 Yachts in the flotilla, all about the 28 foot mark,

On discussing the various anchors, and fitting them to my friends boat, He would have to modify the bow spit and rollers to take an anchor with a roll bar,

But anchoring is also about what you use your boat for, If its day sailing, Just about any thing will do, a lump of concrete chucked over, Who cares, your awake and on your boat, so dragging is not an issue,
If the wind is too strong, pull up your lump of concrete and head for the Marina, and safety,

But live aboard and in out of the way places, you have to sleep some time, So an anchor that holds is a very real thing,

You need one that does work, who makes it, is irrelevant

[Ozbullwinkle]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Mr B,

The long slot maybe strong, but have you ever used it?

No one ever talks about it. Never hear anyone say, you know what, that long slot in the anchor shank really got me out of trouble.

Only see it used on just a few anchors.

YES! I am a user of the Super Sarca (on a 36 foot twin screw flybridge gamefishing boat) in reefy coastal waters and the slot on the Super Sarca is a great feature which enables you to drop the anchor in areas where with most other anchors it would be a one way trip as you would never see them again. Do you know what Sarca actually stands for? Sand And Rock Combination Anchor.

The Super Sarca is precisely weighted as well so that if the anchor trips, as a result of the shackle travelling up the slot, which must be stainless steel and of the exact size specified on the Anchor Right website so that it works according to it's design, the Super Sarca then almost immediately resets itself. That is, if you trip the anchor by using the slot you will always find that the Super Sarca will never be upside down when you retrieve it.

We have also intentionally made the anchor trip while snorkelling over it in very clear water and were very impressed at how quickly it reset itself and re anchored the boat solidly.

When I purchased the anchor in Bundaberg in QLD I was also talking to a couple of pro fishermen who run 60 foot trawlers between Bundaberg and New Caledonia who have Super Sarca's on their boats. They gave accounts of how they had experienced riding out cyclonic conditions on outer reefs and spoke very highly of the performance of their Super Sarca's which is another great endorsement from actual users of the anchors.

But then again what would I know or the pro fisherman that I mentioned above as we are only actual users of Sarca Anchors with real life experience.

[Cotemar]

Mr B,

I am with you. Never had much luck with Bruce either.

The roll bar on the new generation anchors is a real big problem for a lot of bow rollers to accept as a good fit.

Cats have a problem with the roll bar hitting the tramp walkway or sprit.

[Cotemar]

Ozbullwinkle,

Very clear. That makes sense.
If your in coral and the water is deeper that 15 feet, then you probable do not want to free dive to free the anchor if its stuck.

Your the first person to explain the long slot and its benefit from a users point of view.

Nice

[Ozbullwinkle]

Cotemar, glad that my explanation of the Super Sarca was of benefit. We were very impressed with it's performance & even though the Sarca Excel has even greater holding power for our purposes with anchoring on reefs the Super Sarca was the one to go for.

[Kettlewell]

For some of the Aussies who aren't familiar with our lovely term, "drinking the Kool Aid."

[JonJo]

Thanks Kettlewell, you taking on the voice of reason.

[Rangirocks]

Hi all
New member who signed up to improve my sailing skills before a trip from NZ to Tonga
Sailed a little in Oz and thank god we had a Sarca 5 on the 42 fter we were on in Deal Island between Vic and Tassie
50knot winds gusting to 70 for 36 hours and the anchor held beautifully

Got a sarca 3 on my 8 metre trailer boat that's never dragged but fishing isn't as tough as sailing

Surprised from this thread that Sarca don't have a US distributor - seems crazy

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Rangirocks

Hi all
Sailed a little in Oz and thank god we had a Sarca 5 on the 42 fter we were on in Deal Island between Vic and Tassie
50knot winds gusting to 70 for 36 hours and the anchor held beautifully

Thanks, very usefull datapoint for me, as I never managed to get my CQR or (rather small) fishermans to dig in when I anchored there. Where exactly were you anchored?

[JonJo]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Thanks, very usefull datapoint for me, as I never managed to get my CQR or (rather small) fishermans to dig in when I anchored there. Where exactly were you anchored?

There is a patch of sand off the pier, I was told produced by scouring from the supply boat. We only found it by chance. I would not endorse the location. In the morning we were still anchored but beam onto the seas, I'm guessing because there was a strong tidal flow from south to north. Everywhere else, kelp. I don't recall from memory, but it might have been a bit shallow for a keel boat. For a decent nights sleep we went south to Emita, 4th bay going eastward ( the bay at the museum) eastern side under the little rocky headland, good sand bottom. Also used Roydon (look for the sand patches) but Tanners, unsuccessful. And Jamieson's - an absolute delight (as long as you do not mind solitude). We have been using an Excel.

[FrankZ]

This thread is out of order. We are working on returning it to proper condition.

..................The Management

[avb3]

Many posts have been deleted to clean up personal attacks, vulgarity and extraneous commments.

We are opening up the thread again, BUT if it reverts back to what has transpired, it will be closed for good.

Anchor threads have a habit of evoking strong opinions. Let's keep those opinions focused on the tool, and not the person making them.

[S/V Alchemy]

OK, here's a simple one:

As of March 2013, is there a Canadian or an American distributor of Sarca Anchors?

If not, is it possible to import one here, assuming the cheapest, and probably slowest form of freight?

I don't expect it to be cheap, but like most skippers, I hope it's not ridiculously expensive.