Exuma Cays – How Commonly Two Anchors are Used

[peter loveridge]

In the UK virtually every river has a tidal stream that reverses every day. Rarely is it less than 3 knots. If you use 2 anchors, and stay more than one tide, the rodes wind round each other and it is the very devil to get them apart. A single, big anchor and chain seems to work better

[MileHighSkip]

Huge thanks, all – appreciate the sage experience & advice!

[a64pilot]

If your in Georgetown and want to get out of the crowd, the center of this picture is an excellent place to do it, it’s very close but people avoid it, chart says poor holding, but I’ve found good holding there.
It’s also very well protected.

Called ruins cove on the chart

[sailorboy1]

“Poor holding” is the review you write to keep it to yourself

[Ken Z]

To be against[ the wind. Two anchors work in the islands. The trade winds are constant, the tides are ..... If done correctly , 30 degrees from the first anchor works for,two anchors. I have never fouled a anchor , but have had some give up their grab. trustily security in a second anchor. There seems to be a lot of questions, insecurities about dropping the hook, not throwing it, as that alone would bring up the question , or reality of moving away from that vessel. Question ... do you want to kiss the rocks????? or ram some other boat that didn t drag?? Is there a lack of respect of present day sailors? , try getting your boat repaired in the islands with limited limited....I have used two anchors at least 1000 times and haven t kissed the rocks and have watched many drift by.So it seems like a endless question weather to reef before dark, shorten sail,sweat moreAnd worry less.So new is good old is experience and living is living,so put your confidence in a new , and good anchors, set your alarms and hopefully dont kiss the rocks. Experience works.

[swisel]

Not really too sure where to start here but perhaps with the name would be best. A Bahamian Mooring doesn't really have anything to do with the Bahamas, its just a name, not unlike the drink – Bahamian Sling which doesn't have much to do with the Bahamas either.
Two anchors are used here but not from anchor rollers. When setting up a Bahamian Mooring an anchor (in my case a Fortress) is set as the up current anchor with 100 feet of (50 feet chain and 50 feet nylon) rode connected to a swivel. The swivel is buoyed to 50 feet of twisted nylon rode moored by a float (in my case the dinghy's fender) and the second 100 feet of rode and a second anchor (in my case another Fortress) laid downstream. Once the rode has been laid both up and downstream the boat then picks up and makes fast to the fender mooring in the middle. Set both anchors under power and then blaze.
In practice, the two anchors aren't 200 feet apart. Mainly because the dinghy being used in this operation is powered by oar so things aren't stretched very taught, nor do they need be.
When all is done the swivel is allowed to sink enough to clear the draft of your vessel so that you cannot wrap anything around your keel.
It works well but takes a bit of effort to set up. I can usually have this set up in about an hour. As you might guess, I don't do this very often, however, it's my go-to system if I'm leaving the boat for a bit. For me, it means nosing up a river for shelter and this system deals well with the flood and flow of the current.
A Bahamian Moor does not mean having two anchors off the bow and then twisting them panties all in a knot with just a few tide cycles. The system is dedicated to its task so it's all prepared in advance. Once setup I feel pretty good about going for a walkabout.

[Jim Cate]

Which one is preferred seems to be based on location and tradition.

And at least to some degree, how well your boat behaves when anchored stern into a swift tidal flow. Some designs don't like this situation at all, and for them the Bahamian solution is likely better.

Jim

[Suijin]

I've spent a fair amount of time in the Exumas and have always used one anchor. I don't recall the idea of using two ever entering my mind.

Anchor in clear sand and you'll have no problem with the anchor resetting with a current change. And you can find clear sand in almost every anchorage in the Exumas.

DO put out enough scope, at least 5:1. Nasty squalls blow through.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

“Poor holding” is the review you write to keep it to yourself

The chart says poor holding, the attached pic is the initial write up
I know I’m letting out a “secret” but oh well.

[Bean Counter]

It seems the OP is bare boating, I assume a charter of some sort. You may be stuck with the anchor that is there more than likely a standard charter boat main anchor being a Delta and probably on the small side. So with such a set up I would anchor far away from other folks and have plenty of chain out. The Delta would normally be fine in most of the sandy bottoms found in the Exumas, however there are patches of weed. Always best to dive on your anchor, the water is crystal clear. However with 180 degree wind direction changes this style may pull out and not reset quickly if at all, depending on how quickly the change and how strong the wind is. The wind often clocks from S to SW, then builds and then clocks W to NW and can be up around 25 - 40 knots in just a few minutes. The prevailing winds are usually N NE - SE so most folks shelter on the west side of the barrier islands which usually have nice sandy bottoms. The East coast ocean side are generally coral, there are a few exceptions. Active Captain does a good job explaining these anchorages. The App Windy or Windfinder is useful to see the weather patterns emerging in your area. If you look at the forecast and you see a wind range something like 10kn gusting to 25kn+ that is a sure sign of a potentially ugly change coming. Have fun, stay on the boat when a big change is forecast, and use your phone/ipad anchor drag app when sleeping.

[smj]

If everyone is sitting on one anchor then setting two wouldn’t be the right thing to do. If everyone is sitting on two anchors then setting one wouldn’t be the right thing to do.
There are still some tight Anchorage’s out there where people are using two anchors, so it’s not a bad practice to learn as one day you may have to use it.