How to know if there is enough room for you in the anchorage?

[Duxa]

So we've only anchored a few times, and all of them we were either first or the only ones at the anchorage. We are going again soon. And I am trying to google and figure out how to tell if we get there, if there is enough room for us. Is it all about scope? There is more to it though right? If I am out 7 scope, there need to be extra headroom, also I have no idea what everyone else's scope is? And because of that I dont exactly know where their anchor is.

How do we stay safe and dont become jerks unwittingly? How to tell if there is room for you at the anchorage?

I guess this question can also be posed as: "What is the etiquette for sharing an anchorage?"

[Tin Tin]

https://www.practical-sailor.com/sai...rowded-harbors

[desodave]

Most of our anchorages are fairly deep, even the crowded ones. First I only plan on 3 to 1 scope. Second I look for a spot ideally with other sailboats around, not power boats that could swing differently.
I scope out a spot then ask a nearby boat where their anchor is, ie, behind or in front of them, and how much rode they have out. Current and/or wind conditions may be very different from when they anchored. If anchor in front, I will usually drop mine just behind their stern and back away if that'sthe direction I'm comfortable with. If behind, I'll decide which way I want to set and leave a distance in excess of my swing to drop my anchor.
In a crowded anchorage in settled weather boats anchored at different times may have anchors set in different directions. Imo you need to try to figure that out for the boats near where you want to go.
I've got 250ft chain and that makes a difference too. Boat with lots of rope will wander a lot in lighter breeze, chain not so much. I'll allow more room if I see nearby boats with rope rode showing.
There are some known charter boats in our area. If I see one of them near where I want to anchor, I'll usually give them a wider berth or, if possible, anchor to weather from them.

[SailingHarmonie]

When you are judging distances in a crowded anchorage looking to see where to go you have to adjust your thinking a bit.

You hopefully have an idea before you approach the depth of the anchorage, so you will know pretty at least roughly how much rode you will be letting out.

Now.. convert that to an approximate in boat lengths. SO now you know you will be sitting 3 boat lengths (or whatever...) back from where you drop your anchor. Don't sweat the number, this doesn't call for a very sharp pencil.

In the perfect world you would look for a circle that has a radius of >3 boat lengths. The same estimation give you a reasonable guess about where everybody else's anchor is.

I find that a much easier problem than estimating 110 feet.

[leecea]

I am terrible at estimating distances - whether it is in feet or boat lengths. I use a rangefinder and it takes some of the stress out. I think this is the one I have: https://www.amazon.com/Sig-Sauer-5x2.../dp/B07W3DT2TL

Of course that doesn't solve all the scope problems that you discussed. And I don't always use it, but there are definitely situations where I'm glad to have it.

[Franziska]

Also be aware that multihulls tend to behave differently to monohulls. They are usually more affected by windage and anchor in more shallow spaces. Sometimes with less chain but more scope.

Just something to be aware of.

While you might be good with another mono next to you at close range that might not work with a multihull next to you.

By my experience people who are long term cruising tend to use more scope than typical charter boats, as they are more aware off that weather can change significantly in short time.

And last not least dont forget that what seems comfortable for you might not seem comfortable to your new neighbors.

If they are already at anchor and are feeling uneasy with you moving in to close to them it's the decent thing to look for a different spot.

[Duxa]

Thanks for all the replies, it sounds like if there is room for me to swing with my scope and for them to swing with theirs it s not against the etiquette to anchor there?

I just want to know about the “unwritten rules” when it comes to anchoring.

We go to Catalina Island a lot of anchorage’s drop off fast from shallows at 20ft to sudden 40ft then 60ft and then 500ft. So not a lot of room for a lot of boats.

Doesn’t help that a lot of good coves have had mooring balls put in, so can’t anchor there and it’s like $60 a day to moor.

[Takitimu]

Learn to lookout for bitch wings too, usually followed with a finger point where they placed anchor. I'm the queen of bitch wings.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Duxa

I just want to know about the “unwritten rules” when it comes to anchoring.

People talk about "rules", which are only useful if everyone agrees. So my rule is "he who is most scared or uncomfortable in the anchorage has to move first".

[leecea]

We go to Catalina Island a lot of anchorage’s drop off fast from shallows at 20ft to sudden 40ft then 60ft and then 500ft. So not a lot of room for a lot of boats.

No personal experience but from reading I think anchoring where there is a rapid increase in depth requires a bit more thought. The scope rules are designed to give you a good angle of pull at the anchor relative to the bottom, but if the sea bed is sloped it's a bit different. Perhaps someone with more experience can suggest the best approach.

[Chotu]

I think a good guideline here is also to fill in the anchorage evenly.

If there is one boat, you put as much distance between you and the boat and the border of the anchorage as possible.

You basically try to go into the biggest spot and keep things filling in evenly.

That makes for a good anchoring location from the perspective of all of your neighbors.

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by Duxa

Thanks for all the replies, it sounds like if there is room for me to swing with my scope and for them to swing with theirs it s not against the etiquette to anchor there?

I just want to know about the “unwritten rules” when it comes to anchoring.

We go to Catalina Island a lot of anchorage’s drop off fast from shallows at 20ft to sudden 40ft then 60ft and then 500ft. So not a lot of room for a lot of boats.

Doesn’t help that a lot of good coves have had mooring balls put in, so can’t anchor there and it’s like $60 a day to moor.

Duxa, there’s rules and then there’s RULES. On the east coast of Australia when a trawler with the arms down anchors next to you on 100metres of poly rope , deck lights and a generator running 24/7, whose rules apply?
When you anchor off a beautiful cove in Sydney harbour in front of maybe the residence of a Packer or a Murdoch and a police boat or MSB guy tells you to move, different rules apply.
In Penang when you’re finally anchored watching the sunset in the junk anchorage and a 5,000 ton Bunkers barge drops an anchor and backs down on you, different rules again.
In the Whitsundays we had a guy (Guru) who worked on the island and anchored deliberately far from the charter boat throng in CID Hbr and if a hapless rent a yacht was inclined to share his space he’d simply shed his baggy shorts and continue drinking a beer and working on his boat naked, beard flowing in the breeze.
And speaking of the Packer/ Murdoch/bezos elite, just try anchoring near one of their 30 to 50 crew confections and see how that works out under the rules.

[desodave]

Hate to tell you that "etiquette" is in the eye of the beholder, and imo some of those are spelled "I". I've had boats anchor almost on top of me and think nothing of it . People pay no attention to where anchors are, and then arguments start when the wind shifts and boats are almost touching. In the end, if they won't move it's your decision ... basically Sailorboy's "rule".

All you can be is reasonable in your own mind. I've reanchored more than a few times if I didn't like how close I was to a nearby boat. I don't like the uncertainty that tends to generate but I want to be comfortable with the reasonableness of my anchoring. That's how I define etiquette.

[Fore and Aft]

Duxa another unwritten rule is to yell loudly at the person on the bow. Preferably loud enough so everyone sitting in their own cockpit watching the anchor show can hear. I have seen some stella anchoring shows, one in particular could have won an academy award.
Anchoring is a real personal thing and I would rather anchor elsewhere if I feel really uncomfortable. We once had a cat anchor on top of us. The cat owner just put out all his fenders and ignored us. We didn't touch that night, but we were all prepped for an early start if anything had happened.
Cheers

[Chotu]

And things can turn out nice and civil as well.

We once had Icon of Hamble anchor over our anchor in Newport.

As we were leaving in the morning, the crew saw us slowly coming up astern of them as we pulled in rode.

They hopped up, fired up the engines and moved forward so we could retrieve our anchor, then drifted back where they were once we were done.

Cooperation goes a long way in the anchorage