What Have You Snagged Your Anchor on ?

[Blue Stocking]

When Fabian hit us, some years back, dozens of boats went missing during the 12hrs of Cat 3 that we experienced. Last year, a friend dove to free his anchor, and discovered a f-glass 24ft cruiser with the complete mooring assembly and weight still attached, stretched out on the bottom. We know our boats around here, and determined that this one was about a mile from its original position. This had dragged from a sheltered bay with mud bottom, thru a hard rock channel, across reefs, and settled in a big sandhole in about 30ft of water.

[Boomp]

Lobster pots....errr the line that connects them. It takes a contourtionist and a chiropractor to complete the release. So I really try to stay clear and NO, I don't open them....

[mrohr]

A sunken railway car or maybe a city bus off NYC ,big windlass didn't help ,anchor finally released when flukes bent over. I try not to anchor near industrial areas anymore. Once picked up a tangle of fisihing line with attached rod and reel that had been dropped off a bridge off of W. Palm Beach,didn't know it at the time since anchor was holding at slack water. When tide started running hard in the middle of the night I dragged through the anchorage ricochetting off a number of sleeping cruisers while fouling other rodes . Some people have no sense of humor. Don't think I'll go back there for a spell; just another argument for a steel boat.

[Unicorn Dreams]

Back in the 70's was diving off Looe Key in the FL Keys, went to raise the anchor and it wouldn't break free. Dove down on my anchor and the flukes had snagged on an anchor believed to be off the H.M.S. Looe.
Came back 2 days later with a bigger boat and 7 of us managed to get it within 5' of the surface, rigged up a bridle under the boat, then proceeded slowly to land and turned it in to the state.

[markpierce]

I suppose a chain cutter needs to be carried if one has a chain rode, assuming one might need to abandon one's anchor and not want to lose all of the chain.

[wingontherock]

And speaking of Black Fish... I was fishing near Fisher's Island some years ago... pulled the anchor only to find it snagged on a derelict lobster trap... it had 8 black fish inside it... I suppose they had gone inside to get at the green crabs it held... yummy in the tummy!!

My "fish tale" is that I once caught 8 black fish with an anchor!!!

[Unicorn Dreams]

Usually you can dive down, secure a line to the bach of the anchor and pull one out backwards.
Also, without diving, take a small piece of chain, make a loop around your anchor chain, lower it on another line to the anchor, then pull it out backwards

[Panama Dave]

Contadora island Panama, had a very large manta ray get tangled in our anchor rode and tow us out of the anchorage. Top that one!

[bewitched]

Hooked a shopping trolly once - in Hong Kong

Had "Tesco" on the handle.

There are no Tesco supermarkets in Hong Kong. The nearest ones are in Thailand, a thousand of miles away or more.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by markpierce

I suppose a chain cutter needs to be carried if one has a chain rode, assuming one might need to abandon one's anchor and not want to lose all of the chain.

Excellent advise and large cutters are carried for multiple purposes. Also, if you have an AC power source, a rotary tool with a cutting wheel can do well. I was able to minimize my chain loss when cutting away an anchor.

[capn_billl]

I've lost a couple, one to an underwater tree stump, another to an underwater pipeline, both I cut loose.

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

There's an unmarked cable, more than an inch in diameter, near the church at Solomon's Island in the Chesapeake. It took us an hour to leave it behind. Seems it is still attached to the land.

[Black Diamond]

In Newport, RI on a Sunday morning I was raising my anchor near the spindle (anchorage area). Instead of the anchor going up, my bow started going down!

Anyone who has anchored in the area knows about the cable on the bottom, but that would actually come up with your anchor. Instead, we were stuck hard on something that was not going to move.

I had to hire a diver and it turns out it was a ships boiler (Cast iron) of about 20' in length and about a thousand pounds dead weight.

For those who transit the area, its about halfway between Ida Lewis Yacht Club and the Thames St. waterfront, about even with the Spindle and South of the cable crossing. I might have the location in my GPS, if anyone is interested.

Rick
Hylas 49-057 "Black Diamond"
Portsmouth, RI

[Kettlewell]

I always describe the holding ground in Newport as soupy mud and old bicycles every since I dredged up one there on my anchor. Had a Danforth wedge in the slats of a wooden lobster trap there too. Snagged a huge Junkanoo costume on the bottom of Nassau harbor, but it held me better than the bottom so I left it there and sat comfortably for several days of high winds. Helped a guy stuck in the middle of the Alligator-Pungo Canal once. He had anchored right in the middle in a dense fog and his anchor was fouled on something. Being a racing boat we ran the anchor line to two cockpit sheet winches and cranked an enormous stump up to the surface, but at the last minute it capsized and the Danforth anchor slingshotted at the boat, luckily glancing off the hull at an angle instead of killing one of us.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Black Diamond

In Newport, RI on a Sunday morning I was raising my anchor near the spindle (anchorage area). Instead of the anchor going up, my bow started going down!

Anyone who has anchored in the area knows about the cable on the bottom, but that would actually come up with your anchor. Instead, we were stuck hard on something that was not going to move.

I had to hire a diver and it turns out it was a ships boiler (Cast iron) of about 20' in length and about a thousand pounds dead weight.

For those who transit the area, its about halfway between Ida Lewis Yacht Club and the Thames St. waterfront, about even with the Spindle and South of the cable crossing. I might have the location in my GPS, if anyone is interested.

Rick
Hylas 49-057 "Black Diamond"
Portsmouth, RI

Would be interested in that GPS coordinate. Perhaps you should post it in the Active Captain site too.