Sailing around Britain and anchoring in Scotland

[BobTyrrell]

Hi, we're new forum members, we're planning to sail around Britain from mid-April. We have a number of questions if anyone's done this trip, but one of the most pressing is do we need a couple of anchors? We have a delta with 40m of chain. Will that do the job in most places, esp Scotland? Thanks

[Highland Fling]

Originally Posted by BobTyrrell

Hi, we're new forum members, we're planning to sail around Britain from mid-April. We have a number of questions if anyone's done this trip, but one of the most pressing is do we need a couple of anchors? We have a delta with 40m of chain. Will that do the job in most places, esp Scotland? Thanks

should be fine

[swagman]

Hi Bob,
We covered 30,000 miles without ever needing a second anchor deployed, and we too found the Delta worked fine.
Good luck and enjoy the trip.
JOHN

[justwaiting]

You never need a spare anchor, untill you need a spare anchor

[anjou]

For the sake of some scrap iron, get another anchor. At least you dont have to worry that you might need another one.

You might have to cut one free, so buy some peace of mind, you can always sell it after.

Just thinking about it, being as your in UK, have you seen the TV series with Timothy Spall, going round uk in his barge? He met a guy up in Hartlepool who was sailing round solo in the other direction. Might be worth looking it up on Iplayer as that episode was on tv only last week. BBC4 i think.
Im sure the sailor had a website. Might be interersting

[Orla]

Originally Posted by BobTyrrell

Hi, we're new forum members, we're planning to sail around Britain from mid-April. We have a number of questions if anyone's done this trip, but one of the most pressing is do we need a couple of anchors? We have a delta with 40m of chain. Will that do the job in most places, esp Scotland? Thanks

Hi Bob

No experience with the Delta, but a second anchor would be handy if you had to dump your main one for any reason.
We have used a 45lb CQR for a few years, but now use a 33kg Rocna, kept the CQR just in case, we actually have a third stashed away somewhere.
I would suggest you are a bit light on the chain, we carry 100m 10mm, There have been a number of occasions I was glad we had it, we normally set 5-1 but on the big winds in some anchorages 40+ knots, we chuck it all out.

Doug

[swagman]

Originally Posted by Orla

Hi Bob

No experience with the Delta, but a second anchor would be handy if you had to dump your main one for any reason.
We have used a 45lb CQR for a few years, but now use a 33kg Rocna, kept the CQR just in case, we actually have a third stashed away somewhere.
I would suggest you are a bit light on the chain, we carry 100m 10mm, There have been a number of occasions I was glad we had it, we normally set 5-1 but on the big winds in some anchorages 40+ knots, we chuck it all out.

Doug

+1 with the extra chain. We also carried 100m x 10mm and agree its proved useful.
JOHN

[Highland Fling]

Originally Posted by swagman

+1 with the extra chain. We also carried 100m x 10mm and agree its proved useful.
JOHN

OUCH 100 mtrs 50 fathoms is twice as much chain as i had on my boats and sailed on the west coast of Scotland for 20 plus years Hebridies inner and outer plus a trip to the Orkneys round the top and back through the Caledonian Canal Remember this is ONLY a 37 foot boat it will become a submarine forever dipping the bow under the waves in heavy weather with that much weight up forward in the anchor locker

[bobconnie]

Highland Fling + 1 on that for sure !! Never had that much chain on a 42 fter Steel in PNW and around the Pacific !! with a Danforth ! just my 2 cents

[Hydra]

IMO, 40m chain should be enough if complemented by a good length of rope for the occasional deep / windy anchorage.

Alain

[SteveT]

I'd agree with the folks that go with around 50 m chain plus rope if needed in exceptional conditions. Some of the best small anchorages on the West Coast of Scotland don't have that much swinging room. Something to try and avoid is kelp beds - they can be a problem. I do carry a spare anchor though and would recommend having one. If you need one you REALLY need one!

[Dockhead]

There are really big tides in the Bristol Channel and the English Channel. We have 100 meters of 12mm chain and do not consider it to be excessive -- have had it all out more times than I can remember.

You can sail all the way around the UK without spending that much time at anchor, so it's up to you how far to go with ground tackle.

But we carry one new generation anchor (currently a Spade, after having returned the Rocna), plus a kedge (a Fortress) and a spare bower (Delta). Every anchor has its own rode.

The holding is generally pretty simple on the Mud Coast, but in the South there are many places where the Delta won't set.

But in the UK, ground tackle is maybe not as important as many other places, since there are so many good, all-weather ports.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here on the forum.
kind regards,