Rode for Desolation Sound
- Thread starter skunther
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Should be fine. There are spots we anchor in 60 ft but it's sloped bottom with a stern tie, so the rode still has a good angle on the bottom. Most areas are 30 to 45ft at high tide. You'll need a 300ft stern line.
more importantly what anchor type? Danforth won't due and CQR tends to be unreliable in these parts. Vulcan does well as do many bruce anchors. Mud bottom is typical with accosional rocky area.
Also been there many times before, Leo and never had a problem. Pretty much in the center of the bay, which used to be an old log dump. There was a strong southerly during the night and into the early morning. Very lumpy night. I put so much force on bringing up the anchor that it actually broke the right tine weld on our Danforth. Had it re-welded in Lund.
Hmm. Our boat came with a 40# Danforth. Been cruising BC waters since 2004 in many different anchorages. Once, in all that time, had a problem with dragging, and that was in Cortez Bay, which is a notorious anchorage; thin layer of mud over shale. I've never used our spare CQR, so no experience there.
Yeah, I read some of these posts (as you mention above yours, #43) without knowledge of the experience of the poster. So we have …Danforths won’t “due” … in these parts
. What does that mean? Has the poster ever used a Danforth “in these parts” and under what conditions? Fluke anchors such as Danforth and Fortress have serious holding power; but what?, everywhere except in the Salish Sea? And as you intimate Terry, maybe the guy hasn’t talked to anyone who has deployed an oversized one. Anchoring requires a lot of skill. The right tackle, the right spot, and the right technique, etc, plus practice, practice, practice!
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My experience with Fluke anchors in the Chesapeake Bay where tidal currents are mild and the sea bed is silt/sand was positive. The only disturbance to a quiet anchorage would be storm squalls. These tend to come on out of a peaceful time and stretch the boat out in a singular direction. Such singular direction helps the Fluke styled anchor to preform at its optimum in such estuary silt seas bed conditions.
My concern about the waters of the Salish Sea were that that the variety of sea bed (rocks, cobbles, mud, kelp beds, etc.) could foul a fluke anchor. Inhibiting the anchor to set or in the case of the tidal currents to reset ever 6 to 8 hours while at anchor. Compound the heavy flowing tidal currents with wind changes or winds funneled down narrow shore valleys and you have a challenge to any anchor system. The work of Steve a SV Panope convinced me that I needed a system to manage much more than my experiences on the Chesapeake.
You do have point there John. One reputation is that they do not like “side loading”, as when the boat starts to pull on a vector different than the one it set on. If the anchor’s flukes cannot rotate enough while buried, the shank can become bowed. My Danforth of 11 years on the Pearson 30 acquired a bowed shank. I meant to replace the shank, but I came upon a Genuine Bruce that a friend sold me cheap in 2001; I still have that Bruce. There”s a lot is sandy bottom in Florida where I sailed the Pearson; that is unquestionably the best holding bottom for a Danforth or Fortress. But if one is anchored on a sloping bottom stern tied, the boat is not going to swing around and pull out the anchor, etc. The anchor probably would experience side loading with a change of sea direction, but if in mud it should rotate more easily to align with the force on the rode, etc.
But while anchored along the Manatee River one Labor Day weekend in FL a strong T-storm popped up and knocked us around.. The wind and rain was so intense that I could not see my bow from the companionway and behind the dodger. I could see the boats anchored astern of me toward the beach. They and I were swinging wildly. I was sure I’d be dragging toward the beach before it was over. But no, we stayed put on the Danforth even though that bottom was relatively muddy being just inshore of the River. What can I say?: if it holds, it holds!
But while anchored along the Manatee River one Labor Day weekend in FL a strong T-storm popped up and knocked us around.. The wind and rain was so intense that I could not see my bow from the companionway and behind the dodger. I could see the boats anchored astern of me toward the beach. They and I were swinging wildly. I was sure I’d be dragging toward the beach before it was over. But no, we stayed put on the Danforth even though that bottom was relatively muddy being just inshore of the River. What can I say?: if it holds, it holds!
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Bio, as requested: Been sailing these waters (Victoria to Prince Rupert) for over 20 years (Look at my location).... I also teach CYA basic cruising course and teach with CPS.Yeah, I read some of these posts (as you mention above yours, #43) without knowledge of the experience of the poster. So we have …Danforths won’t “due” … in these parts
I know what anchors I sleep well on and those that I don't. We have up to 18 ft tides. Move 30 feet and you can have completely different seabed or your anchor drops 15 feet and now your scope is completely different. When free to swing, your anchor needs to reset 4 times per day, with a few knots of current in some anchorages. Wind and Tidal flow is not always aligned so that can pull the anchor and rode in strange ways. In the summer when the anchorages are busy, you'll be lucky to get 4 to 1 scope. if you use 7:1 you are pretty much guaranteed that another boat will be on top of your anchor when it's time to leave. So yes, a high performance modern anchor pays for itself in terms of peace of mind. We've never anchored in sand here (except for Tribune Bay) it's mud, rocks or weeds.
North of Nanaimo mooring balls are non existent. Tribune Bay is notorious for boats dragging and collisions during the night. The tide rolls one way then the Qualicum winds (never part of the local marine forecast) will funnel through the mountain valleys and cause mayhem as it spills out in the straight. In Tennedos, you'll be stern tied with with winds and current 90 degrees to your boat and rode. Side loading is very common when stern tied.
Hope this informs anyone planning on cruising here and considering upgrading their anchoring system.
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You hit the nail on the proverbial head, Ray. Made lots of mistakes in my early days of anchoring, but over time the skill developed to the point of confidence. I trust my Danforth, which has seen some pretty difficult weather conditions and has held quite well. After a blow, the hard part is trying to get it unstuck off the bottom.
Never again will I stern tie in sour weather, especially with the weather abeam. Side loading, as you say, bent my 1/2" x 2-1/2" steel anchor shank in Princess Cove a few years ago. Another story. Then another time a strong blow came through Cocktail Cove on Lasqueti Island. The boat put up such a racket that I could not sleep, so spent most of the night on deck. The Danforth held just fine, but the next morning when it came time to leave what a chore unsetting the anchor from the sea bed.
They do dig deep sometimes. For some reason this discussion brings to my mind something that occurred at the firing range. We had recently bought a Walther P22. I can't remember how many dozens of rounds we had fired at a bullseye target over several weeks that was a mere 15 ft from us down range w/o getting a bullseye. Sometimes not even hitting the target at all! We were by then of course questioning the sight adjustment so asked one of the range guys there to have look. A real outdoorsy looking fellow, very polite. Took the pistol, aimed with an absolutely steady hand, then fired a round into near dead center of the red bullseye. "Sights are fine." End of story!
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At least you did not pull out. On my second charter to the Gulf Islands we anchored in Princess Cove @ Wallace Island. The charter boat we had (in 1990’s) was a C&C 38 with a deep keel; 7 or 8 ft of draft.
It was not bad getting in there but there was only one “stall“ available; the second or third one in. The boat axis when anchored lies normal to the long axis of the Cove. The Cove itself is more or less open to the W & NW but is within a generally sheltered area so no “rollers” arriving. Nevertheless, she lies abeam to weather and tide flow anchored bow and stern tie to shore. The boat was equipped with a CQR.
About 2300 the tide was running in hard and the wind was getting up. The short story is we dragged into the lee boat on our starboard. Things got all tangled. I had a dinghy on a painter. We could not get the C&C out b/c the dinghy was hanging up on the lee boat’s anchor chain.The only “safe thing” to do was cut the $2,000 dink adrift to get the sailboat out. We could hear diesels firing up and lights coming on all down the row toward the beach at the end of the cove. Finally got out of the stall and started to pull the anchor. It proved to be fouled on the anchor chain of the boat anchored to our weather (port) side. That chain slid off the CQR as it broke the surface. We regathered ourselves, and reanchored out in middle of that narrow channel for the rest of the night.
A fellow boater came over the next morning to “congratulate” us getting out w/o causing damage. He told me the dink had fetched up on the beach at the end of the cove and offered to take me over to retrieve it. Amazing the Canadians! Not one unkind word, aspersion, or criticism cast toward me or my crew the whole incident! Oh, the howling that would have ensued if I had been in home waters!
Was there just last week .... can totally relate. We got blown sideways as we were stern tied (easier to get the dog to shore) when the wind kicked up. Fortunately the bay was a ghost town....
I have yet to have a summer where I don't find an errant dinghy or paddleboard and manage to reunite it with it's rightful owner. Never trust a bowline on a floating line that's not under load!
Very similar, my story, as mentioned above. My boating buddy and I had just returned from our 70 day Princess Royal Island cruise and rendezvoused with two other boaters in Princess Cove. I solo set both anchor and shore tie a bit south of the small dock to an applause from a neighbor boater where he and his crew had much trouble securing their boat to a shore tie. Then our group gathers on our boat for poo poos (hors d’œuvres). A starboard abeam wind is picking up strongly and I could feel it on the boat. A few moments later we felt a thump only to find that our boat had sashayed from the wind a few feet up against this small dock. Okay, time to move, so I released the shore tie, and moved the boat into the middle of the cove and reset anchor. It was a restful evening after that experience, but the wind force abeam did end up bending my anchor shank about five degrees.
Nope, but a long standing boater tradition on wallace isl is to make a sign..... a short hike from Princess Cove.Intriguing summer cabin marcham, yours?
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A trick I learned recently - after tying the bowline, leave enough tail so you can then also tie a half hitch using the tail. Those don't back out loaded or unloaded....Never trust a bowline on a floating line that's not under load!
dj
The charts show the end of the bay as a Log Pond. Logs will often break loose and litter the bottom of bays where this has been done over the past 100 years.... The marina in Sturt is cheap and friendly and a safer bet than snagging old logs and cables on the bottom.