Marking an anchorage with a bouy

Benny17441 · Jun 29, 2019

What's plan "B" if you return and there is no anchor? No Reservations.

StargazerP303 · Jun 29, 2019

I think its playing with fire to leave approx. 200 feet of line floating in the water while your going sailing only to return and find coast guard or harbor police waiting for you to make you pay the big bucks$$$$ for willing to endanger any vessel passing by and winding up tangled in your floating line. However, If you were to secure the line and make it sink by adding weights to make it sink to the bottom then it would be appropriate. See my drawing below. Note: this is still used today to mark one's anchor. Capt Rob.

Hardhead · Jun 30, 2019

Just leave a lawn chair floating on your spot.

JimInPB · Jun 30, 2019

Rltgold said:
Marking a anchorage with a bouy.
I am planning on anchoring this week in La Playa area of San Diego bay. It is a free anchorage area. I'd like to be able to leave my anchor marked with a bouy while I go out sailing for the day .A Capt friend told me that is totally exceptable to do. My question is with 150 ft of rope on my rode what do I do with it all? My thinking is to play out enough to float the bouy then tie the rest of the rode line to the bouy.

Thanks

Your original idea to tie a coil of line to the bouy seems like the easiest solution. Tie the coil well. If it unravels, then it could cause the hazard to navigation that others have considered.

My solution, on boats without a windlass, is to have my anchor line segmented. I have several anchor lines with eye splices at each end. I use loop to loop connections to join as many as needed for a particular amount of scope. It is easy for me to remove unwanted excess length. My segments are mostly 100' lengths, with 2 @ 50' & 1 @ 25'. Chain stays on the anchor with 25' of base line. This modular system works well for me.

I also use buckets to keep things organized. I normally have complete anchor kits ready to go in one type of bucket & extension lines, near by, in a different style bucket. Sometimes you just need to anchor right f'ing now, when things don't go your way. I like to have an anchor kit at easy reach for those occasional situations.

Here in Florida, an unoccupied anchor can be picked up by others. I normally leave a small boat, or at least a kayak attached, so that it is not unoccupied, & will likely be available to me when I return.

Captain Larry-DH · Jun 30, 2019

IMHO this is a very bad idea: It's RUDE like claiming a park bench while you do something else, and prevent someone else from using it while you're not there. Would you leave your belongings on a park bench and expect to find them when you return?
If you leave a long length of rode on the bottom it is likely to snag on someone else's rode, or they may anchor/swing over it causing entanglement later.
If you abandon an anchor it may be viewed as "fair game" for someone who snags it. After all, it is abandoned (shrug). If you did and I anchored near there, and I brought my anchor up with an abandoned chain I'd be pissed off. Now it's mine to cut off as needed to free mine. If I required assistance from a tow service and you were someone identified with it, I would try to collect any costs from you.

JimInPB · Jun 30, 2019

Rudeness of leaving an anchor spot marked will vary with the details of the situation. If you are in an area frequented by transients & you are anchored near your buddies, and you are all leaving in a day or two & other spots are open for new arrivals, then I don't see any rudeness in marking the spot for the day as you go for a sail. Other situations may be a different story. Leaving an unused spot marked for weeks or months at a time, in an area with limited availability, would be a very different story.

Jacktar · Jun 30, 2019

Probably should use a buoy instead! Nun too much?

Captain Larry-DH · Jun 30, 2019

Rltgold said:
The spot I will be anchoring in San Diego is called LaPlaya. It's a free anchorage within a back bay and is a lovely spot to spend the night. It's in about 15' of water with a very mucky clay ground that covers any and everything it touches and makes a hugh mess if not careful to wash everything off before putting it on board.
My thinking was if I set an anchor and my wife or friends call to come and pick them up at the Coast Guard dock which is a 10 minute motor over there it would be a lot easier to leave the anchor on a bouy for 1/2 an hour while I go get them. Sounds simple but I don't want to be one of those people that others cuss at for being oblivious . I could always leave my kayak tie to it.

What's your anchor setup? For that kind of situation, the way my boat is setup it would be easier to buoy the spot with a dummy weight (e.g. a dinghy anchor and a round fender) and weigh anchor, then return and re-anchor. I'd use no more line than needed, and if you use nylon or dacron rode for the dinghy anchor it will naturally sink.

Kings Gambit · Jun 30, 2019

Folks who anchor at La Playa need a “reservation.” Port of San Diego limits the number of yachts to a number suitable for the size of the anchorage. So, if you have a confirmed reservation, which must be gotten in advance of the weekend desired & can be done online, you technically have a spot for that weekend. So, there should be no need to leave a marker buoy to hold “your”spot. Pick up, do your business elsewhere, then return. There should still be room for you as the total number permitted in there is limited, and your yacht would be included in that limited number if you followed the reservation policy. If not, perhaps you shouldn't be in there at all.

Hardhead · Jul 1, 2019

Rltgold said:
Sounds simple but I don't want to be one of those people that others cuss at for being oblivious . I could always leave my kayak tie to it.

If you're just going away for less than an hour - I'd say your kayak idea is good. Just stow the remainder of the rode tied into the kayak. Whether someone would actually try to steal the kayak is a different issue (probably based on how many beers the thief has downed), but if you're not going really far, you could still keep an eye on the situation.

Kings Gambit · Jul 10, 2019

The permitting rule is so that in a place of high density of yachts, the limited anchorage space is somehow shared equitably by some formula. There’s a cumulative limit of three 72-hr weekend permits per month for any set of anchorages. For folks not getting permits but anchoring nevertheless, it’s not easy, or even perhaps possible, to know how the time in these limited spaces is being shared, etc.

The anchorages are also available to transients from out of area. If I had made a reservation and arrived there to find some several vessels plus a bunch of buoys spread out so there was little room for me, I’m not sure what I would do. I might radio the Harbor Patrol and ask for help; to explain the significance of the buoys. Why are they out here and what do they mean? Since the vessel would not be present, there would no way to know if that person had permitted in, etc. So, what if the officer says to me?

“Those buoys are place holders for people who are anchoring here but are out sailing, or something; I don’t exactly know. I can’t say how big the boat is that is returning nor when, but it’s best that you anchor a good distance away just in case. Sorry for any inconvenience. We don’t actually enforce our rules and hardly any of the locals around here respect them anyway, so there’s no problem. Enjoy your weekend!” Uh,

?

Sooner or later the City will be forced to make a rule prohibiting the practice so the HP officers will know what to do when some transients “complain.”