Anchoring Adventure

Sep 15, 2013
707
Catalina 270 Baltimore
I had two disconnected days this week so I decided to cross the bay and anchor out on the eastern shore. The wind was out of the south and it would be perfect for a crossing. As soon as I left the marina the wind turned and was on my nose the whole way to rock hall so the way out was under power. I did get some sailing in on my short northern jog to Swan creek and sailed in at a stately 1 knot.

I anchored with about 4 other boats in the cove and settled in for a quiet evening. Or so I thought. About 9 O’clock the wind started whipping up and changing directions like crazy, spinning everyone around. I did have the presence mind to download an anchor APP and activate it. Well about 10:30 the alarm went off. The anchor was dragging and I was heading backward fast. I turned on the engine and put it in gear and began to frantically pull up the anchor. I finally got it up and threw it on deck and then returned to the helm to get me back to the spot where I was all while the wind was trying to turn me sideways. I got my best idea of where the wind was at that moment and dropped the anchor back in while jumping out of the way of the chain and line. I gunned it in reverse hoping I set the anchor better this time. I also took down a tarp that was zipped to the Bimini to make the boat more aerodynamic. I stayed nervously awake until the wind event finally died down around 1 AM. No more alarms. I finally went to sleep around 3. The next morning the winds were blustery and out of the north and I had a great sail back to Baltimore. I averaged 5.5 knots under sail. That made the trip worthwhile.

I figured you learn something new every day so here are some things that I learned.

Set your anchor right the first time.

Anchor Lite is a great APP. It’s free and it works. It saved me from a probable insurance claim.

Verizon is worth the money.

I need to take a hard look at my ground tackle. This is only the second time I used it in 3 years so it doesn’t get a lot of attention. The anchor is very heavy and unwieldy. Combined with the cluttered foredeck of the 270 it is hard to handle under ideal conditions. It was dangerously clumsy in a bad situation. It is probably as old as the boat. After I got back and hosed off all of the Chesapeake mud I found a lot of nasty dings in the gelcoat on deck from the previous night. I will now learn how to fix fiberglass. With all the drama and damage it was still fun and I would do it again.
 

Gunni

.
Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
Nice report Steve. Those O'dark 30 anchor drills are powerful lessons on why we need good ground tackle and practice with proper sets. FWIW, Swan Creek and Fairlee Creeks require a good anchor in a blow. Download several weather and wind apps and study these weather fronts, they are pretty predictable. Get back in the saddle and do it again
 
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Likes: bawlmer
Sep 23, 2009
1,475
O'Day 34-At Last Rock Hall, Md
We have had the wind pick up suddenly several times in that spot. Our plow anchor has always held in the mud. Fortunately even in 30 knots it does not get uncomfortable.
Did you cross the bar or sail around green 5? We only draw 4.5 but I haven't had the courage to cross the bar yet.
 
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Likes: bawlmer
Sep 15, 2013
707
Catalina 270 Baltimore
Larry. I sailed around green 5. I usually day sail in Baltimore harbor where the depths are 25 to 50 feet. All that skinny water over there really makes you pay attention.
 
Jul 12, 2011
1,165
Leopard 40 Jupiter, Florida
Thanks for sharing, Bawlmer. Now that I know your location, your forum handle makes much more sense! Sounds like a neat adventure. As they say, "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you were expecting."
 
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Likes: bawlmer
Oct 9, 2008
1,739
Bristol 29.9 Dana Point
I like stories. Makes for better reading than just the mechanics and equipment.

On my first sailboat many years ago, a Catalina 250, I had anchored in the west end of Dana Point Harbor. Just for fun, as I had a slip in the harbor.
I was in the middle of the anchorage all by my lonesome, 300 ft from the pier to the northeast, and more from the breakwater to the southwest.
In the middle of the night, I was jolted awake in the aft bunk. Not knowing what on earth, I went topside to find myself only about 50 feet from the pier. The jolt had been the anchor resetting. The wind had changed to SW, and picked up enough to yank out my poorly set anchor.
The water is dead flat in the harbor even when windy, so a collision with the wooden pier would have been only a butt-clinching scare. Even if I had ended up on the beach past the pier, it would have only been an embarrassment, as there is no surf.

Still, the incident got me studying anchoring, and likely has prevented problems when anchoring in less forgiving conditions.
 
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Likes: bawlmer
Sep 15, 2013
707
Catalina 270 Baltimore
Skipper. Liked your story. Anchoring is now much higher on my interest level than it was 48 hours ago.
 

tjar

.
Aug 8, 2011
166
Hunter Legend 35.5 Tacoma, WA
I don't have a lot of anchoring experience, so I'm very meticulous when I do anchor; double checking the depth and tides, making sure I have plenty of scope let out, and really making sure the anchor is well set. We anchored off Blake Island last weekend and spent the afternoon and evening as the winds continued to build up. I was confident when we went to sleep that I was firmly set. Imagine my surprise when I was awakened at 3:30 to the sound of an anchor windlass hauling in an anchor. I stuck my head out the hatch and saw two anchor lights side be side. Mine and my neighbor's. I looked down and saw another sailboat all lit up as they finished raising their anchor and slowly putted away.
I looked at the shoreline and it appeared that we were in the same spot, but I couldn't figure out how we had swapped places with the only other boat nearby. Then I noticed that the boat we had spent the day alongside of was still sitting right where it was before. I could barely make it out since it had no lights displayed at all.
The only conclusion that I can draw is that somebody had come in after we went to bed and dropped anchor right on top of ours. When the winds shifted, they must have realized how close they were and decided to head out before anybody else noticed. I didn't get very much sleep at all the rest of the night.
 
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Mar 11, 2015
357
Hunter 33.5 Tacoma, WA
I did have the presence mind to download an anchor APP and activate it. Well about 10:30 the alarm went off.
Everyone charges their smartphone at night. On the hook, you might as well set a free anchor alarm (I use dragqueen). The trick is to set the alarm right as you drop the anchor. Almost all chartplotters have this feature, but my C120 would chew up too many amps if left on all night. The DragQueen APP is awesome!
 
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