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.
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.