Anchoring Problem

[Paul H]

We sail on beautiful Kentucky Lake. Friday we decided to sail down to one of our favorite overnight bays. It's perfect. Deep water this time of year and lots of trees to provide protection from the South winds. Picked a nice spot back in the cove,dropped anchor. I didn't leave much scope since in the past there hasn't been much wind to bother us and usually it comes from the south. That night the wind direction went from south to the north and picked up dramatically. By the time it was done we had dragged our anchor at least 150 yards further back in the bay and were only about 20 ft from shore. Fortunately,for me, the water was deep even there. In retrospect, I think next time I'll try to make sure that I bring the bow of the boat around so it's facing the unprotected part of the bay,drop the danforth with the flukes pointing parallel to the boat,after the anchor hits bottom give my self plenty of scope and back the boat up to set the hook. Any other suggestions ???Paul HS/V Linda Belle95 H26

 

[Robert147]

You've mostly answered your own question.

We're on Watauga Lake, in Northeastern TN. The water is generally very deep, and there are only a few places where you can safely anchor. On Watauga, there is no such thing as a prevailing wind, so we don't count on one. When we anchor, we generally try to pick an area where we have some idea of the contour, composition and state of the bottom. If we can't pay out a 5:1 scope and stay off the bank, we don't anchor. And if there's any question of weather, we consider 7:1 a bare minimum.