Emergency, emergency, everybody to get frrrom strrreeeet!
From the old movie "The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming."
So, there are ACTUAL uses for the heave to. This is from my November 2008 Secretary's Report in Mainsheet magazine:
The 2008 Napa Cruise was the first time I used our new Rocna 10 (22#) anchor. It sits well on our old “toy” bow roller, but requires a line be tied onto it and back to the pulpit. A few weeks later we were heading out the Gate after anchoring the night before. About two miles out, I was down below on the phone, when I heard this horrible noise, thinking we’d hit something, something really big! I popped up and, well, I’ll let Dave tell “the rest of the story-“
“Suddenly I hear a rumbling sound - never heard on board before. The engine is off, so I know its not bearings or prop shaft related. Stu climbs (flies up!!!) the companion steps and we think together for 30 seconds before it dawns on us - that was an anchor chain sound. Up until now we had been riding the swells powerfully, with many a wave washing over the bow of the boat sluicing the entire front of the craft up to the dodger with salt spray and wash. One of these waves, or a series of them, had loosened the knot (that Dave tied!!!) holding the anchor to the bow pulpit, and the anchor had left fly toward the bottom. As luck would have it, a tangle in the anchor rode at the aft end of the big center cleat stopped the entire line from unreeling and scrolling overboard. Somehow we were still sailing. The anchor had not hit bottom. Instead of dropping the sails, we just hove to. Then I went forward to assist Stu at the anchor locker. Stu thought perhaps we were indeed "anchored" in a patch of very bumpy water just off Point Bonita. Surreal upon reflection. I sat down on the bow, anchored my feet against the stanchions, and with the best body mechanics I could muster, began the long and arduous job of hauling in the anchor. Indeed upon a few hard tugs, it seemed like we were not actually dug into the bottom, but simply dragging the long chain and anchor like a heavy fishing line. Pull by pull the line came in. I kept looking up at the rocks off point Bonita, concerned we might drift that way, but Stu was keeping a careful eye out, and the current plus wind were driving us parallel to, and not up upon the rocky point. I stopped often to brace the line against a bow cleat to catch my breath. What seemed like forever transpired in just a few minutes. Before I knew it there was wet chain in my hand and I knew we had only 30 more feet to go. With one more mighty effort the anchor was back aboard where it belonged, and Stu came forward with a very stout rope of sufficient length to tie a bombproof set of knots to hold it in place for the remainder of our journey. Phew!!”
One other thing not mentioned so far: it's just a quieter way to STOP the boat - no sails flogging, etc.
Re: getting underway again? We generally just gybe around, NO EXTRA TACKS are required. It's a lot quieter, too, than dropping the backed jib sheet and sheeting in again. Teaches ya'all how to gybe the main. Wouldn't do it high wind conditions, but works fine most times. Sometimes we just go downwind wing-on-wing. Soooo easy...
