Tally Ho,
Your account reminds me of a similar one of a “marina mate” at Ventura West Marina in Ventura, CA. He had been visiting the anchorages of Santa Cruz Island in the northern California Channel Islands for a few years single handed
in his Catalina 30 (I believe, but maybe another model) which had no windlass. The islands are notorious as a place of sudden unpredicted changes of wind direction and speed of strong winds. Just returning from a visit there where the boat had started dragging at anchor toward the rocky shore in strong wind, he described his struggle to recover the anchor and get underway. I guess he experienced some real fear. He said that he would not go out there again without a windlass, so had one installed within a couple of weeks. He did not say if it was operable from the cockpit, but I suspect that it was or was destined to be.
Having anchored out there 80 or more nights, I can imagine a similar event befalling me when single handing. So, I take great care to anchor securely in the first place (as I know we all do as experienced cruisers). A windlass is essential for my sized boat, but not having it operable from the cockpit at a time of crisis presents nearly the same risk when single handing as not having one at all, IMO.
