Anchoring:

An Open Letter to All Bareboat Charter and First-Time Cruising Skippers with the Dreaded... "Herd instinct anchoring syndrome"
by Mike Latta

We need to talk about this anchoring business, because too many boats are parking way too close to me these days. It’s upsetting, if not outright scary at times. I am now too old and set in my creaky ways to continue to pull up and re-set every time another smiling innocent drops his chain on top of my well-set anchor.

It’s time to take a stand. Anchoring securely is the single most important cruising skill we need to develop. The alternative is to inadvertently end up on the dirt part of the planet any given dark and stormy night, or fresh and breezy afternoon. In spite of one’s well-honed sail handling, chart reading, weather knowledge, GPS aptitude, or VHF attitude… it’s anchoring technique, or the lack thereof, that nine times out of ten gets us in trouble out here. And good anchoring moxie seems to be a skill that comes only with experience.

Granted, this learning curve can be a tad bit overwhelming at times. Especially for the boat that drags… not to mention the boat(s) that it drags down upon. And when one anchors too close to others, it only exacerbates the problem by leaving you with little to no time to correct the problem. Y our situation has suddenly become mine as we both try to keep our respective vessels from swapping chain plates… or worse.

So at least give yourself some room to react in case you ever do drag (and eventually you will) by never anchoring too close to other boats. Besides, it’s not friendly, and it freaks out people like me. Would you park your RV on the next door neighbor’s lawn? (Think of it as being way back in Sand Box 101 and learning to play nice. I’m that obnoxious little snot that kept whapping you over the head with a shovel when you plowed your dump truck through my fort. Remember? This is serious stuff.)

I’ve been seeing a lot of this “Herd Instinct” thing lately in anchorages, crowded or not, all up and down Mexico’s Pacific coast and Sea of Cortez. And since dragging can be scary and embarrassing for you, and possibly very expensive for me, here comes some unsolicited, yet hard won advice. Because as a single-hander, I have no insurance, and all your boats are much bigger than mine. What’s more, as I hinted previously, this past year I finally reached official grumpy old fartdom status. So, what’s fair is fair. I’m now thinking of sending an out-dated flare, if not down the companionway, at least across the bow, of the next skipper that carelessly anchors a boat length upwind from me and then prepares to blithely dinghy off to the beach. So please pay attention here, as the following could be important to both you and your expensive boat’s future well being.

With all that out of the way, here comes an oversimplified, by the numbers, solution to “How to Anchor in a Crowd.”

First off let’s assume that you have good ground tackle. Your main anchor (over-sized with another next to it) is on the bow ready to go, with at least 100’ of appropriate chain attached to two or three hundred feet of hefty line. And very importantly, you have marked yourchain at readily noted intervals at 10’, 15’, 20’, 25’, 30’and then the ensuing usual deeper marks - whatever you choose – it’s your boat. I strongly suggest marking these first short lengths so that after reading your depth gauge and going forward, you will know exactly when your anchor is supposed to just touch the bottom. And know
that not all pristine Tropic of Cancer coves are blessed with gin-clear waters. I paint my main anchor white to make it easier to see as it descends to the bottom.

There are four things to keep in mind when you go to anchor amid other boats:
1. Where to drop the hook.
2. How to drop the hook after you’ve determined your best spot.
3. How to set the hook.
4. How to deploy the proper amount of scope.

Here’s how to accomplish each step quickly, easily and safely, not to mention how to look like an old salt as you quietly set it while every one surreptitiously judges your every move. (No shouting… sound carries over water. The judges will be scoring, so look cool.)

I will assume that you already have your sails down and furled, dinghy tucked up, no lines trailing, engine running and the foredeck cleared. Upon entering the anchorage area, it’s good to meander slowly through it first and scope it out while noting the depths, preferably from the downwind end, working upwind. You might even want to ease past some folks sitting in their cockpit and ask how much scope people are putting out, or any
other bit of helpful local info. (Is the bottom mud? Sand? Rocky in places? Does that dry wash to port turn into “Hurricane Gulch” in late afternoon?)

The so called seaman-like and neighborly thing to do is to choose a spot on the outer edge of the anchorage, preferably downwind, at least four or five boat lengths away from anybody - assuming that doesn’t put you in the front row of tables at a local beach palapa. And always remember that what is downwind when you drop the hook will probably be
upwind just about the time you climb into your bunk.

And keep in mind that all these other boats were here first, maybe for days or weeks, and are well dug in, perhaps having weathered a couple chubascos. The last thing they want to do is move because of you, innocent or not. Here’s how to figure out if you’ll fit into a mid-pack hole without freaking out those nearby, or crews already on the beach watching as they smugly work on their third icy Pacifico.

1. Where to anchor:

So, for whatever reason, you decide to anchor in the middle of the crowd. And hopefully there seems to be a large enough “hole” for you to safely squeeze in… you think. It appears to be wide enough for you to swing around, if you can just anchor in the right spot for your boat to end up swinging in the middle of the “hole.”

The well-known secret to positioning your boat safely in a hole is to place your anchor in the optimum center relative to where the other boats’ anchors are… not where the boats themselves are. (See figure 1.)

Like this: Pre-select a specific drop spot centered two or three boat lengths aft of the two boats anchored at the upwind top of your hole. (If there’s only one boat at the top of the hole, your spot should be about the same couple of lengths aft, but off to the side that offers you the most room to swing.) This is where you will drop and set the hook and then lay out appropriate scope of 4 or 5 to 1 relative to the depth. If we’re saying this spot is 20’ deep, then figure on about 80’ to 100’ of scope. Can you visualize that amount placing your boat safely in the middle of the hole you’ve just chosen? (It would be a perfect world if everyone set out the same amount of scope in an anchorage. They don’t,
so don’t worry too much about it initially.)

Now imagine what each boat will do as the wind does a 360 and you all swing around your respective anchors. If in this visualization it seems like your wind vane could end
up having a torrid affair with another’s bowsprit, or that you might be playing bumper cars all night long… you will obviously want to adjust your pre-planned drop spot. Or find a bigger hole.

2. How to drop the anchor:

The simplest way to nail this optimum drop spot is by s-l-o-w-l-y entering from
downwind into the “bottom” of your chosen “hole” area. Motor upwind towards your now selected spot half way between, and a couple boat lengths aft of, the two boats
that are swinging at the top of your “hole.”

Put the engine in neutral as you approach, having previously let out enough chain for the anchor to be aweigh, barely awash, ready to go. The idea is to come to a stop right over your chosen spot. Sometimes a little reverse will help here

As the boat, now idling in reverse, begins to drift backwards, carefully lower your hook to just barely touch the bottom. This assures that as you fall back laying out chain, the anchor shank will fall back too, pointing back towards you, with the flukes ready to dig in. (Of course you have noted the depth here and are checking the chain markers as they go by, being sure not to let the chain haphazardly fall down into a pile on top of the anchor, tangling the shank and wrapping around a fluke, insuring that it will never set correctly… right? Right?!)

Keep slowly backing down, paying out just enough chain to keep it somewhat taut and in a straight line without dragging the anchor. (I do this by hand feel. If your boat and gear is too big for this, just see that the chain is paying out evenly downwind from the point where you carefully lowered it, occasionally snubbing to keep it straight and comparatively taut, and to help keep the stern from wandering.)

3. How to set the anchor:

You’re in about 20’ of water. With the engine still idling in reverse, allow about 50’ or 60’ of chain to evenly run out… and now snub it. The chain will begin to straighten, get taut and shudder a bit before the anchor digs in and the boat stops. Line up a nearby boat with a point ashore. Get a bearing. Are you dragging? The point here is to keep your engine in reverse... slow... just enough to keep going backwards and allow any breeze and boat weight to straighten out the chain and smoothly set the anchor.

After the boat’s stopped, but still in reverse gear, release the chain and again let out another 30’ or 40.’ Snub it again and wait until the chain gets taut with the boat stopped again and holding. Now slowly and steadily take the RPMs up to what would be a good amount of reverse thrust. (With my little 22’ Falmouth Cutter’s one-lung Yanmar and threeblade prop, 2000 RPM is adequate. However, with many of today’s electronically-enhanced second-home-floating-condoturbo- powered-recreational-vessels… you be the judge.)

Again, check your bearings and see if you are dragging. This extra thrust is vital to insure that the anchor is really well dug in. If you start to drag and continue dragging – stop, haul in your chain, check that the anchor isn’t fouled, move slowly back up to your original spot, and repeat the process. (Note: You want the anchor to dig in as close to your original drop spot as possible, or you might end up off-center and swinging too close to the bottom of the hole.)

Don’t feel bad if it doesn’t work the first time. The bottom could be something that makes it difficult to stick: grass, shale, big pebbles, rock an inch under sand - whatever.
Keep at it. And don’t rush it.

4. How to lay out scope:

Now you have completed the second setting out of chain, backed down stoutly and are well secured to the bottom. It’s time now to lay out any remaining appropriate amount of scope relative to the depth and positions of the other boats. And then I strongly suggest that for the next hour, while you are straightening up the boat and getting your act together, that you carefully observe how your boat is riding to the anchor vis-à-vis the boats around you…especially if the wind is shifting. You might have to adjust
your scope to better mirror those around you. You should now be lying in the middle of your “hole.” As such, this particular anchor spot is the best and safest spot relative to the anchor positions of the two boats ahead and those behind and around you. And you will still remain safely separated when the wind and/or current swings all of you in circles. For instance, theoretically, if the wind does a 180, you should still be positioned about
in the center of your hole.

(Note: I rarely use less than 5 to 1, and often if there’s room, 6, 7 or 8 to 1 scope. It may be all quiet and calm now… but who knows from later? The more weight of chain that is laid out, the less chance of its raising off the bottom under pressure and lifting the anchor’s shank. Once that happens the flukes can loosen and you’re liable to drag.)

So there it is. Simple. Pick the right spot. Drop the hook smoothly. Set it carefully. Dig it in solidly. Lay out some scope. Go have a beer.

I hope to see you somewhere down the cruiser path. I’ll be the grumpy old fart way out at the edge of the anchorage wishing that he had refrigeration. Please stay far away… unless you bring a cold beer. Or else have decided to finally return my shovel. I haven’t been able to make a decent sand castle in 70 years.