Anchors Aweigh – A How To For Caribbean Sailing

Anchoring a boat securely is one of the most basic skills in boat handling. By anchoring poorly, not only are you endangering your boat, but also the other boats anchored nearby. By following these suggestions and techniques, you can feel confident that you will have safe, hassle-free anchoring.

The first step in anchoring is to pick an anchorage. Try to arrive at your anchorage relatively early enough in the afternoon. This allows you enough light to avoid any shoals or other hazards like rock/coral heads, fish nets or boats, ferries, freighters, mooring balls, crab pots and cables. By arriving early enough, you have extra time to go somewhere else before nightfall.

When choosing an anchorage, there are several things to consider. For instance, is the anchorage protected? A good anchorage offers protection from the current weather conditions and will also offer protection from the expected weather.

How good is the holding? Charts should indicate the type of bottom. Generally speaking, most anchors will hold well in sandy bottoms. Rock, coral and shale prevent anchors from digging in. If possible, avoid grassy bottoms, where it is very difficult to set the anchor.

What is the depth and tidal range? Enough depth is needed so that low tide does not present obstacles your boat might swing into and it is also important when determining scope. Finally, is there enough room? No matter where your boat is anchored, the largest possible swing range should be considered.

Once you have decided that the anchorage is the perfect spot to stop on your Caribbean sailing adventure, there are several steps to take before actually anchoring. Before doing anything else, work out a system of communication between the person at the helm and the crew member dropping the anchor. Remember that your engine will be running and therefore you will be unable to communicate verbally. Hand signals usually work best. Furl the sails and generally make the boat shipshape before entering the anchorage. Get the anchor ready to be dropped by disengaging the anchor from the bow rollers. This is done by using the remote control windlass (found in most Caribbean sailing charters) to lower the anchor about two to three feet. Finally, take a tour of the anchorage at very slow speed to get a sense of where you would like to be.

After your tour of the anchorage, pick your spot. As the newest arrival in an anchorage, you must anchor to keep clear of boats already at anchor. Allow for any change in wind direction. In normal conditions, if you are using all chain, a safe minimum anchor scope ratio is 5 to 1 (chain length to depth). In heavy weather, the scope ratio is 7 to 1. Depth is the depth of the water at high tide plus the height from the water line to the bow roller. Scope is the actual amount of anchor line (chain) paid out when the boat is safely anchored. Remember, putting out too little scope is one of the most common mistakes cruisers make when anchoring.

With the bow to the wind, slowly motor up to the desired spot. Stop the boat exactly where you wish the anchor to lay and take note of the depth. Remember that if you are chartering a catamaran such as the Baha King Cat, a cat offers less resistance to the water than a mono hull and thus takes more time to slow down than a mono hull such as the  Sun Odyssey 39i . Make sure the catamaran has completely stopped. You can keep a cat straight into the wind by using both engines at idle speed. Once your vessel has lost all forward movement, it is now time to drop and set the anchor. When the desired amount of scope has been let out, snub the chain and allow the wind to straighten out the boat. Once the boat is headed with the bow into the wind, gently put the engine into reverse and throttle at 1500 rpm’s for about 15-20 seconds. This should set the anchor and the anchor chain should start to straighten. If it vibrates or skips, let out more scope. An anchor that is set will not shake the chain.

When the anchor is firmly set, look around for reference points in relation to your boat. These can include other boats or fixed landmarks like a house, rock formation or tower. Over the next hour, relax in your cockpit and make sure those reference points are in the same place.