Caribbean Anchoring Styles

20/7/2010

Mary and I reckon we are quite slick on Sheer Tenacity ! First we check out the anchorage, select an anchoring position, check the depths, the swing radius, head to wind, drop the hook on a tickey, lay out a good 4-5 times depth scope, in a straight line, set the hook, attach the bridle, let it take up the slack , motor astern to re-check the anchor setting on the bridle …….all accomplished using well rehearsed hand signals. We then sit down smugly, open the anchoring beer, and wait for the applause!! Sadly, there’s always a deafening silence!

We have meantime, become admirers of the techniques of others! We have consolidated some of them into the following types:

1 ) The Dog Turd Droppers ( DTD’s)
2 )The French way
3 )The Ice breakers
4 )The German buoys
5 ) Bareboat Cat Clowns

The DTD’s sail under many National flags. They approach their final chosen spot, drop the anchor, with the entire chain right on top of the anchor ! That’s it. Job done! Invariably they have no idea of depths, swing radius, or whether rocks, reefs or neighbouring yachts could be a problem. The first time the wind pipes up, straightening out their chain, is usually marked by the signs of panic.

The French are very laid back , and their approach is often evidenced by sneaky jinking in and out, between closely anchored boats. Using this stealth approach, they creep right up behind some unsuspecting souls transom, drop the hook using a minimum of scope, pulling up a few metres from someone else’s bow. Setting the anchor is regarded as a waste of time, so its hardly surprising that we have seen more French boats drag than any other flag! Any suggestion from another cruiser that they might be a bit close, could earn one a single digit salute! The saving grace for the French, is that they CAN sail, and that they are often accompanied by lovely topless crewmembers, at far closer range than normal!

The Icebreakers come from Cape Horn , or the Baltic, arriving in big steel yachts, sprouting anchors all round. Disconcertingly, they tend to approach the anchorage downwind, dropping the hook on the run, sailing over it in a slight curve, before locking up the windlass at the required scope, allowing the forward momentum to straighten the chain, set the hook, and swing the boat around 180 degrees, to settle in with all the other boats. To their credit, we haven’t seen them make a mistake yet!

The Germans often seem to prefer buoys ( that’s as in mooring ! ) They will frequently commandeer a buoy, even if it is way too close to an anchored yacht. The principle of “he who anchors first has prior claim” does not apply. Their approach is that the buoy was there first, so “Youz mus Mooff!”, even if you have been anchored there for two weeks. This is an interesting debate! Does an unused buoy put down by a diver, or marina, in a designated public anchorage, have a prior claim to space in maritime law? I doubt it, unless that buoy is marked as “occupied " by a certain named boat. We had one such German yacht arrive , and pick up a buoy about 20mts off our beam. We had been anchored there for two weeks, and had let out an additional 10mts of chain during the previous days big blow.

Once he had picked up the buoy, he was uncomfortably close given the wind direction., and I wished to discuss this with the skipper. He however, rubberducked away as soon as he was tied up, leaving his attractive young wife on board . She chose this time to strip naked on the sugar scoop, and start neatening up her “bikini” line. Being a sensitive and discrete gentleman, I decided to leave her be until she had completed her bush clearing exercise This took a while, and kept delaying my approach. In fact, it took most of the day, by which time she had an extremely neat and well groomed bikini line. She was obviously so proud of it, that she started prancing around the deck, displaying her lovely body and clean new lines to the rest of the anchorage. Clearly, as Mary told me, she would not have minded in the least if I paddled over to discuss our proximity. Just as I was about to do so, the wind swung back, and the gap increased to 50 mts and safety. Damn!
The big mystery to me remains! Why would she spend so much time perfecting her bikini lines, and then not wear the bikini?

The last , most entertaining, and potentially most dangerous group, is the Bareboat Cat Clowns. They are often crewed by successful yuppies, and approach the task of anchoring by forgetting everything they must have learned to become successful achievers! Planning, organizing, delegating and controlling …. The very essence of business success! Gone in a flash! There are often 6 skippers on these cats, one for each corner, one to drive, and one on the windlass. They all issue instructions, nobody listens, and the cat roars backwards and forwards at full power, often trailing the anchor like an oversized fishing lure. It usually starts off with windlass man lowering the anchor, and another skipper suggesting going astern. The anchor has probably only dropped 1 metre , and they are already doing 5 knots astern. The anchor finally touches the seabed 50 mts later, but hasn't got a snowballs chance of holding, as there is still only 8 or 9 mts of chain out, and they are now approaching other boats, jetty’s, rocks etc ,at 7 knots ! More skipper commands from all corners, accompanied by “Its Dragging”, Not Holding etc” Their solution? Full speed ahead, up anchor and start all over . After two or three more failed attempts, they decide to try elsewhere , because the holdings obviously no good here!! Funny, I was about to suggest just that , in the hope that they would move well away from us!

However, we have just had a nasty squall roar through the Tyrrel Bay anchorage, gusting 35 -40, and despite all the interesting anchoring methods , only one boat has dragged…Surprise,surprise....... A 50ft luxury motor launch. It is currently impaled on the bowsprit of a big traditional sailing schooner, with the owner nowhere to be seen ! The 50 odd yachts, of all types and sizes, from all corners of the earth, have shown that their various techniques were OK , this time!