Anticipation

Cruising with intent to anchor changes the tenor of the endeavor. If a slip in a marina each night is the goal the number of decisions to be made each morning is lessened. Since it is best to plan for a good night’s sleep it is important to anticipate the characteristics of each anchorage before choosing one. 

Anchorages have specifics that set them aside from each other. Before considering them it is important to anticipate the weather: winds and waves, and the state of the tide and current at arrival time and then throughout the day. 

The most important consideration is the strength and direction of the wind. We listen to the weather radio and use online sources when available to prognosticate the conditions at the anchorage. The bane of a good night’s sleep is fetch. For the uninitiated fetch is the distance the wind blows over the water before it reaches the boat. The farther the wind travels and the more of it there is, the choppier the seas.

 

Anchorages vary in the protection they offer from winds of various directions. Few anchorages offer 360 degrees of protection; this often leads to compromises and judgment calls. In most cases, we get the overall protection correct but in true Murphy’s Law fashion, the best spot already has someone swinging on it or is fifty feet away from where we have just dropped our anchor. It is a bit like buyer’s remorse.

 

The nature of the bottom that the anchor will be asked to dig itself into is something we have less control over. Just to start, what the bottom is composed of. This is often revealed in tiny terse abbreviations on paper charts but less so the electronically translated ones. The hope is for dense, clay predominant mud with little or no vegetation. 

 

The final action in anchoring is to set the anchor. Once the anchor is on the bottom and most of the anchor chain is lowered, I give Charlotte the sign to reverse Carrie Rose. This is done gingerly at first otherwise there is a risk of pulling the anchor out and having to reset it. I am humbled by the amount of information to be gleaned about the state of the anchor 25 feet below and 100 feet out ahead by watching how the chain reacts to increasing power in reverse. It is reassuring to feel the anchor dig in. 

 

I can remember our first real anchorage. It was Government Bay in the Les Cheneaux archipelago on the southern shore of Lake Huron in Upper Peninsula Michigan. To say it went smoothly would be a lie. Even though this large bay provided multiple places to anchor, I could not make a decision. Once I did, at Charlotte’s urging, the anchor chain became jammed in the windless. It required a large screwdriver and a larger hammer to free it. 

 

This occurred repeatedly that day. It was frustrating enough to call the entire cruise off if we hadn’t been 500 miles from home! This “chain” of events continued for another decade until I finally replaced much of the anchoring gear. The hammer and screwdriver still reside in my anchoring bucket next to the helm as a reminder never to let my guard down.

 

I could go on but as with most activities we endeavor to do, we learn by our mistakes. Lately, and I am knocking on wood while I write this, we are able to enter an anchorage, make a quick assessment of the conditions, pick out a favorable location, and set the anchor successfully. 

 

Though there is always a sense of anticipation in the gut until the engine is turned off and we are sipping the afternoon’s espresso.    

 

Photo by Dave Jones