Anchoring

[casampson]

Anyone out there have any tips on setting an anchor without a motor? Looked online and didn't find anything really helpful. Thanks!

[Jim Walsh]

Your anchor and rode should be laid out on deck so it will run freely.
You will have to determine whether the wind or tide will be dominant once anchored. If it is the wind you can reduce sail to a manageable size and drop the hook while sailing down wind. Once the anchor grabs, you drop your remaining sail/sails.
If the tide is dominant you do basically the same thing but have to determine the most advantageous point of sail which will result in the same end result. The stronger the wind or current the better your hook will set.
You need room to maneuver for a second try if an attempt fails so beware of a lee shore or other natural impediments which would restrict your ability to recover your ground tackle to make that second attempt.
A dry run can be helpful to determine how the wind or tide effect your specific chosen spot.

[John Stone]

Anyone out there have any tips on setting an anchor without a motor? Looked online and didn't find anything really helpful. Thanks!

I sailed my CD 36 for five years without an engine. Concur with Jim W's tips. Some additional considerations. I normally set the hook upwind when the current allows it. I typically have the anchor ready to go before I make the final run. By that I mean it's out of the chock and hanging vertical over the stem from the anchor roller. I use all chain so it's not flaked out on deck as it would be if mostly rope. I normally make a practice run and determine where I will stall the boat and let go the anchor. Then I circle back around. I make sure the deck is clear and all the lines and halyards are flaked out and ready to run free. If I have crew I discuss in detail how it's going to go down. I have crew explain back to me the plan. I drop the jib before coming up into the wind. I make sure the main sheet is lose and the boom free to move port and starboard. As the boat stalls I calmly walk forward and let the anchor go in a controlled manner. The bow will start to fall away from the wind. As soon as the anchor touches bottom (you can tell) I control the amount of chain running out so that it matches the drift of the boat. I'm paying out the chain--never let it run free. I snub off the chain around 2:1 to 3:1 scope. I wait till I feel the bow turn toward the wind and I know the anchor is grabbing. I go back to the cockpit and push the tiller opposite the direction I want to stern to go. I grab the boom and push it forward against the wind opposite the tiller. This causes the boat to start to sail backwards. Depending on how the boat responds I alternate the tiller to one side and then the other moving the boom opposite each time. This helps keep the bow pointed up wind and helps set the anchor. I ease more chain out and repeat till I have the scope I want.

If I have an extra person we ease the chain out at the same time we "sail the boat backwards" by alternating the boom and tiller.

Never had trouble with this technique. Don't recall ever failing to set the anchor this way. One of the advantages to setting the anchor under sail is you don't rush the setting like is often the case when backing down with an engine. The anchor has time to dig in. It's important though to control the fall of the anchor and prevent it from landing upside down. Also, important to control the fall of the chain. Pay it out. Don't dump it out in a pile next to, or worse, on top of the anchor.

Don't attempt this close to other boats. Always allow room for error. In the Caribbean, unless the conditions were perfect, I typically anchored further out and in deeper water than other boats. It provided maneuver room to safely anchor the boat without putting the Far Reach or another boat at risk.

It's a timeless sailing skill and greatly rewarding when employed.

[Kailua Kid]

The suggestions above are spot on. Either approach works. I prefer the upwind or up current drop, then fall back or sail back (pushing boom forward to back-wind the main) as I pay out chain or rode. I think this is an essential skill to practice and to master as part of basic seamanship. Eventually, we all will need to be proficient at deploying the anchor under sail and sailing off the anchor. Practicing both in calm -ish then moderate conditions in an open roadstead is a worthwhile exercise.

[casampson]

Thanks so much for this advice. This weekend my wife and will be celebrating our 42nd wedding anniversary, and I hope to get away for a day trip over to Bassett's Island in Pocasset. My wife also wants to make a trip to Black Beach in Falmouth, but I can't for the life of me figure out where that is. Anyway, if we do the day trip, it will require that we set the anchor, and I will put these techniques to the test for the first time.

Chris

[Sleepwalker]

Black Beach is next to Chapoquoit Beach just South of the entrance to W. Falmouth harbor.

https://www.savebuzzardsbay.org/places- ... ett-marsh/