Why Anchor?
There are many reasons for anchoring your boat:
- Emergencies.
- You are on an extended sailing trip.
- You love warm romantic evenings under the stars.
- Lunch in a gorgeous bay.
- The kids (yourself included) want to go swimming.
- Extreme hunger and your need to catch a snapper.
- You have butter, garlic, and mango and it would go really nice with a barbequed snapper.
- Just because.
Sometimes the “just because” in life is the best reason.
A Beneteau 41.1 Anchored
While we might be able to forgo lunch in the bay, as a responsible skipper you have to understand that emergencies do arise (often), and thus anchoring knowledge beyond “dropping the hook” is absolutely essential.
Those types of emergencies include:
- Medical needs.
- Gale force winds and waves that force you to hide behind shelter.
- Engine failure (in current flow it is even worse).
- Fog.
- Tired crew.
- Rigging failure.
Pure SkillWhile sailing in a race in Auckland, New Zealand, we were in a current so strong and winds so light that boats were being pushed sideways and backward rather than ahead. We drifted sideways through the finish gate with line honors while others who missed the gate had to set anchor to wait out the tide. Some call our win luck; we call it skill with local knowledge. |
Given the “whys” above, a “wise” sailor will carry at least two sets of anchors.
