Comments on: Anchoring bow and stern

By: Throw away your golf clubs, but put your range finder in your seabag | Southern California Sailing Charters

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:42:53 +0000

[...] Two Harbors, Cueva Valdez and others require anchoring bow and stern. We covered our procedures in a BLOG entry awhile [...]

By: Larry Pruitt

Larry Pruitt — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 05:50:02 +0000

Cap’t Dan,

Thanks once again for a new nugget of information. I’ll add this to the knowledge that you have already imparted to Karla and I. I have forwarded this article to my crew members that will be traveling to the BVI for our flotilla sail. It appears that we will have 1 or 2 anchorages on this trip and I want my crew to fully grasp the importance of a good hook set.

Larry Pruitt

By: Rafael Francke

Rafael Francke — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:24:44 +0000

To Capt. Dan

With pleasure and satisfaction I read your sailing blog.

It is nice to see Capt. Dan the leader of “Sail Channel Islands” a charter business is going the extra mile and supporting the sailing community.
Very nice write up about local anchoring, I am sure that some of your readers may make copies of your blog and hand it to newcomers to the area this weekend.

P.S. It was pleasures to safety inspect your vessels.
Keeps it going?

Rafael Francke FSO-VE
USCG-AUX

By: S. Dean

S. Dean — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:43:08 +0000

Dan — thank you for these ramblings, as you call them. this is one of the best yet and most instructive. Thanks to Dave, Chris and Dennis for their additions. I have printed these off and added them to my sailing log. As you all have said, you can never be too prepared. sdl

By: Dennis Dreith

Dennis Dreith — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:30:01 +0000

I agree with Chris. An anchor alarm is a must. Generally (when I remember to do so), I punch the anchor alarm on the GPS as soon as we drop the hook. Another really good idea (something I actually learned from Capt. Dan) that really works well (one hook or two) and really helps in keeping you in the know during a long night’s anchor watch is to rig an anchor buoy. When doing so, make sure the line connecting the buoy to the anchor is just a little longer than the depth that you are anchoring in (I have made this too short a number of times, resulting in the buoy ridding somewhere out of sight below the surface, making it utterly useless), but not so long (I suggest slightly less than the length of your boat) that you might foul the screw when pulling up the hook.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:06:09 +0000

One of the things that make anchoring around here so hard is that you cannot see the bottom if you are in the 20-30ft deep range. While this is fine on a completely calm night, I’d recommend that an anchor watch system be set up as well as any type of anchor alarm switched on if the winds come up in your Channel Islands anchorage.

By: Dave Lewis

Dave Lewis — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:05:45 +0000

Fluke Accident!
And be carefull when loading and unloading said anchor to/from dink. Many years ago wildst retrieving my stern tacke,
(I was using a Danforth as my stern hook), the fluke punctured one of the tubes in my infatable. I mean a HUGE hole, so I high tailed it back to the boat, first took the outboard off then got the tackle out. The hole was more than large enought to get my fist through it. Enjoy the Labor Day Weekend. And lay off the booz untill your safely at anchor or back in the slip.
Adios,
Dave