Anchoring a lost art?

Discussion in 'All Things Boats & Boating' started by Minusadegree, Aug 28, 2012.

  1. DCockey
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    DCockey Senior Member

    Anchoring is alive and well in Georgian Bay and North Channel in Ontario. In fact outside of a few large towns it's the only option for a cruising boat.
     
  2. Tynesider
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    Tynesider Junior Member

    “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

    ― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
     
  3. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member

    Really -- Ive never come across anything like that in the East. Except Singapore. Anchoring is what boats do when they stop, they have to anchor,-- it is how you make sure they are there when you return . To put any regulation on anchoring stems from a serious misunderstanding of what boats do.

    There was a big court case in Uk to find the difference between" no mooring" and anchoring. It needed a judge to sort it out.


    I think it was on the river Dart where the land owner insisted no mooring ( why what does that do anyway) but he meant no anchoring which is what boats do.

    Its like a parking brake on a car.
     
  4. viking north
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    viking north VINLAND

    Other than in the main navigational channels one can anchor anywhere in Atlantic Canada. Likewise you can row ashore and step on any beach without fear of trespassing. No one can own the water to low water mark and in some provinces there is public ownership for some distance above high water mark termed fishermans rights. I think it's sad that the well to do can bar the citizens of a country who supposidly own the country from either anchoring or walking upon a beach. I do understand there has to be some regulations to protect the well being of the area possibly similar to public park regulations.
     
  5. WestVanHan
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    WestVanHan Not a Senior Member

    In many places on the British Columbia coast,it is a foolish (5 to 15 knot currents),or a very expensive (coves and bays filled with old logging cables and logs) art.
     
  6. bntii
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    bntii Senior Member

    Another summer gone and I have been at anchor ONCE!
    Blasted busy short life...

    Who the hell moored this ship with such short scope.
     
  7. Grey Ghost
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    Grey Ghost Senior Member

    A treasure hunting trip for anchors...
     
  8. Petros
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    Petros Senior Member

    We were anchored in a small natural harbor on a Mediterranean island not far from Athens. The water was so clear and beautiful I thought I would do some snorkeling and look around at the rock formations and sea life. As I came back to the boat I noticed the bottom of the harbor, a very ancient natural harbor that likely has been used by mariners since before the beginning of recorded history. I was taken aback by the large tangle of anchors, chains, lines and other debris abandoned by their previous owners below our keel. Some were rather new looking, some were quite ancient. I was glad to see our own anchor was no where near most of the mess, and I can only imagine the frustration of countless boat owners at having to abandon their anchors that were hopelessly tangled in that mess.

    There might be a good reason people would rather pay for moorage rather than anchor in overused areas.
     
  9. sdowney717
    Joined: Nov 2010
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    sdowney717 Senior Member

    would it have been possible to dive deep and clear your line if you had dropped anchor in that mess? Or would you have had to cut your line free?

    In the York River off Yorktowne VA, we dropped anchor in about 60 foot of murky water.
    I have a 100 foot line 5/16 double braided nylon I could attach by tieing to the front of the anchor to trip it if it got stuck. Would that work you think? It is a Seachoice 60lb, a Danforth style type anchor. I certainly dont want to loose the line or the anchor.

    If I did that, would the trip line and the anchor line both drop into the anchor locker fine without it tangling?
     
  10. Petros
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    Petros Senior Member

    Yes, I think you could likely have cleared an anchor if you had scuba gear, and heavy steel cutters suitable for underwater use, perhaps an underwater torch cutter would have been useful too. There would be a certain amount of hazard to physically going down into the tangle too. IT just depends how badly it gets tangled, would be worse if you had to ride out a storm anchored there and it dragged through the mess. So it would depend what you have available on board, your skill (or bravery/foolishness) in diving into it. I say this as someone that used to do a lot of diving, including on wrecks. Not sure I would have attempted it, no anchor is worth risking getting a serious injury, or worse, while out on a cruise.

    Not not likely snorkeling gear would have been useful for going down that deep and working it free. If you had the second line on the other end for lifting it clear, and it was not too badly tangled, snorkeling gear would be useful to get a better look at it and perhaps assist in determining how pull on it at the correct angle to get it free. Or if you plan ahead, to get a good look at the bottom BEFORE you drop anchor in such anchorages. Some of those old chains and anchors were quite large and heavy, not easy to cut through, they appeared much bigger than one would usually see on a typical cruising yacht.

    The site of it made me consider carefully how I would anchor in popular anchorages, and how many "extra" anchors I would carry. On that trip I was on my uncle's boat, who was very familiar with the local conditions and we had no problems. He is also a very experienced and skilled diver.
     
  11. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member

    Yeah you can dive on it if-- you have a full bottle , you can dive , you have cutting gear,,--unlikey to have all that on board and finding a local diver that wants to do it for the money you want to pay is not easy.

    Best thing is bouy it and come back later with some gear or a mate if a fisherman hasnt nicked it.

    Best of all is carry spares --that what spares are for .

    But best ever is take extreme care where you anchor. Ive never come across anchoring grounds strewn with anchors.

    I never anchor deeper than the tide range plus my draught.
     
  12. rwatson
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    rwatson Senior Member

    I am trying to remember the name of the bay in New Zealand where it is impossible to anchor - it has a Glass Bottom.

    .... 3 feet of old beer bottles !
     
  13. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Nothing like my personal fish pond, which only has 24" of beer bottles.
     
  14. Petros
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    Petros Senior Member

    You can anchor in that with one of those really old pre-Roman era anchors, a really large rock with the hole through the center to attach the anchor line.:p
     

  15. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    Don't laugh. The anchor for my flat bottomed canoe is usually a rock I pick up onsite before launching, with a barrel hitch tightened down and topped off with a square knot.....
     
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