Setting the Anchor
Tonight, it was our turn to be the Committee boat. Winds were to be strong, but safe. That is, it would be a quick race for the participants.
Temperatures were to be comfortable, so everyone, myself included, dressed for a beautiful spring day.
We left the docks and headed for our anchor point. After passing the shelter of the marine, we had our first surprise. Although the land temperatures were pleasant, the temperature on the water was a bit cooler. On top of that, the 12-15 knot winds were making it cool enough that we all donned jackets.
When we reached our anchor spot, I slowed the boat down. Paul and Jeff dropped the anchor. I let the boat drift back as the boys put out 150′ of line. It didn’t hold. We put out more line and it didn’t seem to help.
We were drifting at about .1 – .3 knots. So we got the race started, then tried again. This time, after setting the anchor and putting out about 200′ of line, I motored in reverse to help set it. It didn’t work. We were still drifting, at about the same speed. Thinking it might just be the sideways movement of the boat, I set up the anchor alarm. Sure enough, we were drifting.
The winds were still strong, but like many such conditions, the boats weren’t necessarily moving quickly, so I shortened the race for the non-spin fleet.
Still drifting slowly, we now had to wait our position to get the times for the non-spin boats. Well, not exactly. Drifting as we were, we were moving further from the buoy, making it more difficult to see the sail numbers. So, rather than keeping stasis, I started the engine, moving slowly back to our original position, but slowly enough to not offer an advantage to of one boat over another.
I talked to the crew about putting out the second anchor, but it seems it was put in backwards. That is, the line was on top and the chain was on the bottom. So Paul untied the line and he and Jeff started pulling it all out to put back in correctly. After all that, we selected not to deploy it.
After the non-spin boats had passed, I moved quickly back to our drop point. This time, after dropping anchor and about 100′ of line and chain (Did I forget to mention that I have about 40′ of chain?), I put the boat in fast reverse. This time, the anchor held. Huzzah! We did not drift at all.
So we finished monitoring the race, recording all the times. Now my tired crew had to pull the anchor up one more time. They got the line all up and were working on the chain. But this time, the anchor wouldn’t budge. It held tight. They tried winching it out to no avail. So I put the boat in forward to free the anchor. This time it came out.
Moral of the story? Next time, we’ll put out all the chain and a minimal amount of line. Rather than letting the boat drift to set the anchor, I’ll out the boat in reverse with the engine to set it. And, when pulling it up, we’ll again use the engine to loosen the anchor.