Oh My Anchor!
This was a windy season! Maybe we were always in the wrong spot at the wrong time this spring or that low pressure field over the Pacific was holding out for too long continuously sending winds over the Baja California to the Sea of Cortez, but this year we spent most of our time waiting for storms to pass at anchor and in marinas.
Last night was the fifth night after leaving San Diego three years ago that I was particularly glad we have a very good and oversized anchor. It might be a combination of the anchor, the holding ground we were anchoring in and Radu’s solid anchoring technique, but I sure was happy that the anchor didn’t drag. We had nestled ourselves into a spot which allowed only for a four to one scope (short amount of chain for us, we usually have 5:1 out) so we wouldn’t hit the reefs and rocks surrounding us on three sides. We had expected winds from the north from a storm raging not far from us, we wanted to hide from in this spot, but those didn’t materialize, instead south westerlies came into the bay at around 30 knots.
We both didn’t sleep, were worried, kept checking if the the anchor alarm was still on and were ready to turn on the engine to stay out of the rocks. The swell and waves were high and strong, the bow moving up and down too much to lift anchor. Anyway it’s not a good idea to move and re-anchor in the middle of the night but we had a track ready to another spot in a different bay, just in case. All night long we bounced up and down and leaned into the wind which was continually pulling on the anchor. And the anchor did not move! At first light int he morning, the wind had eased a bit and we turned on the engine and re-anchored to the East Bay. With the winds coming off shore here and plenty of swinging room, we went below for a long nap.
The first time we didn’t drag in a blow at anchor and we were in Mexico for three weeks in May 2016. After a particularly beautiful day at Bahia de los Muertos with it’s clear water and sandy beach, a Chubasco hit us around midnight. Localized storms are common in the Sea of Cortez as winds funnel through the mountain ranges of the Baja onto the other side manifesting in off shore storms. Radu checked the anchor every hour that night while we were hit with a constant 35 knots. The anchor didn’t move.
The second memorable night at anchor was about a couple weeks later in an anchorage north of La Paz, when, after a beautiful sunset with hundreds of manta rays flapping around the bay, we were hit by another Chubasco this time gaining force over an open bay and the Imagine bucking on the ensuing waves. Again the anchor held, but that experience led us to devise a better anchor snubber, a rope which holds a loop of chain and is tied to two bow cleats, so that the boat pulls on the rope and the cleats rather than on the chain and on the windlass.
The third storm event at anchor was at our first time in Bahía de los Ángeles. We had just arrived, the bay was beautifully calm and a neighboring boat told us that they had an Elefantes storm the night before and they don’t usually come in two. But they did this time. An hour later it was blowing 30 knots with gusts of forty-five knots. This localized storm runs down steep canyons sending an elephants trunk-like cloud out in front, as locals tell it. I personally have never seen the trunks only endured several of these storms at anchor. That Elefantes that day lasted twenty four hours and held us captive on the boat. The Imagine pointed into the gusts every two minutes and then relaxed on the anchor for about as long. The hot wind felt like someone holding a blow dryer in our faces, we put wet cloths on our face to give our lungs the benefit of moist, cool air. Again the anchor held us.
The forth event was just recently in Puerto Don Juan. This natural harbor is at the edge of Bahía de los Ángeles and considered a hurricane hole. NW winds barreled into the bay through a ‘window’ in the surrounding hills for four nights and most of the days. Although the water stayed flat without a swell, the Imagine sailed on the anchor and heeled while she turned into the gusts, pointed for a minute or two and then relaxed for a couple minutes only to move into the wind again. And with every one of the 40 knot gusts, she pulled on the anchor which didn’t budge an inch.
And yesterday marks five of our particularly stormy, memorable nights at anchor. Frankly, I expected to have to endure many storms at anchor when the sailing away was still a dream in our heads. I knew then, that I wanted an oversized anchor for the boat and we even have a storm anchor large enough to hold a 50′ boat stoved in a locker, which we haven’t use once. But did I know how much I would come to love and trust my anchor? I had no idea!
Calculated at one pound per foot of boat lenght (2 kilo per for every meter):
our Rocna 20 weighs 41 pounds and the Imagine is 37′ long.
After the anchor has set, Radu adds a snubber on the chain to prevent the movement of the boat to pull on the chain.
After a nice day at anchor and a walk on the beach it was blowing hard now – note the white boat (SV Imagine) on an orange spot painted solid by the movement of the boat!
This picture here and all others below were drawn by an ‘Anchor Alarm’ app we have on both our phones. The blue line is drawn with a finger at the distance we want the anchor alarm to sound.
After a day of pointing in the wind and easing and then pointing again making this crazy design, the wind finally stopped.
Finally without winds and little swell, we got a good night sleep.
Recording of moving lightly on anchor all day in light winds. Lovely!
Offshore winds came up after sunset extending us all the way on a 5:1 chain of 120 feet.
An easy night at anchor with light winds, the wind changing direction after sunrise.
High winds coming through the ‘window’ for four nights. We got off the boat twice during a little respite during a couple of days
Westerly winds blowing across the Baja. This night we saw wind gusts of 45 knots, no swell because of the protected bay.
We had come up from La Gringa that day and anchored in a picturesque spot next to the wayfarer’s shrine when after sunset winds from west came it and around 1100 built to 30 knots. We were on the extended chain all night in a steady blow of 35 knots surrounded by three rocks about 250 feet away. Not fun at all.
Another night of winds, only 20 knots off shore this time, after sunrise the winds stopped and let us bounce on the swell from the north so that we moved back to the West Bay as low Westerlies were predicted as so they were and brought only some swell.
Our ground tackle in numbers
Anchor
Our Rocna 20 anchor is only a little oversized. It’s recommended to calculate the anchor at 1 pound per foot of the boat, so for a 37’/11 meter boat at 40 lbs anchors just right. Designed in New Zealand as spade anchor with a roll bar, it has held so far at more than 90 anchorages and up to 45 miles per hour storms and it came up easily, even from a rock bottom.
Storm anchor
We also carry a very oversized Fortress 37 aluminum anchor as storm anchor (normally meant for 50′ boats), we stow in pieces in the bilge and we haven’t used yet, because the Rocna is so good. So far in the Sea of Cortez, we anchored in sand, only two anchorages were in rocks, but so far so good.
Chain
We have 277 feet of 5/16″ G4 chain and we put usually out 5:1 up to 7:1 in very windy conditions. We put the chain out with a windlass and it runs then past a chain stopper which stops the chain from running back and acts as a safety for the chain not to pull on the windlass. Our old windlass which came with the boat and broke on the dock, luckily there and not out at anchor. We found that it was broken in 3 parts because some former owner had let the boat and chain ride on the windlass without snubber or chain stop.
Snubber
It is best in windy or swell conditions to add a snubber to the chain after the anchor has set (or best practice is always, things can change very fast), which holds a loop in the chain and is attached to cleats on the fore deck. When the boat extends on the chain, it pulls on the snubber and the cleats instead of the windlass.
Anchor alarms
We set anchor one alarm on cellphone app every night at anchor. In storms we set two anchor alarms and devise an anchor watch to check the anchor and the position every hour or less.
Anchor buoy
We heard of people loosing their anchors because the shackle pin attaching the anchor to the chain got loose or broke; good to put a buoy on the anchor itself to be able to retrieve it, in case the chain breaks off. Also on a fast get away, the anchor and chain might be impossible to retrieve, so we have a rode (rope) spliced to the end of the chain in case we need to cut ourselves loose and a round red fender to attach to the chain to be able to retrieve both anchor and chain the next day.