How to estimate a safe distance from other yachts
Sometimes in anchorages , things can be pretty busy , especially if its , July-August .
So what we do , if we want to be safe during the night , safely from other yachts ?
Generally depending on the wind and wave conditions we turn our yacht into the wind and leave a lot of chain. We want the chain to hold us during the night so we always stretch and hold every few meters . Picking an empty slot is the the trickiest of all cause , not all people follow the distance rules , for safety .
Keep away from the rocks
Being close to the rocks not only it doesn’t sound so inspiring , when comes to safety but sometimes , it can be really dangerous.
Not a few times , when boats , crashed to the rocks , cause the anchor didn’t hold , because too little , chain was underwater and the distance was already too close to the rocks . When we say close , i mean 5 meters. Once , i anchored next to a catamaran , with some German people on it , that they were , already very close to the rocks . 5 meters . I choose to be 50 meters away from the rocks leaving a space from both sides at 3-4 meters . So i started to drop the anchor 150 meters before the chosen spot leaving all the chain i have into the sea , except for the last 10 meters . I sure had 75 meters of chain in 3-4 water depth . I was with a 45 ft mono hull .
Because the catamaran was already very close to the rocks , my port – stern line was almost touching their starboard propeller . I tried to take more rope from my starboard line to make the angle wider in my port line , which it worked but the catamaran , had to move forward . So they did . But they didn’t have a lot of chain , inside in the water .
So when the wind , became stronger , the catamaran couldn’t hold in the end so they were re-anchoring for 2 hours , changing spots and angles , but with no luck.
Chain rules
- The anchor doesn’t hold you so much like the weight of the chain does.
- Drop as much as chain as you can ! Better outside , keeping you safe , than useless in the chain locker .
- Always drop the first 10 meters in the sea , before , start reversing , the yacht .
- Start reversing slowly and steady to have the chain stretched in the bottom of the sea and in the end , reverse with more power to test it .
- Always have 10-20 meters of rope after the chain .
- Use the snapper to absorb the pressure from the windlass
Anchor rules
- The anchor doesn’t hold you so much like the weight of the chain does. However , picking the proper anchor as a main anchor for your boat could be a headache .
I feel very good with my 25kg Delta as my main anchor . It goes with most of the types of the depths . It needs a lot of chain , though . - Always have , extra ropes in case you have anchors crossed with another yacht .
- Always drop the first 10 meters in the sea , before , start reversing , the yacht . Try to keep the yacht , straight for the anchor to be always up not turning to much .
- When you lift up the anchor , if you already start seeing it , slow down the electric windlash . This will provoke , the anchor to turn upside down .
