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Anchoring on a bareboat
yacht charter involves such skills as picking a good spot
away from coral bommies and other underwater hazards... knowing
the water's depth... how much the tide will rise and fall...
and the contour and type of bottom (that is, coral or sand);
and knowing what the weather is going to do... Read and understand
this section and you'll anchor your bareboat without problems.
Picking a good place to anchor
on a bareboat
charter
To know where to anchor, you need to familiarize yourself
with a chart of the area. If you are organizing a yacht charter
around the Whitsunday Islands, the area's bible is "100
Magic Miles" written by David Colfelt... If you
are taking bareboat
sailing holidays between Bundaberg (Fraser Island) and
Tweed Heads (Northern NSW) your reference is "Beacon
to Beacon" by Ken Brown and George Daniels...
From your chart, you will be able to determine the water depth
and the type of bottom to find a suitable anchorage.
For comfort, you want to find an anchorage protected from
the prevailing forecast wind and wave direction. For safety,
look for
- Enough depth (4 metres) to avoid the danger of grounding
your bareboat but not so much depth (11 metres) that
your anchor can breakout.
- Sufficient room for your bareboat to swing in all
directions.
- A quiet location out of any channel.
- A location protected from waves and strong winds.
Finding the lee
Very few bare boat anchorages are protected in all wind directions,
so your first step is to note the current wind direction and
review the coastal
waters forecast available on your VHF radio.
A good, protected anchorage for a bareboat
charter yacht is in the lee of the wind -
that is, the adjacent land blocks the force of the wind and
waves. If the forecast is for strong, southeasterly breezes,
for example, you want to look for bareboat anchorages to the
north west of an island or land mass.
Alongside a lee shore (shore facing the oncoming
wind and waves) is the most dangerous place for an anchored
boat. If the boat anchor slips at all, you may find
your bareboat getting washed up onto the same sandy beach
you were sunbathing on earlier...or worse. Anchoring along
a lee shore is like standing in the middle of a road - you
may be safe for awhile, but your odds aren't so good. And
always remember...and this is the tricky part... that if you
suddenly face a 180-degree wind shift, your nice, protected
anchorage can quickly become the lee shore.
Watch your depth and avoid underwater
hazards
Because charts indicate the water depth at mean
low water (low tide), picking a spot that will be deep
enough for your boat should be easy.
No boat anchor works well in rocks, so you definitely want
to avoid them. Nothing is worse than getting your anchor so
stuck on an object that you have to go swimming or even cut
it away.
Fortunately, in places like the Whitsunday's, public moorings are being placed at popular anchorages. Because tying your
bareboat up to a mooring buoy is infinitely easier than dropping
the hook, life is now much easier at a number of popular Whitsunday
anchorages.
Dropping an anchor onto a coral reef causes significant
damage to this priceless feature of our tropical oceans...
don't do it... it's illegal.
Getting ready to anchor your bareboat
The key to anchoring is waiting
to drop the anchor until your bareboat is dead in the water
and just beginning to drift backward ... similar to picking
up a mooring. Keep in mind that the easiest way to go backward
on a sailing
yacht or motor yacht is under power - but make certain
before you start any manoeuvring that your tender has been
brought up short so the rope can't foul the propeller.
Approaching your bareboat anchorage
Always approach your anchorage against the wind or tide whichever
is the stronger. (Note the direction other boats are facing
and approach from that direction).
- Have a crew member forward, wearing Polarised sunglasses,
and looking for reef. Coral bommies can appear suddenly
from deep water, and you'll often find isolated coral heads
(bommies) outside the main reef line. The usual colour from
above the water is yellow/brown. A coral reef is best
seen with Polarised sunglasses at low tide
- Approach your anchorage from several boat lengths to
leeward so that you are not looking into the sun. It
will be hard to see the reef if you are looking into the
sun because of the sun's reflection on the water...if you
are, go out again and approach from a different direction.
If necessary do a slow circle around the spot you intend
anchoring to check - and then approach your anchorage with
your bow of your bareboat into the wind and tide.
After 3.30pm reef areas become difficult to see as the sun
becomes too low to show the difference in colour between
shallow and deep water.
- Slow your bareboat down and stop right over your desired
anchoring point. This spot isn't where the boat will
sit; it's where the boat anchor goes....your boat will lie
downwind (or down current) of this position. As the
wind or current shifts, your boat swings around your anchorage
(hopefully without dislodging the anchor) in a 360-degree
circle.
- Give the signal. The key to anchoring is waiting
to drop the anchor just as the boat is starting to go backward.
Because the best judge of when this happens is the skipper,
the crew on the bow waits until told to "drop
anchor".
the lens on the left is polarised,
the right lens isn't...

Remember that it is usually a charter requirement that you
are anchored or moored by 4.00 pm... Your vessel is not covered
by insurance if you are underway after 4.00 pm unless it is
with the express permission of your charter company. You may
leave your anchorage anytime after sunrise.
How to anchor your bareboat
Tie the tender close to your
bareboat so its painter (towing rope) cannot get caught around
the propeller, then proceed slowly and with care.
Your depth sounder should be reading 4-11 metres of water,
and the position you've chosen to anchor should allow you
to swing a full 360 degrees (with approximately 35-40 metres
of anchor chain out) without hitting coral or any other
obstruction. Once in position your vessel should be stationary
before the anchor is lowered to the bottom. (Motor/s out
of gear and idling).
The anchor winch operates on your 'domestic' batteries and
uses a lot of battery power, so select your anchoring position
carefully, you only want to drop your anchor once...
dropping and pulling your anchor up repeatedly in
a short space of time, will considerably reduce your battery
charge...and pulling the anchor chain up by hand is a lot
of hard work.
While the following can change from bareboat to bareboat,
it is a procedure commonly followed when bareboat
chartering -
-
Remove
the locking pin over the anchor chain...then release
the pawl at the base of the winch, use the foot switch to
apply power to the winch if necessary (if your boat doesn't
have an electric foot switch to run out chain, you will
do so manually).
Using the foot switch, run out a small amount of anchor
chain, then manually lift the anchor clear of the anchor
roller and lower (letting the cable roll over the anchor
roller).
- Then using the foot switch slowly let out approximately
three quarters of the amount of anchor chain you intend
to drop (say 30 metres)...you must let go carefully
and reasonably slowly, so that your anchor is not buried
under a heap of chain, which might tangle.
- Let the wind or current take your bareboat backward
while laying out anchor chain until the chain goes taut
and the anchor sets. (If necessary use your engine to
get the vessel moving slowly astern...but first check your
bareboat tender is tied up short.)
- Gradually release more anchor chain until the required
amount of chain is let out, at least 40 metres.
- Then using the foot switch slowly let out approximately
three quarters of the amount of anchor chain you intend
to drop (say 30 metres)...you must let go carefully
and reasonably slowly, so that your anchor is not buried
under a heap of chain, which might tangle.
- Once you are sure that your anchor has bitten in, use
the snubbing line already fixed to the bollard or cleat
to secure the chain...then let out chain until the snubbing
line takes up on the bollard or cleat. Your anchor winch
is not made to take the strain of the your bareboat at anchor.
The
rope snubbing line is tied off with the 'grab claw' attached
is used to take the weight off the anchor chain and winch.
This snubbing line not only takes the load off the anchor
winch, but because it runs back over the bow roller it also
isolates your bareboat from the sound of the anchor chain
rumbling over itself or scraping over a rock bottom.
- With the snubbing line taking the strain... release
more anchor chain from the locker, and then use the illustrated
'tug-boat' hitch to secure the chain to the bollard or cleat.
Your
anchor rope or anchor chain cable should never be made
fast in a way, which could tighten and be difficult to
let go. The 'tug-boat' hitch shown is the correct way,
and is safe and easy to undo, especially with chain.
The anchor chain is turned around the bollard. A length
of chain is passed under the standing part and then looped
back over the top of the bollard.
- Finally, allow your boat anchor to set as the vessel swings
into the wind and current...and unless wind and current
is strong your chain should now be hanging vertically into
the water.
A rough guide to determine if you are correctly anchored
is that your bareboat should be 3-4 boat lengths from the
position you first dropped the anchor. The distance from the
point where you have dropped the anchor to your boat, is also
the radius of your swing as the wind or tide moves your boat
around. You may move in full circle, so it is important
to make sure there is no shallow water, reef or bommie within
the circle of your swing.
The circle of your swing

Allow room for your boat to swing around the anchor. |
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Avoid crowded
anchorages, where you're restricted in the amount of
scope you can let out. In a high wind, one of these
neighbouring boats may drag its anchor - possibly into
your boat!
A boat at anchor swings with the winds and current,
so make sure that your boat is free to swing in a circle
around the anchor...Your radius of swing is approximately
80% of the scope out. i.e. If you have 40 metres of
chain out your swing will be about 32 metres.
Another vessel within your swing radius, provided
it is 3-4 boat lengths away,...should not present a
problem, but be aware that a motor cruiser and catamaran
swing to the wind... while a 'keeled' yacht swings to
the current. |
If you start swinging too close to another boat:
Some bareboats "sail" around quite a bit under anchor,
powered by the force of the wind on the mast and hull. You
can't do much to prevent this movement. But if you're swinging
too close to another boat, either due to this "sailing"
or a shift in the wind, someone has to move... Conventional
etiquette says the boat that anchored last has to move, but
if no one is aboard the other boat, then you just pulled the
short straw.
Two
sets of transits should be taken after about 15 minutes when
your boat has settled down to her anchor, each one at approximately
right angles to the other.
This will help you decide if your bareboat is dragging in
any direction. Transits do not require the use of any instruments
and only involve sighting of two shore objects, well spaced,
which are in alignment when the boat is in her correct position.
Any shore objects can be used...an isolated rock, a sandy
beach or an island in line with a distant prominent hill are
typical. The front object should be fairly close to the boat
and the far object well removed. The farther the two objects
are spaced apart, the quicker they will indicate any dragging
of the anchor.
The
dotted line boat shows how these marks would 'open' if she
has dragged. Note: In gusts of strong wind there would be
a bit of give and take causing the marks to shift in and out
of line a small amount.
Check your bareboat anchorage position again after 20-30
minutes... be certain your boat anchor is not dragging.
It is a little more difficult at night if you are tucked
away in some remote bay where there are no lights, but except
on the darkest of moonless nights, there will usually be something
on the shoreline and something on the skyline which can be
aligned as a reference point. As your bareboat swings with
wind and tide... keep track of your position relative to other
boats in the anchorage.
Don't use stars, moon and other heavenly bodies as transit
objects because they move with the earth's rotation.
If you are being affected by strong wind, tides or in a
storm, if you are not in a protected anchorage, let out more
chain as this improves holding. But don't let out so much
anchor chain, that you will end up on the beach or against
another vessel... If you have a second boat anchor, you may
want to set it (see "Doubling up: two anchors,"
later in this section) if you get caught out on your bareboat
charter in really nasty weather.
Currents and coral
It is worth remembering that you will escape the strongest
currents in mid channel or in open water. If you stand on
a high hill you will clearly see how the currents run fastest
close to the islands, and this is also where you will expect
to find fringing coral. The current or tide also flows fastest
during the middle of the tide.
Your chart marks areas of coral - treat these as a guide
or indication. Do not attempt to take your bareboat into areas
of coral unless you can see the bottom clearly. Coral can
be seen best when the sun is directly overhead, and it is
a clear and calm day... Polarised sunglasses help considerably,
if the chart shows you are approaching an area of coral and
visibility is poor, give it a wide berth...plan your daily
trips so that you arrive in areas where there is coral reef
at low tide... when the reef is easily seen.
Digging in for awhile
You can check that your bareboat
anchor is set and holding in a number of ways:
- By holding the anchor rode (chain) with your hand,
you can sometimes feel the boat anchor bounce over the bottom.
When the anchor digs in, the bouncing stops, and you
can feel the chain stretch and contract as the boat surges.
- With the bareboat idling in reverse, you may be able
to see the bow dip when the flukes of the anchor take a
grip on the bottom - but before doing this secure the
anchor chain on the bollard or cleat so as not to damage
the anchor windlass.

If you feel jerking motions, your boat anchor is dragging
along the bottom.
If your boat anchor keeps dragging, you can try any of the
following techniques to get the anchor to set:
- Let out more scope. Your boat anchor is probably
skipping along the bottom, and with more scope, the anchor
will lay horizontal and can dig in.
- Rev the engine of your bareboat in reverse
to try to set the anchor - If you keep dragging, you
may have to pick up your anchor and try again.
- It could also be that the flukes have tangled
in the chain.
When your senses tell you that the boat anchor is holding,
try to confirm that by watching landmarks or a range. By sighting
through two objects, you can establish a line sight and watch
your position to ensure that you're not dragging.
Your bareboat swinging to wind
or tide
In many anchorages there will be a strong movement of tide
which may swing your boat on her rode through at least 180
degrees every six hours or so. Shifting wind conditions may
do the same thing.
Whatever the cause, the effects of swinging back and forth
in opposite directions will be to loosen the boat anchor and
risk pulling it out of the seabed. If this happens, the chances
are it will grip again in the opposite direction...but there
is always the risk that it may not bed down firmly and your
bareboat will drag.
This is why it is important to have sufficient length and
catenary (sag) in the rode... because if your bareboat is
able to move freely, the load on the line will be comparatively
slight... Under normal conditions with 40 metres of chain
out your bareboat will only exert a load of about 200 lb.
(80 kg) at the boat anchor.
At anchor your bareboat keeps up a series of swings and
surges to and fro. At the turn of the tide the cable slackens
and is dragged over the seabed before pulling from the opposite
direction, and at every sudden change of wind the direction
of the pull is altered. Because your anchor line is chain
it will rumble and clank over the sea floor each time you
change direction and it is easy to imagine that the boat anchor
is dragging... and perhaps it is.
To check if you are dragging...the best way is to go and
look...if you are dragging you will see and feel the chain
tighten as the strain comes on the anchor, then it drags with
a rumble, whereupon it goes slack, then tightens and rumbles
again and so on... This sequence can also happen if your
boat has swung at the turn of the tide and is taking up slack,
so don't be fooled. Place a hand on the chain and feel
the tension and the rumble.
The alarming rumbles heard while anchored at night are usually
caused by the chain dragging over itself at the turn of the
tide. At 1... the boat is lying to the flood. At 2... the ebb
is carrying her downstream over her anchor and the chain is
rumbling. At 3... she is riding to the ebb and quiet again.
If wind and tide are in opposition your boat may shear around
and rumble half the night...use a rope snubbing line
and you will almost eliminate this noise...you
will be shown how to secure this snubbing line during your
bareboat briefing.
Other anchoring methods
This section covers the more
advanced methods you may need to leave your boat secure. These
methods would almost never be used when bareboating, the only
possibility would be if sudden and extreme weather conditions
developed so quickly you couldn't get to an 'all weather'
anchorage. So if you need to get creative and use two anchors
we illustrate the methods...you would only do this under guidance
from your charter operator. Or you may find that you need
to tie up with your stern close to the shore... If you have
a charter
yacht in the Whitsundays you have to use this method at
Palm Bay.
Doubling
up: two anchors

For increased security from dragging, two anchors are
better than one. |
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Mooring the
boat with two anchors can help decrease dragging and
swinging. The most common example is setting two anchors
in front of the boat so that when they dig in, the anchor
lines create an angle of about 45 degrees...
This method is good for really rough weather which
is coming from a fixed direction, because each anchor
takes about half the load of the boat's pull... A side
benefit is that you can use less scope for the same
holding power but keep in mind that the more scope,
the better for rough conditions.
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Setting double anchors is kind of tricky. The best way is
to set the first anchor normally and then send your tender
out with an anchor and rode to set the second one. Make sure
that the tail of the second anchor rode is securely fixed
to your anchor bollard first!


Anchoring at Palm Bay, Whitsunday's |
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Anchoring
a bareboat "stern-to"
Docking in the Mediterranean style enables you to tie
up with your stern (back end) close to the shore...when
the water is deep enough.
If no moorings are available and you must use your
anchor, simply pick your spot off the shore and then
drop your boat anchor the appropriate distance straight
out from shore... Then back the boat in slowly, as
you would in open water, until you get close to the
shore.
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Secure two stern lines (one from each corner of
the back end) to the shore securing to palm trees or your secondary
anchor well dug in - then adjust the tension of your bow
anchor so that you can't run aground. On a charter
yacht in the Whitsundays you will only anchor this way
at Palm Bay... and here you will tie up to a mooring and then
secure your stern line to the shore under the supervision
and direction of Palm Bay staff. 
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