We asked the SetSail cruising correspondents to write about their experiences and techniques anchoring in adverse/challenging situations.

Setting the hook and keeping it set are two very important aspects of our new cruising life. When we learned to sail by crewing on racing boats in Annapolis, all we knew about the anchor was that it had to be taken off the bow and stowed below - or better yet, left on the dock before the race. When we chartered in the Caribbean for the first time, we would drop the anchor and dump a bunch of chain on top of it and hope that we settled out in the right spot. Now when we see charterers do the same thing, we know just what they are going through. We've come a long way, baby.

Zia's Ground Tackle

Our primary ground tackle consists of a 66 pound Spade anchor with 225 feet of 10MM chain. The bitter end of the chain is secured in the anchor locker with a piece of line that can be cut if we have to dump the whole mess and run for it. We also carry two fortress danforth style anchors: one is about 25 pounds and one is about 50 pounds. Both are aluminum and can be disassembled with a wrench. We have two 200-foot nylon rodes for deploying the fortress anchors.

Our anchoring procedure has evolved into a well honed operation that usually gets the job done. We are always on the lookout for new techniques and tricks with the hope that our anchoring skills will continue to evolve.

Pick the Spot

Picking the spot actually starts with a chart and a cruising guide for us. Once we decide where we want to be, we look for all the info that we can find on the area, including proximity to town, holding, ferry wash, rocks and anything else. Once in the area, we will cruise around the anchorage to get a feel for the place and wave at the neighbors. We look at depths and bottoms if possible, and we try hard to get ourselves in a spot that will offer 360-degree swinging. On Zia Christy is the recognized master at picking the spot. She always seems to get us in a good spot even if there is only a small patch of sand as a target, whereas I am often, shall we say, surprised at where we end up when I pick the spot.

The Drop

Once we decide on the spot, we calculate the scope at 5 to 1 if possible, and approach the spot where we want to drop the anchor upwind. We stop the boat and begin making progress backwards before we drop the hook. We use differential engine power to keep the boat pointed into the wind while backing up and laying out chain. We have a windlass control both at the helm and on the bow and generally the helmsperson drops the anchor. Then the bowperson signals with a closed fist to stop the chain going out at the predetermined rode length. We wait breathlessly for a good solid hook.

Backing Down

It is almost as fun as catching a fish when the anchor digs deep and the boats swings directly into the wind - it makes you smile inside and sheds the worry about what kind of bottom you are dealing with. Once we have a decent hook, we let out more scope if we can, and back down to dig the anchor in. The backing down operation is all about the bottom. If it is good sand, we will run both engines up to full blast to set it nice and deep. If it is soft mud, we back down less aggressively and as soon as we see a bit of dragging, we stop backing down. If at first it doesn't set, try try again. And again. And again if you have to. It is always painful when the anchor starts to hop and skip across the bottom and you realize that you have to start the process over. But it is some irrefutable law of nature that if you settle for a poor set on your anchor, it will blow stink that night around 2AM. After we are satisfied with the set, we adjust the scope to as much as we can get away with and attach the bridle. Our bridle is twice the length of the beam at 50 feet. We have a spinnaker halyard snap shackle that hooks into the chain so that the bridle will carry the weight of the boat, not the windlass. The spin shackle allows us to unshackle the bridle under pressure, which comes in handy when you need to let out more scope in a blow.

Diving the Anchor - and then perhaps a cold one…

Whenever it is possible, i.e. warm enough and clear enough, I love to do this. I can see exactly what the bottom is like and where potential problems might be. I will often swim around the area and look at other anchors or bottom features. If we need a second anchor, I can swim it out and place it exactly where I want it. I can tow the smaller Fortress pretty easily. I can also dive down to retrieve it if it is not too deep. This is a nice way to relax and shake off the tensions of anchoring, and I am always on the lookout for a sand dollar or two.

Diving the anchor.

While cruising Sardinia and Corsica we have had a couple of noteworthy anchoring experiences.

We sailed from Bonifacio, Corsica for Porto Cervo, Sardinia one day ahead of a forecast mistral. The mistral in the Med is a strong wind that comes whistling down from the Pyrenees and blows up some big seas. They usually last 3 days or so. We got to Porto Cervo and found a nice spot with protection from the expected direction of the blow. We set our first anchor and then decided to set a second one about level with the main anchor off to the port side a bit. When the blow started, we were glad to have the second anchor out.

Hanging on two anchors.

On the second night we saw gusts into the 50s and didn't get a lot of sleep. We were listening for the anchor alarm, fully clothed and ready to dash out if we started dragging. We made it through to the next morning and in a lull, we decided to set "Mr. Big," our 50-pound fortress off of the starboard side, so that we would have 3 anchors in a row holding us against the Mistral.

Mr. Big - our 50 pound Fortress.

Of course after setting Mr. Big, things calmed down a bit, but we still slept much better that night. In the height of the storm when we had the two anchors out I promised myself that I would swim down and kiss them if they held. And so I did.

Mistral in Porto Cervo, Sardinia

We had a real anchor drill in Porto Conte, Sardinia where we tried to anchor in 45 feet of water in sandy gravel and weed. This is deeper than we usually anchor but the area is very steep-to and the shallow sandy patches are too close to shore. But there is a famous cavern, Grotto Nettuno, that we really wanted to see so we set about getting ourselves anchored. It took us six tries to finally get a good hook and we had to use all 225 feet of chain each time. We would get a decent hook but it would drag on the backdown. When we hauled it up again it was clotted with thick mushy weeds. On the sixth try we finally spotted a bit of sand and hit the bullseye. We went easy on the backing down and decided that we would visit the cave but move to a better anchorage for the evening. Another reason not to stay was that the beach that we landed on was so choked with nasty jellyfish that we could barely get ashore without being stung.

Jellyfish infest the beach in Porto Conte, Sardinia

A couple of other anchoring techniques that we use are a second anchor shackled to the main anchor chain about 15 feet or so from the main anchor. We got this nugget of wisdom from the Dashews' Cruising Encyclopedia and it has worked very well for us. The second anchor will serve as an anchor in itself as well as helping to hold the primary anchor down. We have a snap shackle that allows for a quick deployment of this method and we use it pretty often. We also set an anchor alarm if we feel the need. This is a feature of most GPSs that will ring an alarm if the boat strays from a preset radius. Even if it is just a wind or tide shift, I don't mind the alarm waking me up so I can take a look around. Since we have so much riding on our anchor, as every cruiser does, we give it our best effort, and we don't stop until we have done the very best that we can do.