Anchoring, Observer Etiquette

I am writing this blog post because no one attempting to anchor should have to listen, as we did this past week, to someone yelling at them they are incompetent, yelling we don’t know what we are doing so we should go away and anchor elsewhere, that we are using the wrong anchor, we are too close when the wind swings you will hit us.  On top of which they kept blowing a very loud air horn in hopes we would go away and in the end called the Harbormaster who agreed we were not too close and were not a hazard to the boat in question.

I will admit this one incident was rather extreme and not our first incident this summer with this type of behavior directed at us or someone who has just entered the anchorage.  I have occasionally in years past encountered this behavior but not as frequently or as venomous as this summer.  So in hopes of starting a conversation about etiquette when observing other boats anchoring I have published this post.

We all know that setting an anchor securely is a skill that takes practice.  The more you anchor the better feel you will have for how well set your anchor is.  Some bottom materials hold an anchor better than others, some even require more than one attempt before an anchor holds securely.

It doesn’t matter what type of anchor you use, it doesn’t matter how expensive or heavy your anchor is, it doesn’t matter what you may have seen in a fancy video from an anchor manufacturer, no one anchor works every time in every bottom!  Sometimes multiple attempts to anchor must be made that have nothing to do with amount of scope or anchor type or technique.  Sometimes anchors just don’t set for one reason or another that usually remains a mystery to all as the anchor is not visible due to depth, water clarity or color.

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There are incompetent Captains who don’t allow enough scope or have an anchor too small for their size vessel and these folks could use a bit of instruction.  However, to arbitrarily criticize someone loud enough for the whole anchorage to hear just because they pick up their anchor and try again is uncalled for.  If you have a problem with the way someone has anchored call them on the radio or get in your dink and go talk with them.  Arbitrarily yelling and screaming at another crew doesn’t do anyone any good.

This manner of improper behavior is uncalled for and more importantly some crews, especially those still learning how to anchor properly, may unwisely choose to leave a marginally set anchor in an effort to avoid the embarrassment of being criticized which could inevitably lead to the possibility of dragging at 0300 when the wind pipes up causing untold stress to themselves and those anchored around them.

Re-Anchoring is not a sign of incompetence. On the contrary, if a Captain feels his/her anchor is not set securely and decides to re-anchor it is a sign of seamanship!  Even when having to reset an anchor a third time or after finding the holding in one spot in an anchorage unsatisfactory moves on to another spot they are exercising good judgement and should not be criticized by anyone for doing so.

I would like to hear what you have to say about this subject so please post your comments here or on Facebook.