Is the Bahamian moor dead?

[Kettlewell]

Mark's idea for the bridle with the ring and the extra tails is a good one.

[marujo.sortudo]

I use it all the time to tuck into creeks with reversing currents or corners of harbors. Great tool in the anchoring bag of tricks. If your second anchor is on nylon and can easily be unbent from your boat you've got multiple fairly easy options for removing any twist when you're ready to leave.

[AnchorageGuy]

I don't think anyone is saying it does not have it's uses. But I do believe that is not necessary to use it every time you anchor somewhere in the Bahamas, as the original poster suggested. Most of this comes from information in the various cruising guides rather than good practice. Many cruisers returning to the Bahamas have found that there are many times when it's just not needed. Chuck

[rognvald]

I have never successfully utilized the Bahamian Moor without creating a "Chinese twist" on my rodes. I have a winged keel and have tried every geometric alteration of this configuration known to the planet earth and have been unable to avoid line twisting, abrasion of the hull and, at worst, a sawing effect. Twice, while anchored on the Great Bahama Bank and another time in the Marquesas Keys in Florida, I was close to cutting a rode for safety as the weather deteriorated very quickly, and the waves built to a steep choppy mess as the boat danced around and then entangled dangerously in the rodes. If I were laying on one hook, I could have easily motored up to the anchor, pulled the hook and sailed away. It was a very uncomfortable feeling and a potentially dangerous situation for weaker or more inexperienced crews. We tend to anchor away from the crowds even at the expense of a little roll so space is never an issue. We also tend to use safe anchorages that are not necessarily marked as such on the charts or in the guidebooks but have equal protection to those designated as anchorages. I think with good ground tackle and adequate scope, one hook is enough and definitely safer. With an imperceptible reservation, yes . . . the Bahamian Moor is dead.

[Kettlewell]

Why were you using a Bahamian moor on the Great Bahama Bank? An anchorage with infinite swinging room, no reversing current, and great holding. No need for a Bahamian moor there.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Why were you using a Bahamian moor on the Great Bahama Bank? An anchorage with infinite swinging room, no reversing current, and great holding. No need for a Bahamian moor there.

Kettlewell,
You're absolutely correct, but it was well over 20 years ago and we were new to ocean cruising and read all the Bahama guidebooks that recommended using two anchors --even on the Bahama Bank. I chalk that one up to inexperience and insecurity. However, the anchoring situation in the Marquesas was rather recently and we used two anchors there since the "anchorage" was in the lee of Marquesas Key where the bottom was predominately thin sand over coral with a few good pockets and we worried if we only set one anchor and it dragged, it wouldn't reset. So, we found two good holes, fore and aft, and dropped the hooks. The strategy worked as we held well in the strong tidal current shifts from the Gulf to the Atlantic but when an unpredicted weather system developed, we had an exciting/enervating exit. Fortunately, the rodes were only twisted once.The moral of the story is an old one: experience is the best teacher. Good luck and good sailing.

[Kettlewell]

read all the Bahama guidebooks that recommended using two anchors --even on the Bahama Bank

People keep writing that, but I don't recall reading such a recommendation since I first went to the Bahamas in 1985. The oldest copy of the Yachtsman's Guide I have handy is 1994 and it says with regard to using two anchors: "The most common are when anchoring in a small basin where swinging room is limited or when anchoring in a tidal flow." In any case, I don't think people are writing here you must always use two anchors in a Bahamian moor, just that there are circumstances where the technique is valuable and safer. It isn't dead.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Why were you using a Bahamian moor on the Great Bahama Bank? An anchorage with infinite swinging room, no reversing current, and great holding. No need for a Bahamian moor there.

Kettlewell, there is a reversing current on the GBB and it flows generally from NE to SW on the tide. We experienced it every time we crossed the bank. This is also referenced in many guidebooks but I still have Meredith Field's "1989 Yachtman's Guide to the Bahamas" where she writes on page 78: "The tides on the banks flow in a northeast-southwest direction and are affected by the wind." Perhaps this is where there has been some confusion about using a Bahamian Moor when anchored on the bank. As an aside, we only anchored on the bank once and would never do it again. A far better strategy is to leave from the anchorage just northeast of Cat Cay (in 8-10 feet) and leave at 10 p.m. for a night crossing. This puts you at NW Channel light at daybreak for a shot to Chubb, Andros or Nassau before dark. Good luck and good sailing.

[Kettlewell]

You are correct, there is a reversing current on the bank, but it isn't all that strong, and if the wind picks up generally you lie to the wind direction. I don't think you really need a Bahamian moor as you have infinite room to roam around on one anchor, no matter what the wind and current do. I've anchored out there several times, and they have varied from magical to dangerous. There is nothing that can quite compare to a calm night anchored on the Bahama Banks in pure sand, crystal clear water, less than 20 feet deep, and no land or other boat in sight with nothing but the stars and Milky Way all around down to the horizon. On the other hand, when it starts to blow at 2 am and the seas pick up, it can be unpleasant.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

You are correct, there is a reversing current on the bank, but it isn't all that strong, and if the wind picks up generally you lie to the wind direction. I don't think you really need a Bahamian moor as you have infinite room to roam around on one anchor, no matter what the wind and current do. I've anchored out there several times, and they have varied from magical to dangerous. There is nothing that can quite compare to a calm night anchored on the Bahama Banks in pure sand, crystal clear water, less than 20 feet deep, and no land or other boat in sight with nothing but the stars and Milky Way all around down to the horizon. On the other hand, when it starts to blow at 2 am and the seas pick up, it can be unpleasant.

Hi, Kettlewell
I agree completely with your above assessment but would never anchor on the banks again, preferring a night passage. But, if it were a necessity, I would definitely lay on one hook. I did, however, find the reference to setting a Bahamian Moor on the banks and it comes from Matthew Wilson's "The Bahamas Cruising Guide" published in 1998. Wilson is a quite interesting man and his biography states in 1952 he sailed a 26 foot catamaran from England to Florida and since 1992 has returned to the Bahamas on both power and sail. He was the former officer in the British Army, director of the Wilderness foundation that pioneered safaris in Kenya and Africa and a member of the illustrious Explorers Club for his considerable accomplishments in sailing and land adventures. He writes on p. 134 "Anchoring on the bank is not difficult . . .just pick a spot well off the beaten track . . . set two anchors, and have a anchor light that works."

[Kettlewell]

Rognvald: Thanks for that. I've got a copy of his guidebook. We one time had to pull anchor in the middle of the night on the Bahama Bank--it just got too rough. By the way, if you have shallow draft you can wriggle up into some lovely little spots in the Bahamas where you are the only boat, sometimes completely surrounded by drying sandbars at low tide. A Bahamian moor can make some of those spots viable. We used to go into one that was a small pond at low tide nearly surrounded completely by pure sand, but at high tide we could just squeak in with 4.5 feet of draft.

[Group9]

I still use the Bahamian Moor in the Bahamas at times, and in other places for the same reason. When being pulled in different directions by wind and current, for instance, it still has its uses.

However, anchored in crowded places like Elizabeth Harbor, where everybody snuggles, is not of those times.

Just another tool in the toolbox, but not a solution to every anchoring problem.

[twohapence]

Originally Posted by rocksculpter

When I started cruising, in 1980, in the keys and Bahamas everyone anchored that way and it became a habit with me. When I moved to the Pacific Northwest and continued the practice, I got yelled at alot because I didn't swing with the crowd. It did give me a sense of security with two hooks down. Around here when ther's limited swing room, a stern tie to shore is the equivelant.

Barry

No possible margin for double entendre there at all then?

[b_rodwell]

QUESTION ABOUT A SWIVEL

I have never used a Bahamian moor but would like to have it in my inventory of techniques on my newly acquired Lagoon 400. I don't expect to need to use it often because I have a 37 kg Sarca Excel with an all chain rode. One reason I went big on the anchor is to absolutely minimize the need to use 2 anchors at once.

The context where I would expect to consider a Bahamian moor is when I leave the boat for some time - maybe for several days (particularly if I can't get back to the boat quickly) or several weeks (in a protected location only). I am concerned about sudden squalls or storms and particularly if they are from a different wind direction to the wind direction when my anchor was first laid. My thinking is to use my second anchor (a large Guardian (Fortress)) laid directly down from the main anchor line in a Bahamian moor configuration. If my absence was several hours or days I can't see this would be a problem. However if it was several weeks the rotation of the boat could be a problem. (My first question is 'Do you agree that it would be a problem to leave a boat on a Bahamian moor for several weeks?').

I have thought of a solution using a secondary piece of chain with a swivel attached immediately above where the 2 rodes are joined. However I think to make this work (and not have a twisting problem) I would need to send overboard both of the rodes being used and retrieve them when I pull the whole assembly up. Seems a bit messy and complicated. (My second question is 'Is this proposed solution overly complicated and possibly risky?)

Thanks
Brian

[virginia boy]

Originally Posted by Tortuga's Lie

When visiting Washington DC and anchoring out in the Washington Channel, it used to be a requirement to set two anchors but I do not know what the current status is or even it is still in practice to do so.

Often, upon arriving in the Washington Channel the DC water police will often visit your boat to ask some personal questions and to tell you that they require you to check in with them and that you use two anchors. Ridiculous!

First of all, I question the DC water police's authority to require me to do anything, much less force me to follow bad anchoring advice. The bottom has about 15 foot of silt on the bottom. Unless you've been anchored for quite a long time your anchor won't set. To set anchors bow and stern in a tidal river with all that silt is just asking to have your anchor rode twisted up and boat drag.