Photos of Anchors Setting

[Tayana42]

So what are the rules about finding any artifact there? Can you bring it up or is it property of the government and can't be touched? It would be a shame for the next anchor to smash it to shards.


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[NornaBiron]

Here are a few sets in the Red Sea. The sand is very thin and in most places we are picking up mooring buoys if they are available to protect the coral. There was very little wind forecast on this night and we all had GPS anchor alarms set.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

So what are the rules about finding any artifact there? Can you bring it up or is it property of the government and can't be touched? It would be a shame for the next anchor to smash it to shards.

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You are not permitted to take any artefacts and there are very severe penalties for doing so. It is still a real thrill coming across items like this unexpectedly though.

One of the great things is that on the smaller islands the public is free to touch and even walk over the relics. This is a great privilege compared to many countries that would have these areas roped off, but this demands everyone does the right thing.

The amphora will stay for others to discover and the octopi to enjoy. This is not a recognised anchorage. It is very unlikely that another boat will anchor in the same area.

[noelex 77]

My Mermaid hopped in the water as the anchor was breaking out. It was not the ideal time, as the water was still very murky following the recent bad weather, but it gives you some idea how the new generation anchors break out.

They need time to break free. The primary requirement is time rather than a lot of force.

The first shot shows the chain at 1:1. Even with this significant upward pull on the shank, not much happens initially. The shank will start to slowly rise, but if you are on the boat and cannot see what is going on, it seems as if the anchor is stuck. Those accustomed to the often instant breakout of anchors like the Delta can become concerned at this stage, because nothing seems to happening. Underwater the shank is gradually lifting.

The second and third photos were taken from the surface so it hard to see much detail, but you can see the shank rising to a steady 1:1 force. Even in the final photo the fluke still remains almost completely buried despite the very high angle of the shank. The anchor still requires a fair bit of force at this point if you try and pull it straight up. The fluke still buried and has a lot of sand on top.

The best way is with a bit of gentle back force from the engine, or just the wind. This will slide the fluke up and out. This is easier than a straight upwards pull.

Try and take the load off anchor winch while the anchor is breaking out.

If you want to minimise the forces, say because you are pulling up by hand, shortening the scope to say 1.5-2 :1 15-20 mins before you leave is a good tactic. Obviously keep an eye on your position while doing this.

[Tayana42]

Nice series of the anchor breaking out. Patience is indeed a virtue. Our Rocna comes out the same way, slowly.


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[noelex 77]

This is another unrecognised anchorage that is not in any of the pilot guides. It is sandwiched between two islands and looked promising on Google earth. The trouble with the Google earth image is that it is very difficult to pick the difference between sand and rock.

When we got here it was obvious that there were large areas of rock. There were some reasonable sandy patches close to shore, but with a forecast of a variable wind direction they were too close for comfort, although, in retrospect, using the great short scope performance of the Mantus and anchoring in one of these spots may have been the better choice.

In the end after a bit of stooging around we found a patch that looked clear of rock. The Mantus held our setting force of full reverse for thirty seconds on the first drop, but as you can see the set is not great, no doubt caused by rock under a thin sand layer. There seemed little point retrying in a different spot.

One big advantage of an oversized new generation anchor is that even with sets like this there is still a lot of fluke area buried.

Our setting force is equivalent to about 25-30 knots of wind and I deemed this set acceptable for the light wind that was forecast.




This shot shows the areas of smooth rock with our boat in the background:

[noelex 77]

This anchorage has lovely sand. Another great set from the Mantus. The wind has been shifting back and forth. You can see the marks where the shank has rotated over about a 35 degree arc. As you would expect this has done little to upset the anchor which is still very nicely set. At the time the photo was taken the wind was about 90 degrees to the set of the anchor. This is worse direction to induce a list, but the Mantus looks very nicely level although from the surface photograph in low light it is difficult to pick out a lot of detail. 6m@4:1

Eagle eyed observers will notice I changed the float. At this time of year we get squid laying eggs on the float and rope. Horrible, slimy stuff, but it also overcomes the buoyancy of the float, so I have gone for a bigger size.

[noelex 77]

This was a friend's genuine Bruce at the same anchorage. It is the same Bruce that was featured in an earlier post #1098. There are few boats around as at this time of year most have retired to the safety of a marina.

The skipper is a scuba diving instructor so he checks his anchor underwater frequently. When I mentioned that I was going to check his anchor the comment was "It will be on its side. It always is."

I am not as pessimistic and a genuine Bruce will often rotate upright, but it tends to defeated by harder substates where you are much more likely to see it on its side.

In the softer sand of this anchorage it has done a great job. It is level and the fluke is completely buried. The setting distance is also quite respectable, although not any thing like the very rapid set of the Mantus. There does not appear to be any heaping up. The anchor has also rotated about 30 degrees from the initial setting direction. It is a bit hard to see from the blurry surface photo exactly how well it has done this. The Bruce shank sits fairly high and sometimes does not scrape the sand much as it rotates. Without these telltale clues it is difficult to deduce exactly what has happened, but it has ended up very nicely. 5m @ 8:1

[noelex 77]

My Mermaid took these photos. It is only two weeks to winter and she is still swimming. Brrrrrrrrr.
There is no change from post # 1132, but these are much better photos.

[JPA Cate]

I'm feeling great admiration for your mermaid, noelex, and great pics, too.

[robert sailor]

You have a special Gal there my friend!

[avb3]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

My Mermaid hopped in the water as the anchor was breaking out. It was not the ideal time, as the water was still very murky following the recent bad weather, but it gives you some idea how the new generation anchors break out.

They need time to break free. The primary requirement is time rather than a lot of force.

The first shot shows the chain at 1:1. Even with this significant upward pull on the shank, not much happens initially. The shank will start to slowly rise, but if you are on the boat and cannot see what is going on, it seems as if the anchor is stuck. Those accustomed to the often instant breakout of anchors like the Delta can become concerned at this stage, because nothing seems to happening. Underwater the shank is gradually lifting.

The second and third photos were taken from the surface so it hard to see much detail, but you can see the shank rising to a steady 1:1 force. Even in the final photo the fluke still remains almost completely buried despite the very high angle of the shank. The anchor still requires a fair bit of force at this point if you try and pull it straight up. The fluke still buried and has a lot of sand on top.

The best way is with a bit of gentle back force from the engine, or just the wind. This will slide the fluke up and out. This is easier than a straight upwards pull.

Try and take the load off anchor winch while the anchor is breaking out.

If you want to minimise the forces, say because you are pulling up by hand, shortening the scope to say 1.5-2 :1 15-20 mins before you leave is a good tactic. Obviously keep an eye on your position while doing this.
..

Interesting that you keep some positive scope on your anchor.

When I release my Mantus, I will slowly motor over and past the set itself, and get what I call negative scope on the anchor. Invariably it pops out right away. Do you do that at all?

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by avb3

Interesting that you keep some positive scope on your anchor.

When I release my Mantus, I will slowly motor over and past the set itself, and get what I call negative scope on the anchor. Invariably it pops out right away. Do you do that at all?

I have found both the Mantus and my previous Rocna need quite a bit of patience to break out. Driving over the top usually results in high forces, swearing and the chain scraping on the bow rather than the anchor popping out.

It is interesting that you have found this has worked, perhaps with different substrates the anchors break out easier. I would suggest those transitioning to a new generation anchor take it easy and slowly at first until they discover what works.

[noelex 77]

Thunderstorms came through at 2am and bought with them a very rapid change in wind direction over 180 degrees.

This was the result the next morning. You can see the mark from the shank as the anchor has rotated. By morning the anchor had swung 45-50 degrees.

The chain angle shows that the boat is lying over 180 degrees from the initial orientation, but after the thundstorms passed the wind reduced and the force was obviously not sufficient to continue to rotate the anchor the rest of the way.

The fluke has remained completely buried, although the Mantus has developed a mild list where on previous rotations, remarkably, it has remained almost level. It is still a very good performance which shows no signs of breaking out.

The unexpected change in wind direction produced quite a bit of wave action as the anchorage was totally unprotected from that sector. I suspect the jerky nature of the force was probably not helping the anchors rotation.

[wsmurdoch]

Is the Bruce still nearby? How did it do?