To dive or not to dive?

[JPA Cate]

Anchor theft used to happen in the Caribbean, by cruisers, from other cruisers. I don't know how frequent it actually was (the news was so bad, it travelled fast and far).

Among the many pictures noelex and Seaworthy Lass took, was one of a swivel in the process of parting. (See the thread "Pictures of Anchors Setting".)

Ann

[Caleb_Grey]

Just get an underwater rov with camera.
This one even does depth great to run out ahead of your boat to avoid grounding
https://m.chasing.com/en/chasing-f1

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by sazarac

Comical, no one has replied to the situation where there is a big wind shift in the middle of the night. Do you get up and back down on your anchor to determine a good set or do you assume your anchor reset itself? Sleep tight your anchor set before is it guaranteed to reset without your participation?

Wind shift is the main anchor dragging issue IME. For years none of the anchor tests actually tested it! My guess is because they KNOW how bad it's going to be.
OTOH, I would seldom back down against a wind change, I'd either stay aware of what's going on or totally reset. They are often still embedded but backwards! in normal forces they are often just fine that way.
Most anchors dont reset well by just dragging them after a large shift. Thus if the wind pipes up, it flips over and drags. But even the ballasted anchors lay on their side and slip very well once flipped.
I find it confusing to understand: if you lower them down, they land proper every time.... I guess they slide because they are under tension...

[UFO]

I'd like to see some of you dive on your anchor in the North of Australia, you may get a bit of a surprise if you made it back alive!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Wind shift is the main anchor dragging issue IME. For years none of the anchor tests actually tested it! My guess is because they KNOW how bad it's going to be.
OTOH, I would seldom back down against a wind change, I'd either stay aware of what's going on or totally reset. They are often still embedded but backwards! in normal forces they are often just fine that way.
Most anchors dont reset well by just dragging them after a large shift. Thus if the wind pipes up, it flips over and drags. But even the ballasted anchors lay on their side and slip very well once flipped.
I find it confusing to understand: if you lower them down, they land proper every time.... I guess they slide because they are under tension...

That's where all chain is good, the load comes more slowly unlike 20ft of chain then rope.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

there are reasons why high latitude divers are paid very well

If only.

I have friends who dive on 60m deep wrecks in 35 F. water with rebreathers and drysuits and incur an hour-long deco obligation. For fun. They pay for their own helium. I don't need another expensive hobby so I stick to wetsuit+air conditions which I choose to define as 40 F and 30 meters.


But I grew up in one of the coldest populated places in the world. YMMV.

[JPA Cate]

Sorry, Jammer,

I should have said commercial divers. The one we met did very dangerous work, and was well paid. Maybe I shouldn't have generalized from an n of one, eh?

Ann

[Jammer]

I offer this ice diving video for context. Some people from a local dive club.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AgYcpfBGO4

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Sorry, Jammer,

I should have said commercial divers. The one we met did very dangerous work, and was well paid.

One of the places near here where I took some dive training a few years ago also trains commercial divers. They teach people not only diving, but what to look for when inspecting bridge pilings and the like, and how to weld underwater, and so on. Cool stuff, the heavy copper welding cables in the training area make you think.



A few years ago we were vacationing in Key Largo and waiting for a table at a restaurant. Ended up chatting with a kind and gregarious fellow approaching retirement who had done very well for himself as a demolition diver specializing in the removal of vessels that pose a navigation hazard in rivers and channels. If I were 22 again...

[Gingersnap]

Be very careful!

How Can a Diver Avoid an Ear Barotrauma?

Don't dive when sick or congested. The eustachian tubes may be congested or swollen and will not allow for efficient equalization.

Learn to equalize properly.

Never equalize forcefully.

Equalize once on the surface before descending. This provides a cushion of air in the middle ears, pre-opens the eustachian tubes and gives you a margin of error in case you neglect an equalization in the first few feet.

If you commonly have ear problems, descend feet first and head up.

If you commonly have equalization problems, some doctors recommend practicing equalization on land daily. With practice, equalization becomes easier as you train your body to equalize properly.

If you are prone to equalization problems, confirm that you can equalize your ears on land before departing on the diving trip. If you can't equalize on land, you will not be able to equalize under water.

Don't use earplugs, tight hoods, or anything else that can trap air in the outer ear.

Don't continue to dive with even a mild barotrauma. Further diving will only exacerbate the injury.

https://www.liveabout.com/ear-barotrauma-most-common-scuba-injury-2963045

[capn_billl]

Me neither.

I'd like to, but diving in cold muddy water, I couldn't see the anchor anyway.

[jbrasseul]

They can't dive to check their anchor there, because it is too cold I guess. When going north from Florida to Maine I bought a suit arriving around New Hampshire, but never used it, a lot of mooring buoys everywhere, very nice.

[capn_billl]

My favorite practice is to put engines in reverse, and go forward, and give a hard tug on the bridle/chain/rode...
It should be like a guitar string. If I can pull it, even a little with 200lbs of pull, it isn't set.

Pull it back up, reposition, reanchor, and try again.

I can't wait until I get to the Caribbean where I can dive.

[JimmyDarci]

You mention ear problems that prevent you from diving on the anchor. I too have ear issue and “barotrauma” is a very real issue for some of us. Might consider the following mechanical fixes for sensitive ears under water:
1. Mask with ear covers. Surf the web and you will find equalizing ear covers that are connected to the mask area. I have not used this but am ordering one and will report back if it works. Made by: “ IST Pro Ear Two Window Mask“
2. Ear plugs. They do make diver ear plugs that have an air equalization vent in them. “Doc’s Proplugs” are one of the top choices. It’s safe, doctor-created, and used by many divers to keep water out while making pressurization “easier.” Doctors recommend them as long as you wear the right size (youth/adult in S, M, L, and XL) to ensure the proper fit.
3. Also can try a scuba hood - with or without the ear plugs. Some scuba hoods keep the pressure down and also press on the earplugs.

All those toys aside, I understand that some ear issues are not easily remedy. I ruptured my ear drum and now have a small hole that lets in water to the middle ear if I swim down more than about six to eight feet. You could always try “diving” on the anchor by making a surface inspection with a mask on.

Many of the above posts bring up the fact that backing down on the anchor and using a properly (or overly)sized anchor is great anchor insurance and may obviate the need to swim down to the anchor. I completely agree. We purchased an “oversized” 73lb Rocna and this baby digs deep in almost anything

Question for all the 20-somethings that profess to “dive the anchor”. What do you guys actually do that is different from looking at the anchor? I can’t imagine swimming down 20 feet and then wrestling with a 73 lb anchor. Seems really dangerous to rely upon a breath of fresh air and begin wrestling with a bunch of chain and a heavy metal object underwater. If you just “look at the darned thing” then why not inspect the seabed and rely upon backing down? Can’t imagine manually lifting the anchor and manually resetting the thing underwater. Seems risky and moderately unsafe. IMHO, a swim is fine and fun - inspect the bottom if you can. Peer at the anchor if you can, but you paid damned good money for safe and efficient windlass-type gear upon your boat.... rely upon backing down on the anchor from the safety of your boat and understand that when most folks talk of “diving on the anchor”, most of us do not wrestle the anchor while holding a single breath of air on the seabed. What kind of anchor did you buy that cannot seat itself properly on the seabed floor (assuming you use proper technique and read your chart/ guidebook properly for terrain issues). Sighting the anchor and sampling the seabed floor when possible has proved useful in the tropics but easily done from the surface most times.

And to anyone who states they manually swim down on a breath of air and manually reset the anchor from the seabed floor, I wonder your age (and your shoesize). We are not all 20-35 any longer but experience anchoring is a skill that most of us old guys would not trade for a few years of youth. Also, Inlooked and can find no section in Chapman’s nor any reference in Captains Drake or Bly’s diaries where they, Joshua Slocum, or anyone else dives on the anchor for more than a visual and possibly a seabed examination. Don’t let the other skippers tell you how to run your boat unless you are sure they speak from solid experience.

Good luck with your ear issue and work with quality anchor gear/ technique from your topsides for 90% of the anchoring. Swim for fun and take a peek at your anchor if you are physically able to do so.

[Pdemajo]

This might sound completely stupid, and certainly lazy, buty i would welcme any improvements to the design...

I haven't tried it yet but I've been thinking about it and i equipped myself!!

I bought a 10m wifi waterproof endoscope camera which basically has a small camera on one end and a wifi repeater (which is not waterproof) at the other end. it cost about 30e from amazon.

I plan to put the camera through my anchor buoy which sits on top of the anchor with a fishing weight tied to it and to the line that goes to the anchor (so it always looks at the anchor)

I will put the repeater in a tupperware box (which then floats around until it gets stuck to the buoy when the cable is fully extended) with a well siliconed hole for the wire so it remains watertight

i'll tie a knot in the wire when im in less then 10 meters to shorten it.

it should then transmits the live streaming of the anchor to the phone, but i probably have to be right up front to get the signal. Depending on usage, the rechargeable battery should last quite a while since you would only look at it a few times.

if it sits around 3 to 5 meters above the anchor, it should work decently.

Im doing it more for fun, but it should work!... and its always useful on the boat if you want to inspect remote parts of the boat..

A project for a lazy afternoon in the sun!!

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by Creedence

We live in a day and age when people seem to carry weaponized opinions on how others should be going about their business. Unless that person is the skipper of the vessel you’re anchoring, their opinion carries no weight.

You anchor as you need to best mitigate environmental impact while ensuring the security of your vessel. I have dived an anchor a few times over 20 years, but it’s been the exception not the norm. How often do you see crew of commercial vessels diving their anchors?

Do it when it’s appropriate- but from the sound of your physical condition, that may be never. It’s entirely your call.

"weaponized opinions "....🤣🤣🤣

Well articulated. Love it. Note to self.