In a flotilla you anchor in a bay for lunch and lie stern-to a village quay at night. Both come down to the same things: choose the spot, lay enough chain, and prove the boat is held before you relax.
How do I choose a safe bay to anchor in overnight?
Anchor in the lee of the land, chosen for the strongest wind in the forecast, not the breeze you have now. Look for sand or mud rather than thick weed or flat rock, in five to eight metres.
Anchor in the lee of the land, where the wind reaches you across the shore and the water is flat. A shore the wind blows onto gives no shelter, and neither does open water. Choose for the strongest wind in the forecast, not for the breeze you have now: a cove that is calm in a light northerly is a trap when a fresh southerly arrives at 02:00.
Only B lies under the island when it blows from the north.
| Seabed | Holding |
|---|---|
| Sand: pale patches | Good, the anchor digs in |
| Mud | Good |
| Thick weed: dark patches | Poor, the anchor skates over it |
| Flat rock | Poor, nothing to dig into |
Then the depth. Too deep, and your chain is too short: 60 m of chain in 20 m of water is under 3:1 once you add the height of the bow. Too shallow, and you touch when the boat swings: 2.5 m leaves half a metre under a 2 m keel. Five to eight metres suits most charter yachts.
How much anchor chain should I let out?
With all chain, a scope of at least 4:1 in settled weather, more if it blows, measured from the bow roller: depth plus bow height, times four. In 5 m with the roller 1 m up, that is 24 m.
Scope is the length of chain compared with the height from the bow roller to the seabed. With all chain let out at least 4:1 in settled weather, more if it blows. An anchor holds while the pull is along the bottom; a short chain lifts it out.
Measure from the bow roller: depth plus bow height, times four.
How can I tell if my anchor is dragging at night?
Set the anchor alarm and look at the track when it sounds: arcs mean the boat is swinging, a straight line downwind means the anchor is dragging. Start the engine at once, then let out more chain or anchor again.
At anchor you swing round a circle. Its radius is about the chain you let out plus the boat's length: 30 m of chain and a 12 m yacht reach 42 m from the anchor. In a light, shifting wind neighbours swing at different moments, so your circles must not overlap.
Set the anchor alarm, and when it sounds look at the track. Arcs mean she is swinging. A straight line downwind means the anchor is dragging: start the engine at once, then let out more chain or lift it and anchor again.
In a cove too narrow to swing, drop the anchor and take a stern line ashore to a rock or a tree. Held at both ends, the boat cannot swing.
How far off the quay do I drop the anchor when mooring stern-to?
Three to four boat lengths off, in line with your berth, then reverse in while the crew pay the chain out freely. In a crosswind drop a little upwind; once the stern lines are fast, take the chain up tight.
On a town quay you lie stern-to: the anchor out ahead, two stern lines ashore. Let go three to four boat lengths off the quay, in line with your berth, and reverse in while the crew pay the chain out freely; a tight chain stops you short. Once the stern lines are made fast, take the chain up tight. It is what holds your stern off the stone.
In a crosswind the boat sags downwind as she reverses. Drop a little upwind of the line of your berth, and the chain ends up running straight out from it. If the wind later swings onto the quay and the stern creeps towards it, take in chain and ease the stern lines to match.
In a marina a lazy line replaces the anchor: a heavy line fixed to the seabed ahead of the berth, with a light tail led to the quay. Pick it up at the stern, walk it forward and cleat it tight at the bow. When you leave, drop it and let it sink before you put the engine in gear, or it wraps round the propeller.
What do springs do when I'm moored alongside a quay?
Springs run diagonally along the quay, the bow spring aft from the bow and the stern spring forward from the stern. They stop the boat surging fore and aft in the wash of passing boats.
The bow and stern lines hold the boat in. The springs run diagonally along the quay: the bow spring leads aft from the bow, the stern spring forward from the stern. They stop the boat surging fore and aft in the wash of passing boats.
A spring also gets you off when the wind pins you on. To swing the stern out, fender the bow well, keep only the bow spring and motor gently ahead against it. The bow pivots in, the stern swings out; then go astern and slip the spring.
What do I do if my anchor comes up with another boat's chain over it?
Don't force it. Lift until you can reach the chain, pass a line under it with both ends aboard, lower your anchor clear of the chain, then let one end go and the chain drops.
A windlass is built to lift chain, not to drag the yacht. Motor gently towards the anchor while the crew on the bow point along the chain and signal when to stop. The windlass only gathers the slack.
On a crowded quay chains cross. If your anchor comes up with a neighbour's chain over it, do not force it.
Questions from this topic, as the app asks them. Open one to see the answer.
You look down through clear water to pick a spot. Where do you drop the anchor?
B. A — on the sand
Sand gives good holding; anchors skate on weed and cannot dig into rock.
What is the least chain you let out?
D. About 32 m
Measure from the bow roller: (7 m + 1 m) × 4 = 32 m.
Is this a good place to drop your anchor?
C. No — your swinging circles overlap
In shifting wind boats swing differently; leave room for both swinging circles.
You are going stern-to here. Where do you let go the anchor?
A. About 3–4 boat lengths off the quay
Three to four lengths out leaves enough chain on the bottom to hold you off the quay.
You need to get the stern out first. How do you leave?
A. Ahead against a bow spring, bow fendered
Motoring ahead against a spring from the bow pivots the bow in and swings the stern out.
Leaving the quay in the morning, your windlass lifts a neighbour's chain hooked over your anchor. What do you do?
C. Hold their chain on a line, lower yours clear
Take the other chain's weight on a slip line, drop your anchor clear, then slip the line.
All 20 questions of this topic are in the app: practice by topic with the reason after every answer, your mistakes brought back, and a timed mock exam. Free, no sign-up, in the browser or in Telegram.