On Yachts and Yacht Handling

by Thomas Fleming Day

If you are rather new at the business, or have hands forward that you cannot rely upon, when making port have the hook cleared away early in the game. Then go forward and see that all is in order. When she comes to let it be at sufficient distance to leeward to kill all way before she reaches the selected berth. When stopped dead give your order to let go. Then comes in the judgment as to how much scope she needs. Whatever the decision, always lean to the side of more than less.

Before anchoring in a strange place consult the chart, and know the bottom, depth, and fall of the tide, also its present height; this is of especial importance in places where there is a big rise. In light weather, for a short stay, six times the depth is sufficient; that is, in six feet of water give her six fathoms of cable.

If it is blowing hard and a sea running, before letting go, if you are using a hawser, range a good length of it on deck clear for running out. Get a good turn round the bitts and after the hook has taken hold slack away handsomely, but at the same time keep full control. Let her take it out; don't give it to her. When the hawser has a lead that enters the water well ahead, make fast, and watch how she rides to it.

You can tell by feeling the cable whether the anchor is biting or not. If it continues to drag and drags rapidly it is probably foul; if it drags slowly it is most likely bad bottom; your chart will tell you what kind.

Never drop without first taking a range, either on shore or on a nearby vessel, for not only will it tell you if you are dragging, but it is the only sure way of locating an anchor if you lose it. The way to tell if you are dragging at night or when you cannot get a range is to drop the lead overside with a slack line; if she drags the line will trend out ahead.

If your hook drags badly and you have sail on, get it up, and do the act over again. If you cannot, why then heave in rapidly on the first and when under foot let go your second. Do not, if you possibly can help it, let go the second while the foul anchor is out ahead, for if it should stick it will put you in the predicament of having an unreliable hold at the end of your longest cable.

If the first anchor drags because the bottom is bad holding, then shorten up, let go your second, and pay out on both. If she still continues to drag get up the spare, and if you can, heave in on both to half-hawse, and then let the spare go. If she goes on dragging you have two hopes and one alternative. One hope is, that the weather will let up; the other, that as she drags she will get into better holding ground; the alternative I will attend to in another chapter.

Many accidents are the result of haste and carelessness, when letting the hook go. A mate of mine once let the anchor drop without fitting the pin in the stock; it came on to blow in the night and we dragged down on another yacht. Dropping the hook while a vessel has headway on is another cause of anchors being foul. Frequently in small yachts carrying the hook under the bowsprit, the fluke will catch on the bobstay; instead of hauling it up and clearing it, a lubber will let the stock drop down and then lift the fluke up and let all go. What is the consequence? the arm falls across the cable and you have a foul anchor. Twice in my life I have had men anchor the boat on the bobstay. This happened at night and through my not going forward and looking to things myself. Instead of, like the unfortunate Wentworth, exclaiming: "Put not your trust in princes," let me cry, "Put not your trust in amateurs," especially coming to anchor at night. But the most frequent cause of mishap is in giving either too little or too much scope. Laziness stands impeached of the first, and over-caution of the second.

Before turning in, if the weather looks at all dubious, but not threatening enough to warrant your going to the trouble of sending off another anchor, you can secure yourself from a sudden attack by these means. We will suppose you are riding to your heaviest bower. Down the second bower under the fore-foot, being careful to see that it falls clear, then take the end of your hawser from underneath the coil, and take a round-turn round the mast, securing the end with two half hitches over the standing part. See that it renders freely from the top of the coil. Pass it through either the chock on the bowsprit or the chock on the rail. If the yacht drags she will carry out the hawser and fetch-up when the end is reached. If you are using chain see that it is clear for running out. By employing your second anchor in this way, you will prevent fouling hawse if the yacht swings with the tide or wind.