Ground Tackle

Well…just when I thought all was well in the world of ground tackle (that would be anchors, chain, windlasses, etc) my confidence has been shattered.

A couple weeks ago while we were anchored in Tenacatita Bay with our guests, Phil and Anna, a very ugly storm front went through. The sustained wind was 35-45 knots with gusts as high as 70. There was quite a bit of swell coming in as well so we were bouncing around pretty good all night long. About 25 boats were anchored there during the storm and only one dragged anchor…and, thank goodness, it wasn’t us…so I was feeling pretty cocky. At the moment, we have a 45# Delta anchor with about 250’ of 5/16” chain and another 50’ or so of rope rode. In addition, this year “we” (Chris) installed a brand new, extra heavy duty, Lighthouse windlass that is an exceptional piece of equipment. As he is wont to say, “it is slow but it will lift an elephant”!

At any rate, after this very difficult night I was busy extolling the virtues of our Delta anchor and its exceptional holding power. It had rarely dragged (only twice before and there were extenuating circumstances both times) and this was the test d’resistance.

A few days after the big storm in Tenacatita, the weather guy predicted another front heading our way so we decided to high tail it back to Barra De Navidad where we would, theoretically, have a bit more protection. Barra has its own challenges when it comes to anchoring. Since the bottom is very slippery, silty mud it is not uncommon for boats to slip when the wind comes up but because it is a known quantity and not so open to the ocean we thought we’d be better off there. Besides, we hadn't dragged there before. Lots of other folks had the same idea so we had plenty of company.

When we arrived in Barra we decided to anchor close to the island instead of in the middle where we usually went. This was because several friends prefer that side - they say it is deeper. Well…since the average depth in the lagoon is 10’ at high tide, a couple more feet is almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. At any rate, we anchored close to the island and, sure enough, we had more like 12’ at high tide (9’ at low tide). Not long after we got settled in, our good friends on “Periclees” arrived and anchored directly behind us. As it turned out, the predicted winds did not arrive and a collective sigh of relief could be heard across the anchorage. Everything was good.

Six days later, Chris decided to go help another cruiser who had volunteered to paint the local school. It was a hot, still day and I planned to do some emailing and reading while he was gone. Not long after he left a bit of a breeze came up. Not bad but enough to cause me come up into the cockpit every 10 or 15 minutes to have a look around. Hmmm. We seem to be closer to “Periclees”. Maybe it is my imagination? I do have a tendency to think other boats are closer than they really are...my depth perception is not nearly as accurate as Chris' is. Another check and I am pretty sure we are closer. I called Chris on the VHF to tell him my concerns. He walked out of the school and said he could see the boats and our masts were in exactly the same places. OK. Then I got a radio call from Steve on “Full Quiver” who was next to us. He reassured me that it didn’t look to him like we’d moved but he would keep an eye out. OK.

I went below to do the dishes but kept checking. It still looked to me like we were closing on “Periclees” and the wind was picking up a bit. Finally, I went into the aft cabin to make the bed and when I looked out the aft port, all I could see was the word PERICLEES! I immediately got on the VHF to Chris. He went outside the school and then said, “You’re moving. Start the engine. I’ll be right there!” Then Steve called and said he’d get his dinghy down and be over in a few minutes. I started the engine and pulled up a little chain but couldn’t raise too much without leaving the helm to go to the bow and take off the snubber. Finally Chris arrived and we got the anchor up and re-set…and he was not allowed to leave the boat the rest of the day!

The next day “Periclees” left to begin their northbound trek. Later on that day, two new boats (“Cheyenne” and “Distant Drum”) arrived and anchored behind us. All was well for another 5 days. Then, we went to dinner with Michael & Laurie off of “Laura” and John & Rosie of “Serena Ray”. We had a lovely dinner at the golf course and when we arrived back at “Faith” we thought she looked like she was in a slightly different place but it was dark and could easily have just been her swing angle. Wrong! As we passed “Cheyenne”, Steve said that “Faith” had dragged right between them & “Distant Drum” and all the way to the back of the lagoon and into the mud! They and a couple other cruisers had rescued her and reset the anchor for us! The next day we found out that a squall had gone through with some pretty hefty wind and we weren’t the only boat that dragged. “Laura” was one that moved back as well but their anchor had re-set itself before she got into the mud. Still, they were also resetting in the middle of the night. We're havin' some fun now. We also heard that John & Rosie got back to their boat (a trawler) in the marina to discover deck chairs upended, the door blown open and papers, etc all over inside. It must have been quite the wind.

Chris & I have come to the conclusion that the makeup of the bottom surrounding the island may be different so we will go back to the middle of the lagoon from now on. Still, all this has served to kick some of my confidence in our anchor. Right now we are in Las Hadas and there is supposed to be some pretty substantial wind for the next couple days. This place has good holding and we took extra care to make sure we were well set but still…we will both be constantly checking to make sure we stay put. After all, it can really be a bit unnerving to discover that your house didn’t stay where you left it!