And with inexperienced crew...

"Jeff Morris" wrote in message
...
A good anchor, properly set in sand, should hold in almost any
"straight-line"
situation. I often use two anchors, but usually because the bottom is
soft, or
I'm expecting a wind or current shift. BTW, setting and recovering two
hooks is
not as difficult as it would seem, but you don't want to do it the first
time in
the dark.


"Jonathan Ganz" wrote in message
...
I think you did the right thing w.r.t. adding scope. Setting a second
anchor
if it isn't necessary just complicates life.

"Brien Alkire" wrote in message
...
I didn't go below until I was confident we were securely anchored.
However,
we did discuss anchor watch shifts and you're right, it would have
been
the
better thing to do.

I also considered setting a second bow anchor. However, I had an
inexperienced crew and felt it might create more problems than it
prevented
(such as fouling the prop in the first anchor rode). Instead I opted
to
increase scope, and never did I find an indication we were dragging.


"Jonathan Ganz" wrote in message
...
You're lucky no one was hurt.

Was there some reason for not assigning shifts to do the anchor
watch? Then, you get continuous coverage, and everyone gets
some sleep. Something to think about next time.

Jonathan

"Brien Alkire" wrote in message
...
A few weeks ago I submitted a posting asking for info on anchoring
at
Paradise Cove in Malibu. We went last weekend, so here's some
info on
our
experience.

We left Marina Del Rey at 10:30 in a Catalina 36. Paradise Cove
is
due
west
and the wind was nose on. It was a beautiful day, sunny and clear
day.
Temperature was around 70F, and winds initially were around 12
knots.

The wind and waves built throughout the afternoon with plenty of
whitecaps.
We had many periods of solid 18 knot winds, and short periods of
winds
in
the low 20s and waves around 5 ft. It was difficult making
progress
upwind,
but we were having a great time.

We arrived at Paradise Cove and set the anchor by 16:00. We
anchored
in
sand outside the kelp beds about 300 feet off the pier in 38 feet
of
water.
The wind died down suddenly, partly due to shelter of the cove and
partly
due to their own accord.

I snorkeled for a short while, with visibility around 15 feet (not
bad
for
the coastline around here, but nothing like the islands). I also
swam
down
and checked the anchor, which was fine. We enjoyed a bottle of
wine
on
deck
as the sunset, and watched numerous pods of dolphins swim by. A
few
of
them
even jumped, and it was a happy time with a goreous sunset.

There were two other sailboats in the cove, further out and
apparently
unoccupied (one was moored). There was a 25 foot cabin cruiser
anchored
about 100 feet from the pier. We saw a few kayakers around before
sunset
too.

After sunset there was a dramatic change. A nasty Santa Ana
kicked up
out
of the east. I would say the winds were in the high 20s with
gusts
around
40. It blew out any westerly swell, so the water was calm. The
winds
are
warm.

We enjoyed a nice BBQ dinner. After dinner, the wind was very
severe
and
I
checked the anchor. It seemed to be holding fine (single plow
anchor
off
the bow). I let out more scope as a precaution, and went below.

At 20:10 (shortly after letting out more scope) we heard a loud
BANG!
I
looked up through the campionway and saw a structure. My first
impression
was that our bimini had been blown off. I scrambled up the steps,
then
realized the structure was not our bimini, it was the cabin
cruiser.
First
I didn't know if we'd dragged anchor or what had happened. Then I
realized
we were still anchored fine, and my impression was that the cabin
cruiser
had swung into us. There was no one onboard the cabin cruiser
(we'd
seen
some folks in a dinghy earlier). And it was clear that the cabin
cruiser
was dragging anchor.

I debated whether I wanted to try and board her and reset the
anchor
on
the
cabin cruiser. However, we're not very experienced, don't have a
dinghy,
and the winds were howling. Instead I wrote down the CF numbers
and
hailed
the USCG.

The cabin cruiser was flying out to sea fast! Luckily, there's no
lee
shore
in this condition at Paradise Cove. The USCG intercepted the
vessel
at
around 22:00. We could see from the anchor light that the vessel
was
about
to go hull down, and we estimated it must have been nearly 10 nmi
away
by
then (it was flying fast).

We were fine, only our BBQ was destroyed. Our anchor was holding,
but
the
event made us all anxious. I sent the crew to sleep and I stayed
on
deck
and watched the anchor until 1AM. It was a beautiful night, warm,
very
clear, the moon almost full. I went below for some sleep, and got
up
every
two hours to check the anchor throughout the night.

The next morning was beautiful and all was well. We had a
non-eventful
trip
home.

The owner of the cabin cruiser paid for the damage and all is well
and
everyone happy.

A little more adventure than I would have wished for, but it's a
beautiful
place and I'll be sure to go again.

-B.