It doesn't need a large wave to sink the boat if the rope is tied to the
stern and truly hung up on the bottom. After attempts to remove the anchor
the angle is now steeper than 45 deg, it should be easy to calculate what
happens when you "nail the throttle" trying to pull it
loose!
LD

wrote in message
ups.com...

Thomas D. Ireland wrote:
You mention the Massachusetts. What kind of ship was it? I am curious!

Tom

LD ) wrote:
: Another one, a "20' Wellcraft". This time the three men (apparently
: capsized while trying to unhook their anchor) were saved after 21hrs
in the
: drink. Almost by pure chance. The good thing they did is quickly put
on
: the life jackets, tie themselves together and hang on to the upside
down
: capsized boat.

: In case you missed the last one, a couple drowned only a couple of
miles out
: (at or near the Massachusetts) apparently with an anchor tied to the
stern
: and attempting to pull it loose.

: This was a few months ago.
: LD



--

There's probably the key: anchor tied to the stern.

We lose fishermen in the Columbia River here in the Pac NW every so
often for the same reason. They will anchor off the stern, then sit in
the current absolutely backwards. When the river rises very suddenly
(due to an increase in the opening of a spillway, etc), the transom
becomes submerged and the boat swamps. The same thing could easily
happen if a large wave came aboard a boat anchored with the stern to
the weather. The anchor could keep the stern from riding up the face of
the wave as it would ordinarily tend to do, and instead of riding over
the wave the transom does through it. This is far more survivable if
it's an enclosed bow plowing into a wave than an open cockpit.

A 20-footer is going to have a minimal amount of freeboard. Easier yet
to swamp.