My anchoring technique when sailing solo has always been pretty laughable.
At least for observers anyway. For some reason, it never occured to me that
i could anchor from any place on the boat other than the bow. anchoring in
isolated places usually went ok; a quick sprint to the bow with the motor
still running in neutral, drip anchor and drift back until i had enough
scope, then tie off.

Anchoring in crowded areas, particularly if it was a bit choppy or there was
a strong wind could really be an experience though.... the usual scenario
sees me dashing back and forth as i drift too far too fast to get the anchor
placed exactly where i want it, tripping over loose lines all the while.

recently i read a post where someone described how he kept his anchor in the
cockpit, with the chain stored in a bucket. he would then deploy the anchor
from the cockpit, see that it was set well, then walk the rode up to the bow
and tie off there. While it could really only work with small boats and
small anchors too, this idea seemed simple and brilliant to me. Am i the
only idiot who never thought of it?

Shaun