Choosing an Anchorage Place
Above all what you should do is:
Motor around and take a good look at the place – take your time and be patient.
4 important questions you should ask yourself:
1. How well protected is the place from weather, wind and waves
Study your charts carefully and be prepared for different conditions at night. Ideal, the anchorage place offers shelter from all wind directions.
2. How good is the holding
You should be sure to find a place where your anchorage will hold throughout the night. Avoid grassy or weedy bottoms. Often, the conditions of the grounds are marked on the chart: look for S (Sand) or M (Mud), they usually make a good holding ground.
3. Room to Swing In case you do not use a landing line, your boat will swing around – often make a whole circle. So do not anchor too close to other boats. It is not a bad idea if all the boats have the same style of anchorage, so they swing the same amount in the same direction.
4. Sufficient depth – but not too much either
Check the water depth at low and high tide and the length of your anchorage chain. Then make a decisions if depth is just enough and not too much.
Some other questions to help making your decision:
- Is this a place where Mosquito’s hang around too?
- Do I have a nice view to enjoy sunset?
- Is it a quiet place to relax and spend the night?
And last but not least: Do not forget to turn on your anchorage light before sunset.
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Maybe think about if there is swell? Or maybe coming up? Or maybe is there a tide to take in consideration?