[Public-List] Anchoring

[John Riley]

Roger L. Kingsland wrote:
> Thanks all for the anchoring lessons.  I guess the difference between towing
> a drogue and anchoring by the stern is the boat is still moving with a
> drogue, giving the stern an opportunity rise above the waves.  If anybody is
> interested, I would love to hear thoughts on the pros and cons of sea
> anchors vs. drogues.
>
>   

Eric Hiscock has written a fair bit about the pros/cons of each.  His
conclusion, given in "Voyaging Under Sail:"  "A sea anchor deployed from
the bow has failed so many times I wonder that the idea persists."  I'm
paraphrasing from memory, but that's the gist.

Moitessier had trouble with a drogue (in the form of streaming warps),
and found JOSHUA handled better without the drag.

But ...
> Of course, from all of this discussion, a good politician would conclude the
> best compromise is to anchor beam to the wind.
>   

Lin and Larry Pardey have been advocates for many years that the key to
heavy seas survival is to get the boat into a 'hove-to' configuration. 
In their definition, hove-to is not a sail-plan, but rather the hull
attitude to the seas: about 50 degrees off the wind, give or take.

How you get a boat thus hove-to depends on the boat.  Some will do so,
even in extreme winds, with just sails.  Most will not, if the wind
blows hard enough and the seas heavy enough.  So, they argue for a sea
anchor...not from the bow, but rather on a bridle.

The book "Storm Tactics Handbook" is a very good read: 
http://www.amazon.com/Larry-Pardey-Tactics-Handbook-Heaving-/dp/B004W2N30Q/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1302653410&sr=8-20

(there's a movie/dvd version, too).



-- 
John S. Riley
S/V Gaelic Sea
1972 Alberg 30 #521


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