The Anchoring System That Keeps Us Safe Every Night

So… anchoring? You probably see us do it often, and today I decided it’s time to explain what everyone’s doing while the chain is dropping and coming up—because there’s a bit more to it.

Here’s how our anchoring team operates, and the process that keeps us safe at night (and our windlass happy).

Dropping the Anchor

When dropping the anchor, Shona and Archie are up on the bow ready to go, while Kris is at the helm choosing the best spot, with Bella helping out.

We’ll talk more about “the best spot” in a second—but right now, we’re about to drop the anchor.

Once happy with our positioning, Kris turns us into the wind and Shona drops the anchor, counting the chain to get the right ratio to the depth (again, more on that soon). Once she has the right amount out, Archie slips the bridle on and they lower a bit more chain until there’s a nice belly in it.

Then Kris comes up to the bow and Bella takes the helm. We let the boat drift back with the wind, and when the anchor starts to grab, Bella puts us in reverse so we can load it up.

As all the chain is taken up, she adds more revs on the engines and the bridle comes up out of the water as the anchor fully “jags”—this is the key sign that we’re properly dug in.

We do this every time, and if we get the jag, we’ve never had any problems.

Finding the Best Spot

Your anchor is holding your home and family, and where you position it can be the difference between sleeping well or ending up on the reef. So, needless to say, where we choose to drop the anchor is very important.

Our rough process when coming into a new anchorage looks like this:

- Have a really good look at the chart

- Check satellite imagery if it’s available

- Look at NoForeignLand for anchor pins and reviews (super helpful, and we’re always surprised how many places are covered)

- And then check the area tide chart. We want to know how big the tides are as well as whether it’s low, mid, or high tide right now, then we can calculate how deep it will be at lowtide as well as hightide. Reason for this: you want to have enough depth for your draft at low tide. And you want to drop enough chain based on what the depth would be at high tide.

After checking depths, reefs, wrecks, and rocks, we make our way in and do a bit of “scoping”—making sure the chart matches reality and finding the right depth.

For us, anywhere between 2m and 20m is fine, with around 8m being ideal. 

Once we’ve found the right depth and done a small scoping circle to understand our swing room, we turn into the wind and drop the anchor as described earlier. We like to put out at least 4x the depth. For example:
10m depth = 40m chain. (note: we never do less than 20m of chain, even if it’s 3m of depth).

If in doubt—put more chain out. 

We then back down on the anchor as mentioned before.

Once that’s done, we double-check everything: swing room, distance to reefs or shallow areas, and other boats.

And then we’re set.

Oh—and Kris sets the anchor alarm every night, just to be sure.

Anchoring Up

Anchoring up is a whole other game. We have a similar team setup, though Bella drives almost every time now and is getting very good at handling the boat while Shona brings the chain and anchor up.

Archie is on the bow as well, helping remove the bridle and secure the anchor once it’s up.

Kris usually floats in the middle—either directing Bella or jumping in wherever needed.

The key when bringing the anchor up is staying into the wind—especially if it’s blowing. If it’s calm, it’s not such a big deal, but in stronger winds the captain has to stay sharp to make sure the chain doesn’t scrape the hull or cause any issues.

Here’s our rough process:

- Engines on, and Bella moves forward to take pressure off the bridle

- Shona starts bringing the chain up

- At the bridle, Archie removes it

- Bella keeps the boat steady into the wind with minimal pressure on the chain

Once the bridle is off, the rest of the chain comes up. Shona points in the direction the chain is leading (hope that makes sense!) so Bella can steer accordingly and help guide the boat over it.

When we’re almost directly above the anchor, we lock off the chain on the windlass and use the engines to drive over the anchor, which helps break it free.

Once it’s out, it comes straight up—and we’re away.

It sounds simple, but the hardest part is communication and keeping the bow from being blown off course. With a smooth team, though, it’s easy.

Secure the Anchor & Carry a Spare

If we’re heading out to sea, we always lash the anchor to a cleat near the windlass. It ensures it’s not going anywhere while underway—because losing your anchor offshore would seriously suck.

We’ve actually heard of it happening.

That said, we do carry a spare anchor. It’s not as good as our main one, but it’s there for backup, a stern anchor, or if the main one gets stuck.

Our Gear

A quick look at our anchor and ground tackle:

- Anchor: Mantus 30kg

- Chain: 90m of 10mm chain

- Windlass: Quick windlass

- Bridle: Simple rope bridle with hook

We’re really happy with our setup. You’ve got to trust your ground tackle if you want to sleep well at night—and we do.

We’ve held in 30+ knots at anchor without issues.

Make sure your gear is solid.

Summary

We’ve been lucky enough to sail many parts of the world, and while a lot changes from place to place, this anchoring process has stayed the same for one simple reason:

It works.

I hope you’ve learned something and enjoyed reading how we approach anchoring. We’d love to hear how you do it too—any tips or tricks—so drop a comment!