Anchoring Entertainment

Today was a travel day that went pretty smoothly, but the most interesting part of the day was the entertainment provided by other boaters in their attempts to anchor. This anchorage is part of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, and it's one of very few acceptable spots between Beaufort and Wrightsville Beach. When we arrived, ten other boats were already here with one hard aground. The boats arrived in a pretty steady stream for the next couple of hours. By the time the sun set the anchored boats totaled 23. Several had trouble anchoring either because their anchoring technique left something to be desired or the anchor used just wasn't up to the job.

About a third of the boats.  We couldn't get them all in one photo, since they were all around us.

One was single handing the first boat to come in after us. He threw the anchor down just behind our boat and paid out about a third of the anchor rode required. When I questioned his location, he thought about it some and then moved...twice. He just couldn't seem to get it right. Either he ended up too close to another boat, or the anchor wouldn't catch hold. Another larger boat with a couple aboard tried at least three times in different places to get their anchor to catch before they were finally successful. They then came on the radio to tell everyone that they'd finally made it. Next time they'd plan to charge admission for the entertainment they provided.

The boat that was hard aground got help from Towboat US, the same organization we get towing insurance from. When the skipper finally got free with Towboat help, his first attempt at anchoring was so close to another boat,  the Towboat US boat moved in between the two so he wouldn't hit the other boat already anchored. He then tried in another spot, but made a nearby boat owner so nervous, that this second skipper pulled up his anchor and moved to a new spot. Variations of this same sort of entertainment played out again and again while we watched. Then we heard on the radio of one boater who ran aground twice today and then was involved in a collision. This was just not a good day for a number of cruisers.

One could use these experiences as instructional for proper anchoring techniques or for discussing the pros and cons of particular brands of anchors. That is not my intent, although I'd be happy to share my thoughts with any willing listeners in another setting.

For me this provided a reminder to me that one can never get too complacent while cruising. I'm sure that several of the key performers today were not new to cruising and were generally pretty successful at securing their anchor. While I chuckled a bit at what I saw, I know that tomorrow I could make some equally foolish mistakes. Like in many settings in life, cruisers must always remain alert and focused on the task at hand.

So I'll end this with the hope that tomorrow I won't be writing about my own foolishness.

As with many days, this one ended well.

Carpe Diem

Captain Bob