an anchor, or two or three...

Why hurricanes and earthquakes happen (not), Crooks and Liars tallies up the cost of the only growth industry left in the US of A, and Lefsetz riffs on Brian Wilson...

Over on the SSCA forum there has been an ongoing discussion on the merits/foibles of using a tandem anchor rig  (two anchors on the same rode) and, like all things anchor related, there is no shortage of opinion.

With all this talk of hurricanes recently, we have had a lot of folks asking about the ground tackle we use on "So It Goes" for storm situations. Since yet another storm is wending its way towards us, it might actually be a good time to do so.

Our normal working anchor on "So It Goes" (a CAL 34) is a  20-kilo (44#) Brittany with 200 feet of 5/16" high test and a heck of a lot of 5/8" warp behind the chain...

Yep, a lot of anchor for a small boat...

We also have a Northill folding aviation anchor with 40' of chain, a 15-kilo Brittany with 100' of chain + warp, and another 15-kilo folding fisherman with 40' of chain. Truth is, I'd really like to add a 44-pound Bruce to the quiver as well and I am keeping my eye out for one at various nautical flea markets.

Since "So It Goes" does not have room for a 100-pound dedicated "super storm" anchor we have to make do with an alternative system and this is where the tandem anchor thing really works out...

Most folks adverse to the idea of tandem anchors cite the fact that they are hard to deploy, easily fouled, and don't really work as reasons to simply get a really, really big honking anchor, or worse, put your faith in one of those next-gen anchors.

Since we actually use a tandem anchor for storms, I can say with some hands-on experience that while they can be a pain to deploy, they are not really problematic in this regard. They also are no more prone to fouling than any other anchor setup if deployed correctly and work as well as a really big honking anchor (again, if deployed correctly).

For our tandem set up we use our 20-kilo Brittany with an additional 30' of chain and then our folding fisherman anchor. Since this is a storm-only setup the hassle of deployment/retrieval is no biggie however you do it, but since I'm a lazy kind of guy I've found a trauma-free method you might be interested in...

Since I ALWAYS dive on my anchors (and my neighbors' anchors more often than not) and since I'm going to get wet in the overall anchoring process, I simply put the second anchor together underwater. We deploy and set the Brittany as usual and then before I dive on the anchor to check it I put the fisherman anchor and its chain in the dinghy and, once I'm happy with the Brittany, dive the chain down and shackle it (don't forget to mouse the shackle!) to the tail of the the anchor then drop the fisherman anchor where I want it... Taking up the slack and making sure that the anchor is engaged with the bottom is done while diving on it again. It may sound a little complicated, but the whole operation takes less than ten minutes and while this method may not be for everybody it works finestkind for us.

If we decide to put out more anchors, we deploy them with the dinghy and place them at 120 degrees (more or less) from our main/tandem anchor to allow for wind shifts. That said multiple rodes out from a boat in any condition are a recipe for much mayhem, consternation and headbanging. The extra anchors should be able to be dropped at a moment's notice (have a fender ready to buoy it) if they should become problematic.

Listening to The Dustbowl Revival

So it goes...