Sometimes the Problem Isn’t so Obvious

We got a laugh out of this photo by Lewis Allen of the Redwood City-based Voyager 43 catamaran Quixotic, which is currently in New Zealand. It shows his Rocna anchor — and the reason that it wasn’t holding as well as it should have. Yes, that darned wedged-in shell had effectively blunted the anchor’s "chisel tip" that is so important in allowing it to get a good bite into the sea bed.

This incident also underscores the importance of firmly backing down on an anchor to make sure that it’s set. The Wanderer can recall many times when the anchor held under moderate load in reverse, but not under stronger load. Usually the anchor didn’t hold because the bottom didn’t offer good holding or we hadn’t let out enough scope. But on more than a few occasions it was because grass or a clump of hard mud had blunted the tip, or because a rock or piece of coral had otherwise interfered with the working of the anchor.

In the tropics it’s usually easy if not pleasant to dive on the anchor to make sure it’s set properly. In the colder and grayer waters of California, the Wanderer finds that it’s less of a pain and less chilly to simply back down hard to simulate windy conditions, and to also set an anchor drag alarm of some sort. (In addition to hardwired options, there are also smartphone anchor-alarm apps available.)

While we’re on the subject of fouled anchors, we’re reminded of several other classic shots that have crossed our desk in recent years, and we’ll bet many readers have also snapped similarly bizarre images. If so, we’d love to see them. Senders of the most impressive images will be rewarded with an item of official Latitude 38 logowear.