November 12, 2012
Panama City –
Las Brisas Anchorage
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| DOMINO at anchor in 35-knot winds (Photo: Samara II) |
Boy, Oh Boy! It was crash-and-burn last night at the anchorage. In my three years of cruising, I had never seen such mayhem, but it could have been a lot worse.
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Just before dusk, the entire South-East sky was ominously pitch-black, a wide swath running the entire span from East to South. I didn’t wait to hear the roaring wind to close every single hatch and even latch the ventilation ports at the helm… double-latched!
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| The double-latching dorades for cabin ventilation at the helm. |
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| Sailboat on the rocks |
“Domino! Domino! A boat is dragging towards your starboard bow!” Boat without light, assuming nobody is on board… Raincoat! Searchlight! Run on deck to check! Sure enough, 5 yards off my starboard, a bowsprit is threatening to spear my ribs! Run back inside, turn the engine on, keep it on "warm", run back outside to check on the dragging Windsong.
And now is when I feel silly: I flash my searchlight on the dragster’s anchor line to see if it’s going to tangle with my anchor (that would NOT be good) but we’re all right, then check the venturer’s cockpit to make sure nobody’s on board; but surprise! The poor guy at the helm is being blinded (sorry, Mate) and is doing his best to avoid a dozen boats while he is single-handling through the storm. Not easy to maneuver the dragging anchor 200 feet ahead of you boat, avoiding others’ anchor lines, and at the same time trying not to hit anybody with your stern. Kudos! Windsong managed to avoid all of us and re-anchor away from the fleet, admitting later he could now use a couple Valiums! This morning, he was shopping for a better anchor. Lesson: have a proper-sized anchor and rode for your boat… AND be on board at the Witching Hour!
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| S/V Windsong |
And now is when I feel silly: I flash my searchlight on the dragster’s anchor line to see if it’s going to tangle with my anchor (that would NOT be good) but we’re all right, then check the venturer’s cockpit to make sure nobody’s on board; but surprise! The poor guy at the helm is being blinded (sorry, Mate) and is doing his best to avoid a dozen boats while he is single-handling through the storm. Not easy to maneuver the dragging anchor 200 feet ahead of you boat, avoiding others’ anchor lines, and at the same time trying not to hit anybody with your stern. Kudos! Windsong managed to avoid all of us and re-anchor away from the fleet, admitting later he could now use a couple Valiums! This morning, he was shopping for a better anchor. Lesson: have a proper-sized anchor and rode for your boat… AND be on board at the Witching Hour!
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| Typical after-storm boat pile-up at in Las Brisas |
Meanwhile, Milleniumhad dragged onto Wet Bar. It would not have been much of a problem if Millenium’s engine had not been in pieces, undergoing repair, or if Wet Bar’s owner had been on board to maneuver his powerboat. This turned out to be a pretty nasty hit, and the guys are still assessing damages this morning. Count on solidarity, though: cruisers launched their dinghies in 25 knots and chop to help Millenium re-anchor. Lesson: be double vigilant and anchor away from the fleet if your engine is disabled… AND be on board at the Witching Hour!
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| The Bridge of the Americas and the new Eco-Environment museum |
The Chilean boat Pancho once more dragged into the rocks, the third time in 3 weeks. Once more, nobody was on board. This morning, a flotilla of dinghies rallied to re-anchor the derelict boat way off the fleet. Lesson: be on board at the Witching Hour!
Half a dozen other boats were dragging in the more crowded sectors of the anchorage, fortunately all owners were on board and, hysterical VHF calls notwithstanding, were able to slalom around each-other and hold. This morning on the bay offered a spectacle of re-anchoring boats. Lesson: don’t anchor too close from each other… AND be on board at the Witching Hour.
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| After the storm... |
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| S/V Nighthawk |
Reports from the Balboa anchorage area, fully exposed to the SE, mentioned a sinking panga and some blown windows off buildings.
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| S/V MILLENIUM |
The Witching Hourin this anchorage and at this season generally starts around 1400. Massive and violent thunderstorms appear from any direction. Last night was from the Southeast, but clouds have a tendency to swirl around the bay and can just as well come from the East, West or Southwest.
The storms are often violent with usual wind speeds in the high twenties, gusts frequently ranging in the mid-thirties, or like yesterday up to 45 knots. Wind speeds in the sixties are common.
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| 1600 - T-storm coming our way, this time from NNW |
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| SAMARA II at the edge of the storm |
The Las Brisas anchorage is renown to have a layer of very soft mud over a bottom of harder clay, but there are some patches of very poor holding in the area.
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| Windy day in Panama Bay |
What, then, are our tips for safe anchoring?
- Select an anchor sized for your boat. Under-sized tackle is way too common. DOMINO is currently anchored on a 160-lb Raya anchor. The Raya is no longer on the market but there are excellent alternative: the ULTRA, and of course the ROCNA among them. Get the best, heaviest, widest, sharpest anchor you can get, with the most fluke surface possible. If you must choose between spending $$ on an anchor or on chain, spend it on the anchor.
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| DOMINO's tackle: 2 Raya anchors, 72 Kg with 200' 1/2" chain and 45 Kg with 400' chain |
- Select full-chain rode of appropriate length and size. DOMINO is currently on Acco 200’ of ½” grade 40 high-test chain. Check herewhat’s right for your boat.
- Pay-out the proper scope for the conditions. Here, we have 15-20’tides. If your depths sounder reads only 10’ under your boat but you anchor at low tide, add a good 20’ in your base calculation. Don’t forget to add the height of your freeboard in the mix. In this anchorage, we have a 6:1 ratio. See more on anchoring here.
- Allow for plenty of swinging room. Boats behave in very different ways, depending on their shape, keel, windage. We recently had the 86’ megayacht SPIIPanchored next to us and I was very nervous as it horsed all night, coming very close to us. Although it is commonly recommended to drop a second anchor to reduce swinging room, we don’t. The only time we did was in Washington DC because it was mandatory, our anchor chains got tangled up and it was a real mess to raise anchor.
But check this out... The Wemar Tandem Anchor System.... if these anchors are big enough for your boat, it's worth to check them out.
Too small for us. We rely on big, wide anchors with lots of chain.
But check this out... The Wemar Tandem Anchor System.... if these anchors are big enough for your boat, it's worth to check them out.
Too small for us. We rely on big, wide anchors with lots of chain.
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| Snug fit in the bow rollers |
- Approach the anchorage slowly to pick your spot. In crowded anchorages, possibly make a general query by VHF to find out about the particularities of the harbor. Last week, a big catamaran was going to anchor ahead of us, right on top of an unmarked wreck. I had to hail them and direct them to a better spot.
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| The Raya's conical shape for better holding power |
- The rest is standard: lower your anchor, back down slowly giving time for the anchor to sink in the mud. When you have paid out sufficient scope, pull with the engine in reverse until you can make sure that the chain is tight and not dragging (look at a point on land at 90 degrees of your boat.) We’ve seen boats toss their anchors over the side, hoping for them to grab bottom, only to see the boat drag later on. We’ve seen boats backing out too fast on their anchors and never managing to anchor.
- When we drop anchor, JP sets an MOB point. This gives us the anchor’s coordinates which we later transfer to the Drag Queen, allowing us to shut off all other systems on board.
I the last five weeks at anchor, DOMINO has not moved an inch, I suppose we’re well dug in. Oh Boy, we’re going to have a muddy deck when we pull anchor. Until then…
dominomarie
