Can someone Explain this to me??

Stevyboy · #1 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

So yesterday my buddy and I went out for a sail, I was supposed to be in class but I decided to play hooky. Anyways, we go out sailing (in the san francisco bay/Delta area) and we have a good ol time. Decide to drop anchor and do a little fishing. We dropped anchor on the other side of the carquinez bridge about 100-200 feet away from shore. We finished fishing decided to pick up and go and we couldn't get the anchor up. The bottom is just mud/clay. We couldn't even get the boat on top of the anchor the current was pushing us towards land. We put my 15 horse motor for my 27 foot boat in reverse and it wouldn't take us back, I tried putting the forward and turning it hard to either direction and all we ended up doing during this whole duration is getting closer to the shore whether we were in forward or reverse. At this point we were about 30 feet from shore or less, I grabbed my knife and cut the anchor loose and after that we got control back of the boat and went home scott free.

So my question is what force was pushing my boat towards shore? Could the anchor line have been caught around my fin keel and therefore wouldn't have let my boat swim around?

Or is there something else I'm not considering. It was a very confusing moment on the water for me.

Steve

sailingdog · #2 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

Steve-

Your anchor could have been fouled on something on the bottom, like an underwater cable or a sunken boat or car. It may have also wrapped around the keel of your boat, which would explain why you couldn't get over the anchor to retreive it.

However, it would help if you said what kind of anchor rode you had, what kind and size of anchor you were using and were a bit more specifc as to where you were anchored and how much scope you had out.

KODAD · #3 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

You didn't consider tying a PFD to your anchor line, so that you might have a chance of retrieving it--- other than that SF bay sounds so sketchy, i'm sure some locals might have the answers you seek---

Sailormann · #4 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

Quote:

So my question is what force was pushing my boat towards shore?

It was God. He hates powerboats.

nolatom · #5 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

I think it's just California. The forces there are opposite what they are in most of the rest of North America.

But seriously--if you have to cut an anchor away, leave a buoy or lifejacket floating, so you can have another go at it. Typically, the rode costs more than the anchor...

sailingdog · #6 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

Believe they were fishing from the sailboat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailormann

It was God. He hates powerboats.

Sailormann · #7 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

Quote:

Believe they were fishing from the sailboat.

Believe you're right - I need to read things a bit more carefully

Must have been Satan then ... he is always out to ruin whatever is pure and good in this world

bfdtpkt · #8 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailormann

It was God. He hates powerboats.

NAAAAAHHH....... God doesn't go to San Francisco!

Hartley18 · #9 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by bfdtpkt

NAAAAAHHH....... God doesn't go to San Francisco!

I'm surprised He occasionally leaves Queensland!

chris_gee · #10 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

I don't understand why you would need to reverse to get above the anchor unless you were anchored by the stern.
If so then reverse is less powerful than forward and quite possibly you would not develop enough power to beat any current.
As you tried to go forward ie initially away from the anchor, not only would the anchor be restraining you, and possibly digging it deeper, but stopping the stern from swinging round, while the current and any forward motion took you towards shore. Remember a boat in turning rotates about a more or less central point so the stern swings out while the bow turns in. If you restrain the stern you stop the bow too.
If you were anchoring by the bow and had not stopped forward motion when you dropped the anchor you could overrun it and get it caught round the keel. depending on which way the bow blew off this could give you a wrap but you would have ended up downwind bow down from the anchor, which you should have noticed and I think in pulling it up would have noticed the warp went astern and you therfore had to unwind it. Since you dont mention that my guess is the first scenario.
Anchors can get stuck. But if you anchor by the bow you can use forward to ease recovering the warp, and once above it cleat it and the wave motion will break it free. You can also go forward over it and sometimes break it out that way.