What is a safe anchorage?

[DonScribner]

Anchor in mud, 10 feet deep. Hey, do the Great Lakes have tides? I never thought about that! Anyway, I like to anchor in about 10 feet at mid tide, in mud. Set the anchor and back away to drive it in. Be careful of your scope and the swing of the boat. When all that is done, break out the Merlot.

I once read about a guy who was watching some jerk yell at his wife while anchoring. This bitty thing was supposed to drop it, and set an anchor 25% of her weight while the loud mouth at the tiller barked orders and embarrassed her (and himself). Because of that story, my lovely bride drives, I handle the anchor and everything is done slowly and carefully, with simple hand signals and nary a word. Then, I tidy up while she pours the Merlot.

[rhsanborn]

Technically, they do have tides, but they aren't high enough to amount to anything. finding a mud bottom is a trick as well. Huron sips between sand and rocks. And as someone pointed out, it's a really flat shoreline. I think we'll have to explore the couple anchorages mentioned, and then cruise the shorelines nearby our marina (Au Gres). The idea of being detached appeals to the kids. It's kind of like camping.

I'm taking barking lessons right now. I hear it's a great way to keep the ladies interested in boating. ;P

[AdamLein]

I generally handle the anchor let my darling wife point us where I want to go (or I just do both jobs). It works well.

However, if something happened to me, I would like to think she could handle dropping the hook on her own. Emphasis on would like to; she's never tried. Something to work on.

[rhsanborn]

She gets awfully nervous at the wheel. The key for us is to do things slowly, and talk about how we're going to do something beforehand. Docking is still a little stressful, but it's getting better. If we can handle that, anchoring should be a cinch

[Omatako]

Here's what I look for other than the obvious (holding, depth, etc).

1) Check the weather report and make sure that the spot you choose will stay the way you chose it. I hate 3:00 am re-anchoring. If there is a realistic chance of the wind changing early on in the night, find a spot that will be sheltered when the wind shifts rather than one that is sheltered now.

2) Make sure that when you swing that you don't have shallow spots in the swing range that will cause you problems because they will also happen at 3:00am. I have a badly crushed finger that came from swinging into shallower water in the middle of the night when the tide went out. I've paid my school fees.

3) Avoid anchoring amongst boats that are dissimilar to yours. If you're a keel boat, your boat will sit to tide/current rather than wind and the power boats around you will sit to wind rather than tide/current. Conflict will result. When? At 3:00am.

4) Avoid anchoring under sloping grassy shores. Try always to find a tree line, bushy shore or a cliff that will either break the wind up or send it over the top of you. Grassy slopes cause the wind to race down and even though there may be little or no fetch, you can have a really uncomfortable night.

5) If you have an all-chain rode, use a rope snubber to stop anchor chain growl as the chain drags itself across the bottom. Especially on a rocky bottom. At 3:00am.

[Minnewaska]

All good advice so far. Essentially, you are looking for protection from the elements and from other boats that might drag anchor or swing into each other. I'm typically more worried about the later.

Popular anchorages can require you to arrive early to get prime locations with weather protection. However, the yo-yo's can just pile in on top of you. I often take the path less traveled, even if not quite as protected, when available.