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Anchoring/leaving under sail

5K views 30 replies 17 participants last post by  GetWeh 
#1 ·
I was reading an article in Caribbean Compass about pet peeves of cruisers and one of the issues was anchoring/leaving under sail. More so in crowded anchorages. I was wondering what the opinions of the people here. Cheers
 
#2 ·
If it's a sailboat, I would think it completely appropriate.
I sail mine at every opportunity, off and on anchorage, in and out of inlets, to and from the dock/slip.
I figure it's nothing new,as sailors, by nature of being aboard sailboats have been doing so long before the engine.
The only reason to fire the diesel is,no wind or I'm in a hurry! and if you're in a hurry aboard a sailboat you may have to rethink your choices.
I'm a sailor aboard a sailboat, therefore I sail.
 
#3 ·
from my observations, people are in a hurry, and under a time constraints alot of the time when they go sailing.
I've tried to not do that. when I step aboard I do it without the time. limit and wait on conditions.
I learned this by not doing it a few times cuz I was struck with gotta-go-itis, I found that can get uncomfortable, guess I'm a fare weather sailor.
 
#4 ·
If it's a sailboat, I would think it completely appropriate.
I sail mine at every opportunity, off and on anchorage, in and out of inlets, to and from the dock/slip.
I figure it's nothing new,as sailors, by nature of being aboard sailboats have been doing so long before the engine.
The only reason to fire the diesel is,no wind or I'm in a hurry! and if you're in a hurry aboard a sailboat you may have to rethink your choices.
I'm a sailor aboard a sailboat, therefore I sail.
I'm with you on that Joe.
 
#5 · (Edited)
lol i SAILED into the work dock in shelter island boatyard once..lol my engine had issues and i was taking SAILboat to the yard for yanmar work. as we sailed into dock, folks looked panicked and concerned.....we did perfect.....showed em how to do this..was fun. i was later advised tha t we do NOT allow folks to SAIl into docks in san diego..mebbe it is because one notoriously abusive sailor did once and hit a few boats.....hhmmmmmm
sailing into an anchorage will cause similar concern, as folks do not understand that SAILboats do just that...SAIL

leaving a mooring or anchor....raise jib first , sail off, when into more open water, then raise main. happy sailing.

this was our first lesson (i was 7 yrs old) when learning how to sail, as uncle kept his classic engineless sloop on a mooring. very good progression of teaching. i was most fortunate to have had an old salt as a maestro for sailing.
 
#6 ·
I see nothing wrong with a sailboat doing this, as long as the crew are competent and skilled enough to make the proper choices. Not all sailors are good sailors.

I sail off the anchor perhaps 1/2 the time, and anchor that way probably about 5 to 10 percent. I only do this when I'm comfortable with the situation. In a crowded anchorage I very likely would motor, but that's b/c I have a good appreciation for my skill level (or lack of skills).
 
#7 ·
I think it depends on a detail. My feeling is that it's irresponsible to do so strictly under sail since something can go wrong, BUT, there's nothing wrong with entering or leaving under sail with the engine at idle. That allows immediate recovery for wind shifts or other unexpected events. The engine would be needed for backing down after the anchor is down, and the engine should be on to help with windlass load.

GTJ
 
#8 ·
We sail on and off the anchor if the wind is blowing enough to move the boat, at all. Nobody has ever given us any grief about it and I couldn't imagine why they would.
We often have the engine running, though not in gear obviously, as a precaution. We also do not sail through the crowd (what would be the point?), anchoring outside the pack, making it easier to sail off the anchor.
However, I consider it totally imprudent to sail in or out of a marina, or anywhere where we might inconvenience ANY other vessel, or where there is the remotest possibility that my mistake could cause damage to another person's boat.
I couldn't imagine why anyone would care (can you be more specific about which CC you found this in), whether I power or sail on and off my anchor. Most boaters seem to fear even sailing into huge bays such as Rodney, Admiralty, Portsmouth Bays, or even FdF, preferring to power in from the farthest point of land on either the north or south end of the bay, even if it's miles and miles of powering. Go figure. I can honestly foresee the day when fuel efficiency makes most of those sailing today, the power boaters of tomorrow.
 
#10 ·
To me it's simply a question of competence and conditions. If the conditions allow (i.e., there's actually wind available to sail) and the captain/crew know how to sail off of an anchorage safely, I don't see any issues.

However, a crowded anchorage and/or poor weather conditions (not enough wind, too much wind, wrong wind direction, etc.) don't mix well with a crew not familiar with the procedure for weighing anchor under sail.
 
#11 ·
sailed into Annapolis one holiday weekend (poor planning, will avoid in the future)
right behind one of the much larger charter sailing schooners that had a deckload of passengers.
I remember thinking, "that skipper is good" the moorings were packed and there were boats and skiffs and paddle boards all over. the big schooner sailed right up to the warf!
now that's a sailor.
 
#20 ·
In enjoy sailing on and off moorings and anchor. It keeps me sharper, is good practice, and frankly I like the looks from other boats in the anchorage.

sailed into Annapolis one holiday weekend (poor planning, will avoid in the future) right behind one of the much larger charter sailing schooners that had a deckload of passengers.
I remember thinking, "that skipper is good" the moorings were packed and there were boats and skiffs and paddle boards all over. the big schooner sailed right up to the warf! now that's a sailor.
The Woodwind boats keep their engines running all the time and often are motorsailing to give the customers a better experience.

I've raced one of them from R2 to AH1 a couple of times when the wind was good enough for them to sail only. They still kick my butt - the skippers and crew are pretty good. The boats are also very light for their size.
 
#12 ·
i only raise main when out in open water, use jib for steering..lol


"Re: Anchoring/leaving under sail
sailed into Annapolis one holiday weekend (poor planning, will avoid in the future)
right behind one of the much larger charter sailing schooners that had a deckload of passengers.
I remember thinking, "that skipper is good" the moorings were packed and there were boats and skiffs and paddle boards all over. the big schooner sailed right up to the warf!
now that's a sailor."

as it should be. everyone should know how to master a sailboat if they have one.
 
#14 ·
I routinely sail on and off my mooring, BUT the engine is always running. Mooring field is tight and it's too easy for something unexpected to happen. My previous boat was hit on its mooring by a fellow club member who was sailing to his mooring and there was a sudden wind shift. Good friend was hit last season in a similar manner. Each accident result in over a thousand dollars damage. Just good seamanship to have the engine running and ready.
 
#19 ·
If you see someone on the road weaving through traffic, nearly hitting other other cars and running people down, you get to complain. (Yes, about a car driving!) Similarly, if you see someone sailing badly through a crowded anchorage, you get to complain. (Yes, about a sailboat sailing!) On my last charter I saw a bunch of near misses with boats sailed (badly) in mooring fields on a crater recently.
 
#21 ·
Yes and Seamanship means use all of the available resources to make the journey the safest possible. So in a crowded anchorage it would be poor seamanship to use your sails rather than engine, as no matter how good a sailor you are a motor will give you more maneuverability. Sure in an empty one it is OK, even good to do as practice in case of a engine failure. But to do it in an even slightly crowded one is showing off and poor seamanship. So doing it for the sake of proving you can or just so you don't have to hear your motor is really showing poor seamanship.
 
#18 ·
In Northport for example there are 800 something boats on Moorings with perhaps more than 1/2 Sailboats

The boats are all very tight and the fairway is very narrow SO depending on wind direction you can do it without being that "person" and there are many days were you would be quite obnoxious IMHP to make that many people dodge you in a narrow place :)
 
#23 ·
if one hasnt an engine, one need not use it.
so why is it such good seamanship to have an engine idling when the job is more seaworthy done under sail. i am in stitches reading you guys. have fun. when you get real, let me know. i am out here. lol. is it coffee break time yet????
we were on and off mooring when we were CHILDREN, sailing a 1903 built sloop, gaff rigged, as CHILDREN(i was 7, my bros were 6 and 3 respectively),.,, so , what is so hard about that which you are attempting to do in modern boats.......
 
#24 ·
Pretty much every mooring field or anchorage that I know of is now jam packed with other craft and those are a damn sight bigger than when I was young.

That is probably the major difference 'tween now and the middle ages.
 
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#25 ·
Hmmmm . . . .

Many of the anchorages we visit are often quite crowded and sometimes the holding is not great. Getting a boat to sit in the right spot without swinging onto others is not always easy and when sailing in, it is more tricky.

For example, you sail in between two boats with another boat 100yds astern - the anchor drags and the wind drifts you back onto the boat behind. How well does your boat handle under sail in reverse? I'll bet not as well as you think. A drifting boat gobbles up 100 yds in a very short time.

And if you do manage to get the boat turned in time, how quickly does it begin to make way under sail? And if you're like a goodly percentage of visitors to this forum, your engine may not start all that well not least because as a purist you haven't used it for a while. Right?

In addition, many (most) anchorages are in a bay or inlet of some sort where surrounding elements (trees, cliffs, buildings) will cause unexpected wind eddies and that could compromise your efforts at doing this without touching other boats.

The wind is often light enough to sail with some confidence into a crowded space but then it is perhaps too light to set the anchor properly and at 03:00AM someone else is going to have you leaning against them when the wind does fill in a little. Please God, don't let it be me!!

And remember also that if you have to move at 03:00AM, you're technically the last boat into the anchorage and you have to give space to everyone else there, even those that came in many hours after you did.

So I get the "purist" thing about "I'm a sailor" but I often see guys coming in under sail and in my nervousness I wonder "What is the down side to motoring in?" And this is even more intriguing for those who sail in with the motor idling :confused:

I motor into an anchorage, I set my anchor properly and that's where I'm spending the night. Nobody around me will have any cause to be nervous. Those purists who get it wrong and drag onto me in the middle of the night will be moving and it probably won't be under sail.:p

But that's just me . . . .

Just a question: What sails would you have up to sail into an anchorage?
 
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#28 ·
Just a question: What sails would you have up to sail into an anchorage?
As for sails when sailing to anchor, we will beat up into the bay on the sails that have been up for the voyage. At about a mile from the spot we plan to anchor, we furl the main and continue up wind under Yankee, reefing it each time we tack, until there is only a handkerchief pulling the boat along at about a knot. When we are just below where we want to anchor, I'll put her into the wind, furling up the last bit of the Yankee. As we fall off, Nikki is letting the anchor drop, so that the chain runs clear of the anchor.
Leaving, we will either put up the main once we've shortened up to 50' of chain, or wait until the anchor is up and then pull out the Yankee. With the main, we try and time pulling the anchor with the swing of the boat, so we will not have to jibe. We very rarely power up on the anchor as it almost always fouls if we do. Using the windlass a bit and the weight of the chain to pull us up to the anchor has worked very well for us, and we never get the chain caught under rocks or ledges any more.
As for what some did a half century ago or so, we should remember that just like the roads, the waterways are much more congested than they once were and many times what was fun and easy way back when, is just not prudent seamanship these days. When I see somebody sailing through the anchorage like a bat out of hell for fun, I do not think, "oh what a great sailor that man is.". No, I think him a fool, and a very poor seaman, with extremely poor judgement.
There may come a time when it becomes imperative that one must do something awesome, like sailing an 84' schooner to the dock, but until that time comes (and hopefully it never will), it is always best not to tempt one's fate beyond prudent limits.
 
#26 ·
I'd probably want headsail and main. There is always a temptation to just go under main alone but the extra manouvrebality you get from the headsail outweighs the complication of two sails I reckon.

Maybe if the escape route was downwind then main only.

I confess that most of the times I have done this it has been onto a mooring rather than to anchor.
 
#27 ·
Well I do it fairly often but usually pick the more open anchorages like Falmouth Antigua or Clarks Court Bay Grenada.

I think it is something everybody should practice but there is nothing wrong with having the engine running just in case.


Don Street would be a good person to ask this question to as he sailed Iolaire for 37 years without an engine. Mind you it is likely you will hear in great detail why it should only be done if you have a yawl rig.
 
#29 ·
Yes and Seamanship means use all of the available resources to make the journey the safest possible.
That was the implication of my post you quoted. However rarely do I see boats motoring in with their sails ready to deploy and their halyard attached to the main. I am guilty of this myself.

Just a question: What sails would you have up to sail into an anchorage?
I would have both up to get to the anchorage. Roll in the headsail once there and then use the main to get to the spot I want to drop in. My first consideration when picking a spot, given the wind direction, is where I would be heading if I were to drag. Depending on the conditions I might drop the main just prior to dropping the hook or leave it up. If I drop the main I will raise it again after settling to back down on the anchor. If there is no wind to back down then I likely will start the engine and use that - I do want to have a restful night. If I have some wind I will tack back and forth to dig the anchor in. Having done it enough times now I feel I can set it about as well as I can with the engine.

To pick the anchor up I again raise the main, centre it on the track and ease the sail about half way out to the shroud tacking back and forth while retrieving the slack after each tack. I ensure that the last tack prior to having the anchor up will allow me to bear away on a course that keeps me clear. I find this so easy I pretty much do this whenever there is enough wind.

I do this not so much to be a purist though that could play a part but to mitigate stress should my engine die and I only have sails to shift the boat. I want to be as comfortable with it as I am using the motor. The two main reasons for this is if my engine breaks down I don't want to have to rely on the nearest shop to effect repairs and if I am in a remote area I want to be able continue cruising until such a time it can be repaired.
 
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