Anchoring is an evolution with a sequence, and the oral expects you to talk it through as one. Approach head to wind or tide — whichever governs — and stop the vessel over the intended spot. In depths beyond about 15–20m, walk the anchor back on the gypsy to near the seabed rather than letting go from the hawse: free-falling in deep water risks a runaway cable, brake damage, and a heap of chain piled foul on top of the anchor. Then come dead slow astern, veering as she gathers sternway, so the cable lays out along the seabed pointing at the anchor.
| Item | Working figures | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Scope — chain | 4–6 × depth | More for weather. "Depth" is to the hawse — add the freeboard. |
| Scope — rope/chain mix | 6–8 × depth | Less catenary from rope; more scope buys the horizontal pull. |
| Walk back vs let go | Walk back beyond ~15–20m | Let go acceptable in shallow water with the brake controlled. |
| Brought up | Cable snatches taut, then eases to a steady light lead | Confirmed by anchor bearings/transit taken immediately, GPS ring set. |
Log the position, depth, scope and bridge marks. The evolution is not finished until the anchor watch is set up to detect a drag — which is a planning act, not a hope.
| Check | What you are actually asking |
|---|---|
| Shelter | Against the FORECAST including its veer — tonight's northerly matters more than this evening's calm. Steep coastlines add katabatic risk on clear nights. |
| Holding ground | Chart abbreviations: sand (S) and mud (M) good; weed (Wd), rock (R), coral poor. Weed over sand fools both the anchor and the echo sounder. |
| Depth band | Enough water at LW for draught + UKC; shallow enough that full scope is practical. Deep anchorages silently halve your scope. |
| Swinging room | Full-scope circle clear of dangers AND of the neighbours' circles at a wind shift. |
| Restrictions | Cables, pipelines, prohibited areas — and in the Med, protected posidonia seagrass: charted, enforced, fined. |
| Escape route | An exit you could steer half-asleep at 0300 if the weather turns. Name your bolt-hole before you need it. |
An anchor watch is a navigational watch — STCW says so. The content: position verified continuously against prepared references — anchor bearings and a transit on fixed shore objects (instant and power-free), a GPS anchor ring sized to the true swinging circle (scope + LOA), radar ranges to fixed points — plus the cable's behaviour, the weather TREND, and the neighbours' circles. Escalation triggers are briefed: at what wind, at what position change, the master is called.
Response ladder once dragging: master called; engines started and used to ease the load — steaming gently up toward the anchor cuts the cable tension and can save the hold; veer more scope if room allows; then the real decision, made early — re-anchor with better scope and holding, or weigh and put to sea. A dark, crowded roadstead in a gale is often more dangerous than open water. A second anchor is a plan (fouling risk, doubled recovery), never a reflex. Rule 30 lights/shapes and Rule 35 fog signals remain correct throughout.
| Line | Leads | Controls |
|---|---|---|
| Head / stern lines | Forward / aft from the ends | The ends, a blend of alongside and off-the-berth |
| Breast lines | Square off the hull | Distance off the berth |
| Springs | Along the berth (fore spring leads aft, aft spring leads forward) | Surging — motion ALONG the berth. The uncredited workhorses. |
Springs also do the handling work: slow ahead against a fore spring with helm toward the quay levers the stern off — the standard single-screw departure with onshore wind (fenders at the pivot). Lines are tended for tide, chafing gear rigged, and load shared deliberately as wind builds — a line eased at 50% never parts at 110%.
Med mooring is an anchoring problem wearing a berthing costume: the anchor and cable are the entire off-the-quay force. Geometry first — the anchor laid 3–4+ boat lengths out, dropped up-wind of the slot's centreline in any crosswind. Back down under control laying cable — sternway puts the pivot point aft, so the BOW is the wide-swinging end and the thruster earns its keep holding it up-wind; the cable, snubbed judiciously, is a steerable brake. Stern lines ashore both quarters, then tension cable against stern lines to hold her off the wall, passerelle gap set.
| Classic failure | Cause | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Crossed anchors | Drop point too close or too square to the neighbours' cables | Drop inside your own slot's projection; clear a foul by dipping under with a line, never winching blind |
| Stern kisses the quay at 0200 | Short scope — nothing holding her off when the surge sets in | Scope laid properly on the approach; re-tension before turning in |
| Lazy line in the propeller | Marina ground tackle picked up under way | Know the system before entering the slot; lines tended, engines clear |
The wind lays you alongside for nothing; the risk is arriving too fast and being pinned. Approach FLAT and slow, park a beam-width off, and let the wind do the last metre under control — fenders ready, lines fast smartly. Plan the departure before you arrive: springing off stern-first, thruster, or a tug.
High-windage bows blow off the moment way comes off. Come in steeper carrying way, first line ashore FAST (fore spring or head line), and work her alongside against lines and thruster. Know your honest wind limit — above it, the answer is a tug or a different plan, and saying so is seamanship, not weakness.
The tender is where a yacht OOW's COLREGS, load line and safety knowledge gets exercised daily — and where the MCA examiner knows yacht candidates actually live.
| Area | Standard |
|---|---|
| Before launch | Fuel, oil, hull, kill cord tested, nav lights, comms (VHF + means of recall), bungs confirmed IN — physically, hands-on |
| Loading | Within the tender's plate capacity — persons AND weight; trim managed; guests seated before power |
| Kill cord | Worn, attached to the driver, every time, no exceptions — the MAIB's small-craft fatality reports repeat this one line |
| COLREGS status | The tender is a power-driven vessel under the Rules: lights after sunset, proper look-out, speed for the visibility and traffic — and local harbour speed limits |
| Dive support | Rigid Alpha flag ≥1m (Rule 27(e)); divers briefed; wide berth and dead slow near other dive marks and SMBs |
| Night ops | Nav lights, spare torch, second means of comms, passage told to the bridge — a tender overdue at night is a SAR incident in the making |
Yachts host helicopter transfers and medevacs; the OOW's brief: comms established on the agreed channel and the aircraft's instructions govern; steady course and speed as directed (typically wind fine on the port bow); the operating area stripped of loose gear — downdraught turns towels and cushions into missiles; crew briefed, nothing loose on their persons; fire party standing by.
Talk me through anchoring a 45m yacht in 20 metres of water.
Your anchor watch reports the transit has opened and the cable is snatching. Actions?
What is snap-back, and how do you run a mooring deck around it?