S08.E16: Premature Evacuation

[Uncle JUICE]

30 minutes ago, dsteele said:

Based on what we see on all the Below Deck shows, it certainly would seem to be a simple, easy task. But like so many things about the show, what you see is only a portion of what's involved.

Anchoring is one of the most critical tasks on a boat. It's not just dropping a weight in the water. You must 'set' the anchor properly, which means its flukes must burrow into the sand (like a spike). Otherwise, the weight of the boat will just drag the anchor along the bottom when there's enough wind or current. (Not good. Now the boat is free to drift around and crash into other boats or run aground.) I'm not sure about the large BD yachts but on the sailboats I've captained, as you pull into an anchorage you must align the boat head-on to the wind, drop the anchor, then "back down" the boat by putting it in reverse and gently tugging the chain until the anchor digs in.

The captain must also determine how much anchor chain must be played out. You've seen the BD captains tell the deck crew how many 'shots' to let out. A shot is 90 feet (15 fathoms). The number of shots will depend in part on the depth of the anchorage. To calculate the number of shots, you also must factor in the length of the boat. This calculation is called 'scope'. Too little, and the boat can yank the anchor out of the sand. Too much, and the boat will swing widely as the wind or current increases.

Notice also that large boats like the BD yachts have multiple anchors. Sometimes you have to set both to prevent the boat from swinging too much in the wind, especially in a crowded anchorage. This also isn't as easy as it may seem. You have to make sure the angle between the anchor lines is correct for the conditions. I set them too close together once and as our sailboat swung during the night we woke up to find both anchor chains tangled together so much that we couldn't raise them. Had to send a diver down to free them up. Not fun.

Lastly, note that sometimes we see a crew member who has to stay up on the bridge while everyone else goes to sleep. Although there are several things they are supposed to monitor, their primary duty is to make sure the boat is not drifting or that the anchor hasn't come loose. Hence it's called the 'anchor watch'. This shift in the Navy and on most civilian boats is for four hours, so that's why we occasionally see a crew member come up in the middle of the night to relieve someone who's already been standing the watch.

OK, more than you probably ever wanted to know.

Thanks for the detailed explanation! I would say the show should have done a talking head with such info early on, but I would not trust most of these ninnies to explain something like that. 

[Mr. Miner]

6 hours ago, Baltimore Betty said:

Didn't Sandy have an issue with a knotted anchor chain?  

If I recall, it was stuck in Captain Sandy’s butt. The crew managed to break it free and it was later used as a table centerpiece. 😮

[IslandGirl]

On 2/16/2021 at 7:19 AM, politichick said:

 I will say, though, Izzy looked surprisingly chic when she was making her exit. Didn't know she had it in her.

PolitiChick, I thought the same exact thing about Izzy; she could give Rachel a run for her money on America's Next Top Model!