Anchor Dragging Episodes

A moonless night like this when we spotted a boat 30’ away at 1 pm

For the past year, we have been mostly anchoring out in the harbor. We prefer the quiet to the closed-up feeling one gets in a marina. With practice now, we are confident we can be safely anchored in winds up to 30-35 knots.

We were anchored in Elizabeth Harbor near Chat’n’chill Beach for about 6 weeks. We did not drag, but once another boat almost crashed into us in the middle of the night. I had woken in the night to drink water, and I saw a boat less than 30 feet away from our bathroom window. Rushed up to the saloon, out on the bridge, and saw that the boat was pitch dark. It seemed anchored, so why was it so close to us? In the evening, when they came and anchored, they were close to 300 feet in front of us. So, I thought they must have dragged. Flashed lights at them, called them several times on VHF. No answer for 15 minutes, and the boat was getting closer. I was about to pick up the anchor when I saw some movement on their boat. The captain was at the bow doing something. But things did not improve. It seems they had lost power and dragged the anchor, so they simply put down more chain.

I did not feel comfortable with them laying out even more chain, so we decided to pick up the anchor and go somewhere nearby, away from that boat. The problem was that it was a moonless night, pitch dark. We picked our anchor and moved the boat around, but in the confusion (and the wrong kind of excitement), the spouse driving the boat while I picked up the anchor got us too close to another boat that was on the mooring ball next to us. Thankfully, they got on a horn to warn us in the nick of time. I realized the danger, grabbed the helm, and used the thrusters to get us out of the jam. A bit scary night, but it all ended ok. The next day, we picked up the anchor again and found a much more distant and safer place to re-anchor for the next 3 weeks we were in that area.

I thought that was going to be our unique experience in the Bahamas on this trip, something that wouldn't repeat itself too soon. Wrong. At the next place we anchored, Stanley Cay, the same thing happened again. This time, it was a mega yacht that came close to us. Although the boat was not really in the danger zone, it had drifted into the anchor alarm circle we had set up. It seems they, too, had a dragged anchor at 3 am. Now that was a mega yacht with a professional crew and a captain. So, I would expect them never to drag their anchor. The next day, when we got up, I got on VHF and requested they move; they actually complied.

The lessons we took from these two episodes are that it is always good to be vigilant and to have a nearby backup anchorage spot. Better still, pick up a point on the map where you would go in case you have to move, for whatever reason, due to your or others' anchor dragging and a possible collision looming.