We've had a steep learning curve adapting to anchoring techniques here in the lagoons of the Tuamotus. The bottom of many of the atolls is a hard marl, mixed sand with rock and coral. Anchors have a hard time biting, and chain scorches across the tops of the coral and gets twisted below much of the coral. So, here's a typical scenario. Depth is 45'-50' and a small area of sand is spotted in decent light to consider dropping the anchor in. Consider, with the wind and current, dropping the hook exactly on that small patch of sand, actually hard crust, is problematical. Having enough swinging room so the boat doesn't hit another coral head when she swings is paramount, and snorkeling the anchor and surrounding area is a must. Example: three days ago we anchored west of the NW pass at Makemo atoll. Depth was 47', bottom marl and hard coral. Current was fast, and when we finally dropped, the anchor hooked in and the boat swung violently around to a standstill. I figured the chain had wrapped around a coral head, a typical occurrence, or the anchor fluke had grabbed underneath one. Sue donned her snorkel gear and I tied a line to her and had to pull her towards the bow of the boat against the current as she couldn't swim against it. When she finally spotted the chain, her comment after removing her snorkel was "It disappears in the abyss." "Shit", I thought to myself; she can't even spot the anchor. It had disappeared between coral heads, with who knows exactly how much chain along with it, and getting it out will be a challenge. Aboard, we maneuvered the boat forward and our powerfull Maxwell HWC 3500 windlass couldn't budge the anchor/chain although the bow was directly over the disappearing chain. The bowsprit dipped as we tried different angles of pull in an effort to free our 88 pound Delta anchor. I was about resigned to losing an anchor and chalking it up to bad luck when Sue said why don't we try one more time. Sure enough, the anchor broke free and we managed to retrieve it without damage to it or Infini. Luck, for sure.
Diving the anchor is often a solution to help free it, but the current was so strong at that time of the day we would have had to wait until the next morning for a slack tide to even consider donning tanks and wrestling with the big 88 Delta. So, sometimes luck really does play a part in this anchoring dance. We finally departed Makemo for an overnight sail to Fakarava atoll. Entering the pass with a two knot current behind us presented no great difficulty, but finding a place to anchor in front of the small village nearby the pass was another story. We first anchored amongst the coral and marl, but when snorkeling I noticed a coral head we hadn't seen previously. It rose just high enough to be a threat if the wind changed and Infini swung around. So, up came the anchor and we moseyed around looking for another patch to drop in. Attempt two went pretty well until I donned mask and snorkel and spotted old fish trap lines and buoys that our anchor was resting on top of, and the anchor itself was sitting pretty as she lay directly on top of a coral head! We had stopped swinging when we backed up and you guessed it, our chain was wrapped around a coral head, thereby stopping the boat. I felt fortunate we hadn't hooked one of the old wire and rope fish lines with our anchor, as that would have likely ended up with me scuba diving to free the anchor. So, with Sue once again in the water with snorkel gear on directing me as I ran back and forth from the helm to the windlass, we managed to untangle the chain and pull up the anchor again. On our third attempt, we managed to have the Delta dig in, and I had buoyed the chain with a large float about 50' from the bow. So, that helps keep the chain from wrapping around every single coral head surrounding us, but doesn't absolutely prevent a wrap. We use an anchor snubber as part of our anchoring process, and we're hopeful this third attempt will give us a restful night's sleep! In discussions with every other boat, it seems wrapping your chain around a coral head is a daily occurrence, and some folks don't even worry about their anchor "digging in." The only thing that gets me super nervous is if the water is too deep to even see the bottom; then it's really a crap shoot where the anchor is and if it's dug in or just the chain wrapped around a coral head when the boat stops moving upon backing down. Well, I guess that's one of the reasons the Tuamotus aren't on everyone's itinerary! It's been a learning process, for sure!
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