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Bow and Stern Anchoring 101

canal anchor spot

Canal looks wider than it was

The ICW has several stretches where one will not find any suitable place to anchor. I don’t include the possibility of marinas because for us, we don’t use them unless we need to or if they offer moorings. Even so, after we were north of Daytona Beach area, no marinas existed anyway. Our planned stop turned out to be way too shallow even for us and we nudged through sand at 2 ½ ft very quickly off the channel. Next option, about 5 miles north was an undeveloped canal right off the ICW that ActiveCaptain said was good to use. It would require bow and stern anchors as it was quite narrow (perhaps  60′) so not enough swing room (and I’m not talking dancing). It looked about ¼ mile long, situated east to west.

On the plus side, we were the only ones looking to anchor there. Guys fishing in small skiffs came around but otherwise we had the place to ourselves… along with the no-see-ums, myriad insects and plenty of small fish. With darkness (that’d be around 8pm) the fish began jumpin’ and we could hear their plopping sound which intensified when we shined the flashlight over the water.

This was our first time using a stern anchor; we’d used our spare as a second bow anchor in Boca Grande Bayou when we were stern-tied to the mangroves.  Setting it was much easier than retrieval and this once was good enough for me but Russ- hey this is the guy who thought the squall was “fun” -suggested it was good practice and he’d anchor there again. Geeze, not me.

Here’s how it played out: dropped main Rocna anchor (88lbs) fairly close to the south side and let out 75′ feet of chain. The wind was southwest and light and we swung close to the north side. Extracted the Fortress (21lbs, with 20’chain/200’line) from its place at the bow and Russ took it in the dinghy to about 40′ past our stern toward the south side, leaving it cleated near the bow. When it was set, we moved the line completely to the stern and tied it there.

russ pulls anchor

A two anchor workout

This brought us to the center of the canal with our bow facing the entrance. So far so good. The wind was keeping us in place but if it died down our stern would swing close to the north side- which is exactly what happened. Before I got up the next morning Russ re-tied the stern anchor to the other side of the stern and that moved us back to near center.

The morning retrieval process would be more fun as a video, albeit a long one at 30 mins. The key decision was which anchor to raise first. We decided that in order for me to pull up the Fortress (no laughing) it would need to move to the bow which meant the Rocna had to come up first. Russ let out some stern line then raised the Rocna (we have an electric winch for that as opposed to a wench). By this time the wind was out of the west and helping hold us in place.  Next he quickly pulled in half of the line and brought the line around to the bow and I took over pulling it in while Russ maneuvered the boat. We had to swing around the anchor because once it was at the bow we were inches away from the shore. Once we’d swung to have the bow facing out and the anchor in front of us, I was able (just barely) to pull up the remaining line and chain through the bow roller and get the anchor up enough so that Russ could finish the process. We quickly traded places and my job was to keep the boat in the middle of canal- luckily the wind was a huge help. Phew- now we just had to get over the low entrance bar and start on our way. The entrance was 3 ½’ deep (half way to low tide) and if the width was 5 feet more than our beam of 23′ I’d be very surprised. Did we do all perfectly? Was there a better way? Who knows, but it worked out and now we can add one more exercise to our list of things we’ve done.

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In Boca Grande, FL

Monday- a fuel saver day! After the 45 mins to leave Sarasota- heading out Big Pass(as opposed to New Pass which is newer but not better)- up went the main and jib and we flew south in 18-20kts on a starboard tack, averaging over 7kts.  As usual this did not last all day, but we did sail all the way to Boca Grande Pass, dropping sail at 2pm and motoring the remaining 4 miles. Another first: we dropped anchor in the narrow Boca Grande Bayou, a canal like cut into Gasparilla Island, and stern tied to the mangroves. Boca Grande is comprised of several islands; Gasparilla being the largest, most famous and infamous.
It is supposedly named after the pirate Jose Gaspar who plied the waters from Sanibel to Tampa in the late 1700s and early 1800s.  Legend has it that the women he captured were kept- guess where? Yes- that would be on today’s Captiva Island.  His legendary treasure is buried somewhere in this area, and if you don’t hear from us again, you’ll know we found it.

ortolan in the bayou

Stern tied to mangroves at Gasparilla in the bayou

Our spot is 150 feet from a small public dock where the tie up is easy and one could comfortably climb off the dinghy in a skirt. While warmer here than Sarasota (73 at 3pm) today was not a beach day but walking into town I only needed a light jacket.  A stone’s throw from the dock is the Pink Elephant restaurant and the short walk into town brought us to a main area that I can only describe as a blend of Block, Martha’s Vineyard and Cuttyhunk.  We picked up a Boca Visitors’ Guide to learn more. Gasparilla has a 7 mile bike path that runs the entire length of the island and with bike rentals right in town, we decided to stay Tuesday and bike around- assuming the T-storms and rain would hold off.
Sure enough, the weather gods smiled upon us and the morning was warm and sunny. In prep for the wind and T-storms that were on their way, we tied another stern line to the mangroves and put our second anchor (a Fortress) in. First time for using it; I think we are running out of “firsts.”
As proof that the island is very bikeable- the rental bikes are all “an earlier era” style; one speed, brake with the pedals, cool colors and add a basket in front. With map in hand, off we pedaled; the flattest 5 miles I ever biked. The more I saw, the more I fell in love with Gasparilla. Great, we’ll stay.whiddens marina

Water was a consideration; none at the docks and the next stop didn’t have any either. So…… we spiffed up a bit after the morning bike tour and lunched at the Pink Elephant, or the “Pink” if you want to speak in island lingo- you know, like the Griswold Inn is the Gris. Not only did I enjoy an excellent Mojito, the Roasted Vegetable Flatbread was Outstanding! We ate on the patio, out of the wind with our boat in view. Our waiter, Chad from Ohio, was not the friendliest but we were easy customers and when he asked us, “is there anything else I can get you?” we made our water request. He didn’t flinch, and even said he’d meet us over by the faucet. Lugged our two jugs twice and added 20 gals to keep us going.

Tuesday evening brought rain, thunder and lightning. Miraculously the wind died and changed direction, making our second anchor do most of the work. Glad we had it out. The very cool thing about being stern tied, is the lack of swinging; for me that’s a big plus. We watched the NOAA weather and The Weather Channel (iPhone app) weather carefully; when we aren’t figuring out where to go, we are weather watching.
Wednesday morning we enjoyed a terrific breakfast at 3rd Street Café then picked up a few groceries at Hudsons.

hudsons

Hudson's Grocery- note the pink gas pump

Russ spent the next few hours with the phone on his ear, trying to coordinate a heating oil delivery. Yes, we are glad to not be in four feet of New England snow, but it sure is making things tough with the house not being sold. Much thanks to David for checking the house and giving us updates. Running out of oil a month ago gave us warning that we needed to make a few changes. Good thing we did, as the weather has worsened, much to our dismay.
An Osprey perched nearby, his constant calling out let us know he was hanging around.
Thursday we bid a fond farewell to Gasparilla, carefully extracting ourselves from the mangroves and pulling up the two anchors. Wind still 10-15kts- not exactly my idea of paradise- and the high temp today was BARELY 60! Let me say that the average February temp in the Exumas is high 70s- much more to our liking and something to look forward to for next winter. We moved five miles south to Cayo Costa an island just south of Boca Grande Pass where there’s a protected anchorage between it and Punta Blanca.