Anchoring mistake

[McCowen]

I should have known better when I drop my anchor. I had been drift fishing of Lee Bay in North Devon; the tide was fast and high (10.2mtr) and having to battle for 10 minutes against the tide to paddle back to my starting point after on 10 minutes of drift I decided to drop the anchor. It dug in as soon as it hit the bottom and immediately the Kayak was pulled around and the tug almost sent me in. I tried to pull the anchor back up but with no success, the current was too strong. I have recently started wearing a dive knife strap to my leg for safety and ease and it was with some relief that I had it at hand to cut the anchor free. Although the anchor is tide to the rear side of the boat it was not back far enough so the Kayak was at an angle to the on coming current. Lesson learnt.

 

Not all was lost, carried on fishing and had a nice 3lb Pollock. (Size ten hook with a Sand Eel) + some decent mackerel.

 

Best tips I can give after this adventure is get a dive knife and test your anchor in gentle currents.

[SeaDooDavid]

I should have known better when I drop my anchor. I had been drift fishing of Lee Bay in North Devon; the tide was fast and high (10.2mtr) and having to battle for 10 minutes against the tide to paddle back to my starting point after on 10 minutes of drift I decided to drop the anchor. It dug in as soon as it hit the bottom and immediately the Kayak was pulled around and the tug almost sent me in. I tried to pull the anchor back up but with no success, the current was too strong. I have recently started wearing a dive knife strap to my leg for safety and ease and it was with some relief that I had it at hand to cut the anchor free. Although the anchor is tide to the rear side of the boat it was not back far enough so the Kayak was at an angle to the on coming current. Lesson learnt.

 

Not all was lost, carried on fishing and had a nice 3lb Pollock. (Size ten hook with a Sand Eel) + some decent mackerel.

 

Best tips I can give after this adventure is get a dive knife and test your anchor in gentle currents.

 

I have had one since I first started yak fishing for that very reason and also in case all the gear that we have leashed to the yak gets tangled around you should you flip!! Would rather cut stuff loose than go down with it! Good advice well worth repeating !

 

SDD~~~~

[YakDiver]

I also carry a divers knife as well

[SpeciMan]

Glad to hear you are ok Nigel and thanks for sharing. It can be quite a shock to drop anchor and then realise just how fast the current is running - its happened to me before & it was unnerving to say the least.

 

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General Advice...When anchoring it's worth using a quick release system which is much safer than attaching your anchor line direct to your kayak. If you can't paddle back up to the anchor buoy to clip yourself on, then the tide is too strong and you'll have to go back when it has eased to collect the anchor and buoy. Worth checking marine charts for the area you plan to paddle so you have an idea how fast the current can run. If you have a GPS you can also guage how fast you are drifting which should give an idea of the currents speed.

 

Recommend attaching the dive knife to the pfd (buoyancy aid) and not the leg. Its easy for the leg to get tangled in anchor or fishing line. There is also a trend with divers to attach their knives to their BCDs instead of their legs (divers can get caught up in commerical fishing nets).

 

Quick Release Anchor

 

Hooking Up To A Buoy

 

Simon

Edited October 1, 2007 by SpeciMan

[GB]

Glad it turned out ok. I carry my divers knife on my pfd also. Agree with the quick release system, have it on a bouy ready to ditch at a seconds notice and retrieve later.

Edited October 1, 2007 by GB

[McCowen]

Thanks for the replies, good tips and guidlines.

[SeaDooDavid]

Glad to hear you are ok Nigel and thanks for sharing. It can be quite a shock to drop anchor and then realise just how fast the current is running - its happened to me before & it was unnerving to say the least.

 

----------------

 

General Advice...When anchoring it's worth using a quick release system which is much safer than attaching your anchor line direct to your kayak. If you can't paddle back up to the anchor buoy to clip yourself on, then the tide is too strong and you'll have to go back when it has eased to collect the anchor and buoy. Worth checking marine charts for the area you plan to paddle so you have an idea how fast the current can run. If you have a GPS you can also guage how fast you are drifting which should give an idea of the currents speed.

 

Recommend attaching the dive knife to the pfd (buoyancy aid) and not the leg. Its easy for the leg to get tangled in anchor or fishing line. There is also a trend with divers to attach their knives to their BCDs instead of their legs (divers can get caught up in commerical fishing nets).

 

Quick Release Anchor

 

Hooking Up To A Buoy

 

Simon

 

Superb that Simon My next job on the kayak!!!! Ta!

 

SDD~~~

[darnsarf]

I have had to cut myself free twice, once I was in the water. This makes the knife my most used safety item. Endorse the on the PFD advice.

 

I have just re rigged the Scuppers trolly so that the anchor line will go directly out over the stern as it makes such a difference to stability.

Edited October 2, 2007 by darnsarf

[richi]

Good Lesson learnt

 

Don't worry,most of us have learned the same lesson too

[BristolLes]

whats the recommended (safest) way of attaching a rescue knife to a PFD IE on a lanyard / direct to

 

a ring or kept in a pocket ? (visions of trying to free myself from huge ball of spaghetti !)