I happened across this and thought it worth the read. As nieghborly as I am, I wish others used something like this anchoring technique, so their boat wouldn't wonder into mine in the night: (BTW on my cat, I simply use a bridle, attached to each bow, then to a spare boat fender, then to a short length of chain and then to each anchor rode. I lift my board and rudders and sleep well every night.)
The Better Bahamian Moor
http://www.sailnet.com/collections/learningtosail/index.cfm?articleid=caseyd0080&tfr=fp You should only consider an anchor trustworthy, no matter how well set, as long as the pull on it remains fair. Should wind or current point your boat in the opposite direction, all bets are off. Reversing the pull on an anchor trips it, placing the security of your boat entirely in the hands of chance.Will the anchor simply circle and dig back in or will it flip or foul and release its grip on the bottom altogether? It is a fool’s game, and you need not play.
The prudent cruising sailor anchoring in a reversing tidal current or where there is the risk of a wind shift will put down two anchors, one forward and one aft, and both leading from the bow of the boat. This anchor configuration is universally known as a Bahamian moor, named after the cruising ground where many East Coast sailors are first introduced to it. In the tidal anchorages of the Bahamas, a boat sitting to a Bahamian moor will hang first from one anchor, then from the other when the current reverses with the change of tide. In both directions, the pull on the anchor remains fair.
Sometimes skippers fail to put down a second hook when it is clearly called for simply because they don’t want to expend the energy. To that I can only say shame on them. A more legitimate justification is concern that the two rodes can become twisted or that the lazy anchor rode leading aft might foul the keel.
Twisted rodes are more a concern for a boat that will be left unattended than for one with crew aboard. In the latter case, it is a simple matter to put the bow of the dinghy against the quarter and use the outboard to push the stern in a circle and “unwind” the twist.
An aft-leading anchor rode does have a maddening propensity to foul on the keel or the rudder, especially in a strong current. The current prevents the lazy rode from hanging straight down to the bottom. Instead, it is swept by the current up against the floating hull where, against all odds, it can loop around the prop, become jammed in the space between rudder and hull, or simply end up on the “wrong” side of the keel and prevent the boat from spinning around to face the new current or wind direction. An anchor rode fouled on the boat underwater is not so easily unfouled, so here the emphasis needs to be on prevention.
The familiar solution to this problem is the anchor sentry, a weight attached to the anchor rode a few feet beyond the bow roller. Almost any heavy object can serve—a sash weight, a spare anchor, a length of heavy chain. The purpose of the weight is to force the first few feet of the lazy rode to hang straight down, so that when the rest of the rode is swept aft in the current, it all happens well below the keel. Of course both anchor rodes are lazy rodes in turn, so if the primary anchor is not on an all chain rode, it too will require rigging a sentry.
There is, it turns out, a better way to rig a Bahamian moor that both eliminates the risk of keel fouling and reduces the consequences of twisted rodes. The only piece of hardware required is a strong snatch block. The idea is to bring the two rodes together well below the keel rather than at the bow of the boat. This is accomplished by leading the secondary anchor rode through a snatch block lashed to the primary rode.
You set this “improved” Bahamian moor exactly the same as setting any Bahamian moor. If you are confident that you can keep the rode clear of your prop, you can drop the down-current (or wind) anchor first, then letting the rode run, continue forward a distance roughly 15 times water depth plus bow-roller height. Here you snub the aft rode to start the anchor set, then lower the up-current (wind) anchor. Let the second rode run while you fall back, taking in down-current rode as you go.When the boat is positioned midway between the two anchors, snub the forward anchor and back down on it to set it. With the down-current anchor rode also cleated at the bow this is a Bahamian moor with a 7-to1 scope on both anchors.
A safer way to set the two anchors (the method Olga and I always use) is to drop the forward anchor first, then let the boat fall back a little more than twice your planned scope and set this anchor with your engine. With the engine off or the transmission disengaged, lower the aft anchor. Haul the boat forward until it is positioned just beyond midway between the two anchors, and winch in the aft anchor to set it. Finally, feed out a few feet of the aft rode so that the boat will be able For the improved Bahamian moor, we can wait to set the aft anchor until we have rigged the snatch block. If you will be setting this rig often, you would be wise to put an eyesplice around a thimble in a short piece of three-strand nylon the same diameter as your secondary rode. Shackle the snatch block to the eye, then tie the line to the primary rode just beyond the bow roller using a rolling hitch.
Open the snatch block and drop the secondary rode into it, latching it shut again. Now feed out several feet of both rodes; you want the snatch block clear of the bottom but well below the keel. Belay the up-current rode, then winch in on the down-current rode to set this anchor. This will actually tend to set both anchors as each resists the pull of the other.
Anchored this way, the diameter of your swinging circle becomes quite small—a little over two boat lengths—and when strain comes on the rodes from any direction, the upward pull on the snatch-block junction causes both anchors to dig in harder. And all of this is happening well clear of the reach of your keel and rudder. What more could you ask?
