58] 60 KNOTS AT ANCHOR - WILL WE DRAG?! | Windstorm | SAILING LIFE

This Is What 60 KNOTS AT ANCHOR Is Like! Join us on Skua to find out what it's like to be trapped on a sailboat for 48 hours in a windstorm with 60 knot gusts.
Wonder what anchor we use? It's a 27kg Manson Supreme. It didn't budge an inch and we trust it with our lives. www.mansonanchors.com/
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[@Si1234321]

Great video, seems you didn’t drag at all! Could I ask what your anchor is and how much you weigh? Must be decent if it’s surviving these conditions.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hey Simon, nope we didn't budge an inch and we've been anchored out in 40-60kn a few times now. It's an oversized Manson Supreme. We trust it with our lives. It’s a 27kg anchor and we weigh 12tons.

[@terrencebradley5417]

@@SailingKittiwake That is the anchor I have on my Cat 30 and have never dragged. I use 140 ft chain and 150 ft rode.

[@terrencebradley5417]

Oh yeah I want to add; I follow several other sailing channels and I have rarely seen anyone film at anchor in 50 kt plus winds. Really interesting.

[@SailingKittiwake]

It’s a great anchor 😊 👌 Thanks! We try to film both the good and the bad 😊

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

@@SailingKittiwake Didn't look like counting on the bad side this time, though.

[@Chris-be1fo]

So long as the camera doesn’t blow away, I’ll be happy. One of the best cruising vlogs on KZbin. Thanks to all your hard work.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Wow thanks Chris 😍😘

[@caromarco6315]

So pleased that you and your boat came through those strong winds!

[@almath9987]

Pretty rough for being so close to land glad the anchor held well👍 thanks for the video

[@cnc75adventures49]

Wow that was intense 👍👍

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hehe! It really was. At least we got to share it with you all :)

[@RickeyMoore]

Even in that wind and those swells, that Tayana is solid as a rock!

[@SailingKittiwake]

Super solid 😊💪

[@MichaelMechsner]

Sometimes we forget - anchor watches are part and parcel of the cruising life. Thanks for the reminder!

[@SailingKittiwake]

That's right, thankfully not often :)

[@TheDrloboski]

Am usually sailing by my self Michael. Anchoring for the night am usually watching TV. But! Am always hearing the lines changing on the mast in the background. To quite means trouble.

[@andypennybrown6848]

What a great anchor! Bet you are glad you have the best on the sea bed, take care,

[@SailingKittiwake]

Haha yep, we've always been really happy with the two manson anchors we've had. It's definitely a weight off the mind when it's dug into a nice big sand patch with nothing behind but open sea!

[@williamwright2183]

Wow , makes you want to run but nowhere to run to. Howlin wind ! Take care

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yep, at least we were at anchor - someone came into our anchorage that evening before the wind dropped who must have been running to where we were!

[@evanofelipe]

Having instruments to show your position and varying wind speeds is both ‘comforting and concerning’ at the same time. 40 years ago I’ve experienced similar conditions in murkier waters but had no such calibrations to confirm my fears. The great thing is the confidence you store up on these occasions for future encounters by learning and knowing what Skua can take and how your anchor holds. Screaming shrouds and veering scopes at anchor as the wind increases scares ‘the life out of any skipper’. It’s totally a normal response, but afterwards you do learn to ‘respect your boat’.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hey Evano, yes that's a good point! On Kittiwake we didn't have any idea what the wind speed was and somehow now we know it the storms seem stronger! It's definitely part of the learning curve and getting used to the new boat, which we're enjoying as a process. She usually surprises us in a good way :)

[@Oceans_Sail]

Great vid, as always. Your anchor is your life insurance policy on any boat. Good decision! It’s Great 👍 that you show the wonderful sails as well as the reality of the “unpleasant” sails. But what is clear is that your boat is super - so stable in aggressive conditions - cosy down below even with 60 knot gusts outside. Even when your mind is playing games with you, your boat is looking after you. When outside is ugly, Skua cuddles you with a hot chocolate down below! :-)

[@seanrhone5306]

One heck of an anchor!

[@SailingKittiwake]

It is indeed! 💪 Manson Supreme ⚓️

[@nemo227]

This video show why it's best to keep your boat well maintained, shipshape.

[@martynrandall7652]

Well done guys, 60 knots scary lol.

[@SailingKittiwake]

😁😁😁 hehe! You’ve got to take what the Med gives. Thanks for watching 😊

[@zaundy]

Yes the Manson’s are a great anchor, I always sleep well at night when mine is dug in good

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yes, it’s such a great piece of gear that gives us peace of mind 😊

[@daled8221]

I had a anchor that wouldn't budge but I got rid of her years ago!

[@CactusSailing]

We also have a manson supreme, amazing anchor!

[@SailingKittiwake]

Awesome! They’re the best 😊

[@davidsanders4826]

Wow that's one superb anchor you have there. Sell that footage to the manufacturer for Marketing! Fair winds from now on. You both did great x

[@epitome4132]

Wow you are so brave to tackle this :)

[@SailingKittiwake]

Haha it wasn't wholly out of choice, we didn't expect it to be so bad!

[@nigellucas560]

Next winter, drop the mast and go into the French Canals. It’s €100 for the season and you can sit on municipal berths to charge batteries and bunker water for €8 per day or peg out in villages for free. It would be a nice change to having to bite my nails to my elbow and you might enjoy yourselves. I’m in the Canal lateral a la Loire at Nevers till May 2020. Bugger anchoring in the Eastern Med in Autumn.

[@SailingKittiwake]

We thought about the canals on Kittiwake - I’m not sure Skua’s keel would fit in there! Maybe one day but for now Skua’s a seabird. The idea of rolling up to a little rural French town and typing up and going to get a baguette does appeal! We hope you enjoy it, would be a nice change of scenery for sure.

[@nigellucas560]

Rubbish, I’m 1.4m (4’ 7”), 45’ loa and beam 13’ 6”. Go in at St Peters Port up and then left into the Carmague. Do a list of menus and rock climbing in the central Massife or something.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Skua’s 1.8m deep so most of the canal system would be off limits I think, especially in the summer.

[@jmaudsley6544]

I probably would have run the engine up to ensure it was immediately available and would have let it tick for a time as a precaution during the peak windspeed of the storm. Apart from that you guys had it nailed and your yacht showed just how a proper Bluewater vessel handles things. Nice job and Enjoy

[@SailingKittiwake]

Thanks J! I think we warmed up the engine in the night but it was too dark to film it. We love Skua 😊😍 cheers!

[@SailingKittiwake]

That's a good point, I usually do warm it up just in case. When we were hit by a bomba di acqua in Sardinia last year on Kittiwake we ran the engine at full ahead until it was over (a matter of a few minutes with 50+ knot winds)

[@rnca27]

Great footage !!That was some ruff weather. In my case when the boat is that unstable at anchor we place a sea anchor(or two buckets :) at the stern of the boat. it helps a lot with the boat movement, but we have a small 26 foot sail boat, maybe you could have a try next time and let us know what was the best solution for you.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Cheers Ricardo, that's a great idea. We've recently made an anchor riding sail to try to keep the stern in line. We could also try attaching a snubber to the end of the bowsprit a la Pardey's, but prefer not to put a load on the bowsprit unless absolutely necessary.

[@timheale9]

Top tip, don’t leave winch Handel’s in the winches, it is a dangerous practice. Tim

[@SailingKittiwake]

Could you elaborate? Dangerous to the winch handle or dangerous to the crew?

[@jamieminton172]

Social Fire is correct. Winch handles should be stowed after each use and stowed in a pocket near the winch for ready access. Line fouling and loss of said winch handle is the big reason, but being in practice of "Ship Shape is a Safe Ship" is the key. Muscle memory for every one and everything. Stow your lines and gear the same way every time and in an emergency no one has to think about it... IT JUST COMES NATURAL!

[@jamieminton172]

I hope this isn't long winded. I would like to relate a story of practice make SAFER. I took my family on an extended camping trip. This included a number of neighborhood kids who were essentially extended family and had limited resources. We looked like the boys and girls club invading a camp ground. We were actually featured in a chapter of a book written by cross country cyclist that we hosted the first week, but that is another story. I had rented a pontoon boat from a local marina for our stay and each of the kids had their opportunity to pilot us were ever they chose. some of these kids had never even been on the water, let alone been given cart blanch with a 25' boat. The first day my step daughter was given the helm after some briefing and attended by everyone else. After about 30/45 minutes of her doing well piloting the peaceful reservoir, I casually tossed a floaty over board, blew my air horn and yelled, "MAN OVERBOARD!!!" My step daughter froze and looked at me with PANIC in here Eyes. She was TERRIFIED! In the course of a half of a second, I calmly told her, "Sweetheart, we need to slow down, turn around and go pick up that person." She snapped out of her daze and did what she knew to do. in the mean time I was organizing everyone else for the rescue. She laid that boat (a machine that she had never before operated) deftly and sweetly along side that floaty. All the others were standing ready with throwables, lines and gaff. As Pretty as you please I plucked that floaty out of the water and proclaimed VICTORY! She was our pilot for the rest of the day. Docking that evening was a bit harrowing, but she got it done. This scenario would play out for each of the kids through out the next two weeks. They knew it would happen, but not WHEN. None of them had ever operated a boat and I NEVER touched the wheel the entire time, except that first morning coming off the dock, I didn't have to. I could hear them talk at night about what they did wrong and RIGHT and the praises they gave each other for not screwing the pooch to badly. I might add that one of the kids was lower functioning Downs Syndrome and he too paid attention, learned and was actually one of the best a docking. By the end of that excursion, those kids had organized themselves into drill teams for the MOB exercises and each knew their station when it came... All by themselves. All I had to do was sit back and be proud. Needless to say on Pack Out Day they each had their favorite breakfast and what ever flavor of pancakes they desired. If I recall chocolate chip with peanut butter syrup was the most requested. Sorry it WAS long winded, but the moral of the story is Practice makes you SAFER!

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

When we were racing, everybody had a personal handle and had to buy it back for ten to 50 bucks should he/she leave it long enough on the winch to enable someone else to grab/remove it (behind his/her back). Handles are to be near the very winch(-es) they turn, but never _in_ those after You actually used 'em. It's a _handle_ , so it's meant to be _handled_ , not _left behind_ . Dangers start with tripping hazard and end with ripped out winches leaving a nasty hole in Your deck or roof should anything moving get caught in the lever the wrong way.

[@fxpthl]

WOW kids! Those were some winds indeed. Here in Southern California, we have what are called "Santa Ana Winds" that come out of the inland desert areas, very HOT and DRY and sometimes reach velocity's like you have just experienced. With that dry wind usually means very low humidity and our brush fire danger increases tremendously! We live in an area that is quite hilly and dry, so we dread this time of the year and the potential for those high winds! Skua looks so comfortable compared to Kittiwake!

[@SailingKittiwake]

Cheers Edward. Hope the SA Winds leave you alone soon 😊 Have a great week!

[@nigelgriffiths259]

And there I was thinking of jumping back into sailing again! I doubt management will support my plan now. Always put out more anchor chain than you need. And remember it’s not one failure that leads to disaster, but a combination of several. As well as the two electric bilge pumps I hope you have a couple of manual pumps. One operated from inside the boat and the other from the cockpit. Keep smiling and remember the good bits about sailing when it’s horrible.

[@SailingKittiwake]

We've got a manual one in the cockpit, but can't think of why you'd want one down below? If you're pumping for any amount of time then surely the situation would be dire enough that being above decks is better?

[@nigelgriffiths259]

Sailing Kittiwake sometimes like during the Fastnet race disaster, you need to be down below pumping. Had a friend who crewed on a Contessa 32 which did a 360 degrees through the water. Fortunately everyone was down below and they were able to manually pump from inside.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Ah I see, yes that makes sense.

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

@@SailingKittiwake You could build a moveable "step-on" board with a manual Henderson or big Whale pump mounted to kneel or stand on when pumping, which would make it an inside- and outside-pump depending on where it should be needed.

[@010203040506073]

one thing that can be good in high wind anchoring / mooring especially if there is any chop, is to put some kind of anti-chafing material in the bow chocks where the anchor or mooring line goes through, even a dishrag - just make sure the anchor line or mooring line still fits well within the chock. That way, especially with chop (that makes the bow go up and down and thereby generates a repetitive "sawing" motion against the anchor or mooring line) the dishrag, or piece of leather or whatever you use as anti-chafing gear - that will be sacrificed to the "sawing" rather than the anchor line or mooring line. ..... worth keeping in mind if/when appropriate. you can also rig up a "back-up" line sometimes (not always possible), for the last few feet of where the anchor line or mooring line comes onto the bow. also, if possible, use two lines for the last ten feet or so, so one line goes through each chock. also, if possible, rig a small "keeper" line that goes tightly over the chock(s), to keep the anchor line or mooring line from jumping out of the chock.

[@SailingKittiwake]

It may not show well in the video, but our bridle is set up exactly that way, with secured thick hose as chaffing protection. It took high winds and light all season and is still in excellent condition. Of course, we use the same kind of thick hose for mooring in any wind too.

[@010203040506073]

well, there you go....................happy sailing !

[@frankd2301]

That was crazy. Well if your anchor held at 5:1 in 60 knots then you’ve got a good anchor 👍

[@SailingKittiwake]

It’s the best! 😊 An oversized Manson Supreme 💪 Held us in 40-60kn a few times now! 😊

[@pubu2010]

Lunch/Day Hook: 5-1, Overnight/Fairly Calm: 7-1, Storm: 10-1. Measured from the sea bottom to the deck at high-tide of course. I got rid of all loops on the end of my bridle years ago as I couldn't just let out more bridle and chain if I had to instead of bringing it all in to lengthen it for an unexpected blow. I now have 35' of properly sized bridle line that I can cleat off to whatever length I need for the circumstances and I can readjust for chafe as needed. I don't have loops (eyes) in my dock lines, sheets, or halyards either. They just get in the way.

[@Jmmondeau]

Hello. I just discovered your videos. Here in Oyster point marina (San Francisco) in the summer and some days in the winter (more often than not) the wind blows 30 kts almost everyday. It's nasty but makes you a better sailor. We have to deal with it if you want to get out. Otherwise we would never have a day on the water. PS love your videos. I have a double wonder also (Freya 39).

[@SailingKittiwake]

Wow we had no idea San Fran was that windy! Thanks a lot 😊 Happy sailing!

[@Somuchsawdust]

my family and I just lived through a tornado passing with in 30 yards of the 32ft RV we live in. so I can appreciate the fear those winds bring, but ours was only for a few minutes, I cannot imagine for a day and half or 2 like that, wow

[@RoyClare]

Lots of armchair sailors here again it seems! Everything from your anemometer is reading it wrong, to you need help knowing how to anchor! 🤣 But you guys are so cool., gently brushing off the critics and calmly getting on with your boat life. As a ship driver for the navy and as a yachtie I know that the “expert” is almost always on the jetty, commentating .... 🙄 Rock on, friends ... you’re inspiring a lot of people who really appreciate you and your work.🍻👌

[@SailingKittiwake]

Haha thanks a lot Roy! Yep, there's plenty of them about though I'm surprised anchoring an armchair needs so much chain / anemometer accuracy / skills! Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching and commenting :)

[@twdarcy]

Your life was not in "immediate" danger, no need to panic. You should have been afraid, but you were very brave. God Speed and fair winds. :)

[@SailingKittiwake]

You haven’t seen us panic yet 😁 It’s unnerving to see the windspeed creep up to 60kn though 😁 Cheers! Fair winds.

[@ralphholiman7401]

So much nicer having GPS at night in a windy anchorage. I remember the days of taking hand bearing compass shots at lights all night to see if we were dragging! But, yeah, 60 knots, that's a long night!

[@SailingKittiwake]

For sure! It's so easy!

[@MichaelMechsner]

Every boat should have a hand bearing compass (and other old days tech) and every GOOD sailor should still know who to use it! The navy has all the high tech gear but watch officers still had to shoot bearings by hand and know how to use a sextant.

[@SailingKittiwake]

We made a video about sailing the old school way last season 😊 We have 2 hand bearing compasses 🤓😉

[@MichaelMechsner]

@@SailingKittiwake That's great keep up the skills!!

[@pietrokefa2354]

Bravi!!! If you plan to go in Sicily...We are here and can give some support

[@SailingKittiwake]

Cheers Pietro. Ah the videos aren’t in real time. We were in Sicily in May.

[@snakeplisken4278]

Tip that might be obvious but works for us. When you need to increase the scope in heavy winds do, as follows. 1) First, let our more chain but do not release the bridle, just let it drop behind (slack) for now. 2) Tie a new bridle line say 30 feet or whatever onto the new longer end part (use a rolling hitch) on deck and cleat it off, still not under load 3) now release the original bridle and let the boat drift back until taught on the new bridle. Note: The trick is not to try and free the knot/hook from the original bridle, but rather release it from the deck cleats one side at a time, tie it with a light line around the chain to retrieve later. let the original bride disappear underwater with the chain. Since it tied off to the chain, you can retrieve it later. Even if you lose the original bridle, that is a small sacrifice to rest safely on the new longer scope. It all works out fine most of the time. We have done this and it works well.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hi, we just didn't have any more chain but what you describe makes perfect sense :)

[@Custercounty01]

Ive had 100mph sustained and gusts to 130 over 4 days at Plettenburg Bay. The seas were huge and steep since the wind was blowing against the current. Nasty nasty conditions.

[@chriswills9530]

You obvs had enough warp and chain out and a good anchor as you didn't drag, despite your concerns. Sounds like good seamanship and enough kit. Well done.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Thanks a lot Chris, yep we're generally happy with our anchoring setup but it would be nice to have enough chain that we could have 5:1 out (all chain) in 9-10 metres of depth as sometimes the best sheltered anchorages are deeper. Thanks for the compliment on our seamanship :)

[@chriswills9530]

@@SailingKittiwake It's clear to see the improvement in your skillset and confidence since the early days, anchoring on Scilly. I can say this without being patronising because I am both much older than you two as well as being half the seamen you two are, but part of the pleasure of following your channel is seeing you learn and improve and develop confidence. Keep on doing what you do and enjoy it; we do :-))

[@tiborkiss9186]

Yep - electronics are always breaking on boats - we use a laptop with navionics as chart plotter - and always buy the cheapest laptop available to run...

[@SailingKittiwake]

Too true! We've got a couple of tablets (running both navionics and OpenCPN) now as well as the plumbed in chart plotter.

[@silvanocometta9760]

Hi there. Make sure you know the max. hight level the bilge pumps will be able to operate. The gal/h indication is not as important as the rating for the hight. Half a meter higher installation than the rating and your bilge pump will not pump out anything at all! Best regards. Silvano (Switzerland)

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

That anchor plot was quite reassuring that You did everything right when shopping for anchors and chain/rope, and the pieces taken while Your windeye showed 56 ...58 ... wheeeee 59 kts weren't that bad either in terms of threatening sounds from hull or rig, were they? That's why people want Tayanas to ride a storm like that laying on a roadstead. It even seemed in fact quite comfy down below, seeing Elena reading windspeeds or Ryan washing dishes without any need to hold fast while the Maestrale bit in Your flag ... .

[@SailingKittiwake]

Ahoy Manfred! Nice to see you :) yep, we're pretty happy with our anchoring setup just need a longer chain. It was pretty reassuring being on Skua, other than veering around in the highest gusts, she's super comfortable. Now we've gotten more used to the movement we're pretty relaxed on her at anchor in stronger winds.

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

@@SailingKittiwake There You go. I pretty much thought about Emerald Steel's footage of their Hawaii draught, seeing You sitting through Your anchor watch. Most of the exhaustion derives from having been 60-knot-Maestrale-behind-one-anchor virgins I subsume.

[@danieloliver20]

So rule of thumb in the Med is to "double the wind speed forcast"!

[@SailingKittiwake]

In the low season, sometimes it pulls your leg like that, yes. Hehe!

[@randomtraveler3363]

5:1 and you held. That is a great anchor you have, given that you don't have an all chain rode. The low headland at Villaseminus, doesn't offer much protection from the wind there.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yep, once the manson is dug into sand, there's no budging it. I think 3:1 might well have held but wouldn't try it voluntarily.

[@randomtraveler3363]

@@SailingKittiwake in those conditions I'd have liked 11:1. Probably would have set out 7:1 given the forcast. Good thing the sandy bottom provides good holding.

[@SailingKittiwake]

If you've got the chain and there's no other boats to swing into then I think it's definitely worth it, it's not doing any good in the chain locker after all :) We've recently got our windlass gypsy fixed by a welder so can use the longer length of 10mm chain we've got on board - we'll definitely be putting it all out the next time we're anchored in those types of winds.

[@stevelawrie9115]

Wow guys, not comfy. But the good times are ahead :)

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yes! Plenty of them!

[@worldmobiletokeninformatio3107]

Im glad you two did well enough to maintain during those winds! Was this a normal wind or weather pattern where you were for that time of year?

[@stotas2]

What would be better in that sort of winds skua or kittiwake. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@SailingKittiwake]

Thanks for watching! Skua, even better with a riding sail to keep her pointing into the wind. Kittiwake would have bounced up and down the chop for 2 days straight, making a splashing noise resembling a bomb going off. LOL Skua is more stable (because she's heavy) and doesn't hobbyhorse as much.

[@stotas2]

Sailing Kittiwake probably not much fun good to see the boat taking it in its stride. Hope weather is better today for you, raining in Somerset uk.

[@peterfrebold]

....... Wow that was quite the ride you had there. Guess you are thankful that the wind was coming from land so you didn't have massive swells. I was a little bit sort of what the hell at your speed over ground, but you said you had an anchor alarm set .... you'll be getting a good nights sleep soon, this can't carry on for ever, mum nature is not that mean ... thx for sharing, .. those bilge pumps certainly should do the trick .. did not quite get it, are you setting the big one, just higher than the little one, what about 4 inches so you don't get too much in the bildge but still above whatever may have plugged the small one .... have fun be safe, save our oceans .....

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yes, being blown offshore is much more relaxing! Thankfully at that anchorage you can be on either side of a peninsula, and in the Med of it's strong wind then the direction is usually predictable and doesn't change much over time, it just eventually dies down unlike the pressure systems on the Atlantic that change wind direction as they roll over :)

[@SailingKittiwake]

And yes, the big one is about 4 inches higher up so that it's out of the water most of the time and less likely to get clogging / corrosion issues

[@tnargutoob]

Has this experience changed your procedure, in that if the forecast is for 30 knots, prepare the boat for 40+ knots? i.e. More rode, stow canvas etc.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hi Grant, not really - the weather forecasting in the Med was off this spring because of the jet stream, although we didn’t know that at the time. It returned to normal shortly after this video and we could rely on it again. Our normal preparations have always worked out ok, so we tend to stick with it.

[@gregfawcett5152]

So great video...do more of these...just kidding...at least you will be blown out to sea and not into the rocks. Seems like you are off the West Coast of Mexico when there is a Tehandapekor blowing i.e. a venturie (carborator) effect of the wind from the land...best...Capt. Greg

[@os5017]

if I'm not mistaken you are in southern Sardinia by Porto Giunco and Notti, I looked it up on google earth from your coordinates in the video. Please don't let us intrude too much in to your lives, enjoy your selves, it must be a beautiful place.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Haha don't worry, we aren't there any more - that video was shot back in April!

[@TheBigNasty1984]

I have a very basic understanding of sailing, but I noticed that your bridal was attached to the very end of your anchor chain. Can you/do you alter the length of your chain depending on your needs? You mentioned that you wish you had better than a 5/1 scope and I wondered why you didn't just let more chain out.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Ah that's because we only have a short length of chain at the moment, so 5:1 is the best we could do in that depth, even with the bridle attached to the very end of the chain. We could have a longer bridle of course which would be ok and give us more scope but could lead to chafing on the seabed when the boat isn't pulling it tight

[@TheJohngilberttyler]

Looks like some sort of anchor snubber used [see 14:34]. Any more info, Skua?

[@SailingKittiwake]

We always use a bridle (nylon 3 strand) to limit the side loads on the bobstay in gusts.

[@remodeledcatidea5324]

there is a way to keep the boat rear from swinging . i forgot how.

[@SailingKittiwake]

We’ll try an anchor riding sail 🤞 Hope it works 😊

[@TheDrloboski]

I prefer sleeping in heavy winds. Longs as those lines are changing your not dragging. Use your ears. In time the minute it gets real quite fast and less wave action you'll wake right up. A GPS alarm works well too. I see way to much stress in your face for not even sailing. PS. Love the inside of the boat. It's looking great!

[@SYIdefix]

OpenCPN also offers an anchor alarm, of you didn't know. :)

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yep, you can see it's on in one of the clips. Although we've often checked on it and realised that the tablet had gone to sleep and it wouldn't have gone off so we don't rely on it. It also seems to go off for no reason a lot 🤪

[@SYIdefix]

Sailing Kittiwake Yikes 😬 Only have on the ship PC. Luckily you survived 😃

[@roderickmchardy3650]

be nice for you to know that your anchor will hold you in those conditions.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Certainly is, helps us sleep knowing that it works so well

[@Nils_Hammarsten]

The chain is the key factor.

[@SailingKittiwake]

In us sitting through the storm fine?

[@johnbrookes2196]

Very unnerving in those wind gusts but at least you were not on a lee shore. I think the lesson to be learnt from this, I dont mean just you but many sailors, if your expecting f7/f8 winds put out as much scope as possible after all its only a forecast and can be much higher or lower. At least a good test of your anchoring system. Well done.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yep, especially in a big anchorage with no one else around - it's no use in the locker!

[@joytekb]

When Brits use words "passage went to sh..t" it means it is emergency situation and one probably need to call the coastal guard and evacuate immediately :)

[@thedarkroomukltd7541]

I saw that forecast when I was safely in the Algarve. - all that red on the chart looked horrific. Well done for placing a sound anchor. Not nice

[@SailingKittiwake]

Cheers! It wasn’t fun 😁

[@lyntonhowes5154]

Lucky that it was on offshore breeze... Would have been a far more challenging situation if there was ocean swell? Cheers

[@SailingKittiwake]

For sure, but you ALWAYS choose a protected anchorage.

[@martinsachs3837]

just wanted to mention these winds are a local thing. 10 miles out its much much calmer. as one cant go ashore in those conditions (you might have noticed ;) so why not sail her out of that bay with storm jib only and sail her undercanvased with the wind steering.believe me, its much more comfortable. cheers

[@SailingKittiwake]

I doubt it's much more comfortable given that it was really comfortable at anchor, unless you have a very strange boat that's really uncomfortable at anchor. I'd always choose anchoring over being out at sea in those conditions, but then we anchor a lot and are pretty confident in our anchoring gear and skills.

[@MonkPetite]

Exiting.. at 50 or above I will have my engine on and maybe in forward a bit. Try the auto pilot to see if it will keep more straight. All to relieve the chain.

[@SailingKittiwake]

We didn’t want to have the engine on for 24+ hours 😁 Diesel is €2 x L in Sardinia - the most expensive in the Med.

[@AmericasChoice]

The Sea is a fickle mistress.

[@SailingKittiwake]

She is indeed :)

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

That's what makes her so covetable ...

[@slandshark]

"I've never see waves like this so close to a beach." 5:20 Come sail on the puget sound some time (washington state, USA). On a windy day they get like that, sometimes a lot bigger. :)

[@micheldawes1]

For 58 knots, there’s really not a lot of noise down below. I’m guessing you’re on an older vessel with a very solid lay-up (i.e. solid fibreglass hull) What sort of yacht are you on?

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yep, 1976 Tayana 37 designed by Bob Perry. She’s super solid 😊

[@yvesgerard1045]

👍👍👍⚓

[@SailingKittiwake]

🤙🏻

[@billhanna8838]

No willi walls , No lee shore . calm water , Angker chain in the lockers worth didly squit , Have a rum ....fair winds .

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yippee! Rum o'clock on Skua.

[@billhanna8838]

@@SailingKittiwake Oh i forgot turn the music up to , Nice yacht - enjoy

[@SailingKittiwake]

Will do captain!

[@jsonnichsen]

Please rethink putting the inverter back in the bilge.

[@SailingKittiwake]

It wasn’t in the bilge, it was under the sofa seats, which is quite standard?

[@micheldawes1]

I’m very curious, your accent sounds Scandinavian, with a touch of northern England (?) What’s your background?

[@SailingKittiwake]

Haha! I’m Italian 😅

[@BitcoinNewsTodayLive]

Would you say your riding sail could have helped during the storm?

[@SailingKittiwake]

That's why we made it the following month. But I'm shamed to say, it ripped in a big gust in the Caribbean :(

[@whiggerhunter4268]

Never seen waves moving away from shore and out to sea ..

[@SailingKittiwake]

What? 😂

[@claussalt4140]

I really wish you would put on life jackets when on deck in these conditions?.....ps, looks like the Solent on our average autumn day!

[@SailingKittiwake]

And what would we do if someone fell in and we're both wearing inflatable life jackets? Instead of swimming back to the boat, the big inflatable life jacket catches the wind as you're blow out to sea. The person on the boat can't launch the dinghy in those winds, the best they can do is take off their life jacket (!) jump in the water with a knife and puncture the MOB's life jacket. Then both swim back to the boat. Honestly, why do people think lifejacket=safety? Why not just concentrate on not falling off the boat? Or if you're really worried, wear a harness and tether.

[@micheldawes1]

...Or maybe a touch of Welsh(?)

[@DoubleUThings]

1:5 in 5.5 meters water...? Would that mean that you only have 25 meters of chain, or do I misunderstand you? Happy greetinz, Wim

[@SailingKittiwake]

28

[@DoubleUThings]

@@SailingKittiwake But you still stayed where you were, so that's good! :-)

[@SailingKittiwake]

We need to upgrade our chain but after the initial refit we were broke 😅 so we made do for the season.

[@DoubleUThings]

@@SailingKittiwake Haha! Yeah, money goes fast when refitting :-) A shame you didn't pass by, because we had 40mts of 8mm chain left after we changed it for 70mts 10mm chain (a present from another sailor).

[@ronhaskins7197]

Last winter I had about the same when a nor'easter came though and I was solo. Three days of wind w gust up to 65 knots, for hours at a time I had the engines running just in case. Never fun but part of the life, good to see how the new girl did and the anchor as well. Enjoyed the video again, was this part of the honeymoon?lol Gives us silly humans the perspective we need to really enjoy those truly dreamy days we get out there. Here is to warm sunny days and fair winds!!!

[@SailingKittiwake]

Thanks so much Ron! :) The wedding happened a few months after this (the video is from April). Yes, you really need to make the most of those days with favourable winds :) Fair winds!

[@JonMadsen70]

:)

[@klemenprezelj]

5:1 in 60kt winds on a heavy boat with bimini up? Damn, that was risky. I would have gone look for that longer bridle instead waiting through the night. Don't do that again😉

[@SailingKittiwake]

It worked like a charm :)

[@land7776]

ha, Erik Aanderaa goes out looking for 60kts+ to sail solo in. (not that I would) NBJS....

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

He's a Viking.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Really? Never seen him out in more than 30-40kn but we haven’t had enough data to watch other vlogs for a while.

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

@@SailingKittiwake I suppose he got quite a _Viking's premature praise_ in terms of knot numbers here, while his solo North Sea footage in fact is stupendous

[@land7776]

@@SailingKittiwake well, he looks for the 60kt. winds anyway. I saw one early clip where he was in 60kts. w/8m waves, but I don't think he was planning for it. Just kidding with you though. I have never been in wind that high even at anchor. I would prob be heaving, and not to, but into buckets. You were troopers there overnight. Smooth sailing and all the best, I enjoy your vids.

[@tip0019]

It wasn't that bad, you were blown of the coast and had a good anchor. Sure no sleep. Install some small canvas (just make some yourself of an old sail) at the back of the boat to avoid all the turning and you are good to go. They say the Med is unpredictable, guess you saw that first hand :-)

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yes, I’m working on a riding sail at the moment 😊 Elena

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hi Tip, thanks for watching and commenting :) we've recently made an anchor sail. We wanted to make one rather than use an old sail so that it's completely flat cut - if there's any draught in the sail then I think it'll luff and slam around a lot more.

[@tomaswest6541]

Once your bilge pump is faster than a frightened man with a bucket its sized right.💧

[@SailingKittiwake]

Haha! Good one.

[@alexjohnson3455]

She is for sale on ebay

[@SailingKittiwake]

That’s Kittiwake, not Skua 😊

[@RiggingDoctor]

Skua has much less windage than Kittiwake did! The med will be a challenge 🤔

[@SailingKittiwake]

Quite the opposite actually 😊 Kittiwake was 26ft with an undersized rig and no canvas. Yes, it’s a challenge Oct-May 😁 Although we had some crazy thunderstorms in August too 😁

[@videomaker961]

Next time do not anchor in Spiaggia Porto Giunco because the shore is flat and windy, better move to north at Punta Molentis, some moutains will protect you from NW wind....

[@WindedVoyage]

Why did you not go to the marina? It's only 80Euros a night. Yuk yuk yuk.

[@SailingKittiwake]

“Only” 😂 As expensive as a 4 star hotel, except it’s just a berth. The forecast said max 32kn gusts, which is pretty much nothing.

[@WindedVoyage]

@@SailingKittiwake We were there 3 days... Ouch. Waiting for the wind to die down so we could go up... North. It was when I was doing my 1000NM for my blue water sailing license. It was worth it. I'm now sailing around Cape Verde. The Atlantic! Much prefer it to the Med.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Winded Voyage Sailing nice to know it’s better down there. After going to Greece, which was unmissable, we’re trying to get back out of the Med so we can cross the Atlantic too 🤞🤞🤞

[@nigellucas560]

Please stop beating yourselves up at anchor in the east med.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hi Nigel, don't worry - we're not in the East Med now :) actually the Eastern bit was fairly tame, weatherwise

[@ilixradix]

Villasimius... with 2 L! Villa = city in latin

[@basvandergeer4867]

Be careful with conclusions here. When you continue sailing, at one point you will have to anchor in deeper waters and in that case your anchor chain is too short. It is as simple as that. In case you disagree, do the math: Assume a few degree angle with the horizontal at the anchor position, verify that indeed the trajectory of the chain is a hyperbolic cosine, and you will see my point. If you are not able to do the math, believe me. I used to be a sailor, but happen to be a physicist, doing complicated math stuff for a living. I am not stating an opinion, it is a mathematical fact that you run out of chain given the above assumptions. Having said that, given the circumstances you did a great job and that is what matters most. There will always be people like me giving correct advice, but you simply cannot do everything properly for all kinds of reasons, money being one of them. The question is how to deal with that, and you did awesome keeping your calm. Safe sailing.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Cheers. We know very well that we don’t have enough chain, we plan to upgrade when we have a chance. In the meantime, we choose anchorages based on the depth. A 5:1 scope with an oversized modern anchor is fine in most circumstances. This was a case of an incorrect forecast and thankfully an exception.

[@SailingSquib]

5:1 ratio is just rubbish in that situation, put out all chain that you have, there were no boats around. Maybee set a second anchor in daylight conditions and go further under land where the waves are smaller. Many years ago the German Circumnavigator Bobby Schenk said: " The Chain in the locker is just useless."

[@SailingKittiwake]

We didn't have any more chain in the locker and it held fine, why is it rubbish? With our Manson Supreme anchor I don't think even 5:1 is necessary. You're maybe experienced in using CQRs or similar which require huge amounts of chain to hold, but it's obviously not applicable to us.

[@SailingSquib]

Your depthsounder showed 5.5 m, 5:1 is about 30 m of chain, I think you have more? When I bought my boat the first to do was to throw the CQR away. I am using a German Bügelanker since 15 years, Rocna, Mantus and some other are just copys of that Anchor. And I agree with you in 80 % of failed anchoring attemps I watched there was a CQR on that boats. My experiance in anchoring is out of more than 1000 succesfull anchorings. I wrote this comment , because many less experianced sailors see your exzellent sailingchannel and they may think 5:1 thats enough in such conditions, but in my opinion it is better to use all the chain thats available. @@SailingKittiwake

[@nigellucas560]

I can’t get the messages to come up but listen, your on the third light. Scilly was a wake up call to you of the risk of cheap sailing using one anchor. You have now had two issues in Skua. Do you have a second anchor and cable? I’d like to read about you spending sensible low season time in a great country not pulling the Samson post out of the foredeck. And that’s me done! Sleep well.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hi Nigel, we've always carried more than one anchor, on Kittiwake and on Skua. We're on way more than the third light. Being at anchor in strong winds is just part and parcel of sail cruising, especially the shoulder seasons, and we're content that we can manage the situation safely with our boat, equipment and the skill sets we have developed and are developing.

[@erichyney6287]

You may have been crying your eyes out. But your husband was wiping them out and you didn't even notice.

[@SailingKittiwake]

I don’t understand. The wind hurt my eyes and made them water like crazy.

[@BrianBallardmasalaicno]

Check your anemometer as it seems to be quite generous (wind in the rigging would be about 25 to 30 knots - whistling)... the daylight shots where the seas were regularly 'white capped' display at 20 to 25 knots.

[@SailingKittiwake]

It was the same as the adjacent weather station and it's consistently been the same as other boats around us, maybe you need to brush up on your wind speed judging (especially at anchor vs offshore).

[@mrpanrucker3754]

The wind was coming off the beach you Twit! Sitting there in your armchair checking your Beaufort Scale!

[@networkbike543]

Surely you should wear proper footwear when working round the deck.

[@4amwaj]

Omg