T&T: Anchor Loyalty

[Pascal Gademer]

timely thread...

I have a Fortress 55 on my boat, which i think has never failed to set in 
the mud or sand i usually anchor in.  it works like clockwork : drop it, pay 
out 5:1 chain, let the wind pull the boat back or use a little power if wind 
is calm, bow snaps into the wind. done, i know i can have a good night 
sleep.

last night, i was driving a friend's 58 with a 80 lbs delta.  set it just 
fine when we anchored to watch the fireworks. After the party and droping 
off most of the guests, we decided to anchor off Key Biscayne (west side, 
off KBYC), a spot where i have anchored my own boat 100s of times.  For some 
reason i simply couldn't get the darn thing to hold even with 8:1 all 
chain... not doing anything different than i do with my Fx. Winds were calm, 
i used very little power (those 8V92T have real big props so i only used 
brief burst of reverse at idle)...  but the boat kept drifting back.

for the 3 attempt, we moved a couple of hundred yards to the south and it 
set just fine. This morning, the water was very clear and noticed the bottom 
had more grass, probably a thicker mud.

bottom line.. yep... call it loyalty... i love my fortress...

pascal
miami, fl
70 hatteras 53my