Understanding Mediterranean Anchoring
What is it?
Mediterranean anchoring is a unique and essential skill for sailors navigating the Mediterranean Sea. This technique involves securing your vessel in a marina or bay by dropping an anchor at the bow and using stern lines to connect to the dock or makeshift mooring points ashore. It’s a common practice for overnight anchoring in picturesque bays, allowing you to enjoy the serene surroundings and the gentle sway of the boat. Mastering the basics of Mediterranean anchoring is crucial for a successful and stress-free sailing experience, making it a highlight of your sailing adventure.
Mediterranean mooring - everything you need to know before your first time and even after it..
To stabilize the boat during docking procedures, it is crucial to drop anchor at the right moment. This method is particularly common when navigating the Mediterranean Sea, especially in marinas without dedicated mooring facilities. It’s often used for overnight anchoring in a bay, allowing the crew to enjoy the wind and tranquil surroundings, making it a unique and enjoyable highlight of a week-long sailing adventure among islands. Mooring stern to a quay or marina is efficient and practical in Mediterranean destinations due to minimal tides and better use of dock space.
Why is it such a big deal?
Like everything else, when you know the sequence of actions, the skipper with experience is already skilled in anchoring, and the crew knows what they’re doing. Mediterranean sea anchoring is not a complicated matter. However, it is crucial to maintain control to avoid drifting into neighboring boats and their anchor lines. For those embarking as a novice sailor on their first overseas voyage, it presents a challenging experience, especially if your sailing vacation is with an inexperienced crew, for several reasons:
In routine practice in Israel, the use of an anchor is almost non-existent. As a result, those who haven’t sailed much abroad are usually inexperienced in anchor usage and even less in performing Mediterranean sea anchoring. Most Mediterranean mooring usually requires securing the stern to the quay, and mooring alongside is also not possible.
In regions like Greece and Turkey, we may quickly enter anchorage under challenging 20-30 knots wind. Since in Mediterranean anchoring, the location determines the anchoring direction rather than the wind direction (bow into the wind as in regular anchoring), one must often perform anchoring with the stern into the wind. It is important to maintain appropriate distances during anchoring procedures, typically measured in boat lengths. This makes the maneuver very difficult and challenging for an inexperienced skipper and poses a risk to other boats. Dropping the anchor several boat lengths from the dock is essential to ensure proper mooring and prevent collisions with other vessels.
This is a slightly complex maneuver (especially when it mooring near the bay) that requires coordinated team operation and a proper sequence of actions. To execute it correctly, skilled crew members who know how to operate the anchor and the halyards are needed, along with effective communication between the skipper and the crew from the bow to the stern. When the crew and skipper are not experienced, it can lead to significant confusion.
Preparation Checklist for Mediterranean Anchoring
Assessments Before Docking
Anchor Readiness
Ensure the anchor is ready for lowering and the windlass is operational.
Assign an anchor person attentive to the skipper’s commands.
Fenders and Dinghy
Place fenders on both sides of the boat and stern.
Have a portable fender available for emergencies.
Secure and raise the dinghy to avoid interference.
Stern Lines
Prepare stern lines on both sides, ensuring they are properly tied and ready for use.
Assign a crew member skilled in throwing and securing lines.
Selecting the Mooring Spot
Anchor Placement
Drop the anchor 30–40 meters from the shore for a secure hold.
Ensure the anchor is directly in front of the mooring location to prevent entanglement.
Wind Considerations
Begin the maneuver slightly upwind to account for drift while the anchor sets.
Avoid positioning that leads to tension on the anchor chain or lateral angles.
Executing the Mooring & Anchoring Maneuver
Steps for Proper Anchoring with Anchor Chain
- Arrive at the anchor hoisting point with the boat stern facing the dock, even if windward.
- Lower the anchor while shifting into reverse gear to let it reach the seabed.
- Maneuver backward towards the dock while releasing the anchor chain steadily.
Dealing with Wind Conditions
- In strong winds, maintain control with more power and speed.
- In light winds, proceed cautiously and avoid sudden movements.
- Pause chain release to ensure the anchor sets securely. Tighten and observe for proper hold.
Securing the Stern
Cast stern lines to the dock, starting with the upwind side.
Tie one-handed knots to easily retrieve and secure the ropes.
Final Adjustments
Tighten the anchor chain to ensure it holds securely. If the anchor drags, redo the maneuver.
Adjust the distance from the dock using stern lines and the anchor. Ensure the boat is positioned to allow safe gangway access.
Verify that fenders are correctly placed to protect the vessel from contact with the dock.
Wrapping Up: Final Checks
Before relaxing, ensure water and electricity connections are in place. These should be arranged immediately upon docking to avoid missing assistance from marina staff.
Now, Relax and Enjoy!
Once everything is secure, it’s time to celebrate a successful anchoring maneuver. Grab a cold beer, enjoy the tranquility of the Mediterranean, and prepare for your next adventure!
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Mediterranean anchoring at a bay - securing the stern to the shore with stern lines
This maneuver is very similar and essentially identical in terms of handling the anchor. Properly adjusting the lines ashore is crucial to maintain the vessel’s position, especially in busy locations. The difference lies in our inability to approach within 2 meters of the mooring spot, but have to use long lines to tie to improvised mooring spots on the shore. This action slightly complicates matters for us and necessitates a skilled crew member who knows how to operate the dinghy and properly tie lines to anchor spots on the shore. In Mediterranean destinations, mooring stern to a quay or marina is often preferred due to its efficiency and practicality, especially given the minimal tides and better use of dock space. You will rely on these lines and knots throughout the night, so they must be properly secured. It is necessary for someone experienced in tying knots to do this.
So, what changes:
Assessments (In addition to what has already been written regarding mooring) :
Lines: We need to prepare two long stern lines! 30 – 50 meters, open and arrange them neatly without tangles. (In order to do that, it’s always advisable to check in advance when receiving the boat that you have such lines on the boat.) Sometimes, it might be necessary to tie two lines for the matter. There’s no problem with it, the lines are strong enough. For tying up, we will use a double bowline knot or, if you don’t remember, you can tie a double figure-eight knot at one end and connect the second line using a rescue knot. These are simple knots that are usually easy to remember.
While you’re at it, you need to clear the stern cleats from the short stern lines that we use most of the time.
Dinghy: For mooring at the shore, a dinghy is required. We need to prepare the dinghy in the water, with an engine/oars, and lower to it the two prepared mooring lines.
Two crew members should descend with the dinghy to perform the mooring at the shore. As mentioned, they should know how to operate both the dinghy and how to tie lines to anchor spots on the shore.
Important tip: They should wear water shoes/sandals, definitely not go barefoot, and not with shoes they wouldn’t want to get wet. Frequently, they’ll get off the dinghy into shallower depths, encompassed by potentially sharp rocks and occasionally a number of sea urchins. If they arrive barefoot, they may find themselves unable to reach the shore. Sometimes situations arise that require quick action, and the ability to move freely is essential.
Anchoring & Mooring:
The main mistake in anchoring in the Mediterranean Sea is throwing the anchor before mooring. In other words, attempting to anchor and then trying to bring the lines to the shore. This critical mistake, in challenging conditions like crosswinds, almost always leads to failure for several reasons:
You’ve completed the anchoring maneuver, the anchor is holding, and you haven’t quickly tied the boat’s stern. The boat immediately starts drifting downwind. Now, there’s no chance you could start pulling the rope to the shore.
Release 30 meters of rope from the back of the boat after finishing anchoring = rope in the water near the propeller when the boat is not tied, and most likely at some point, there will be a need to use the engine. A situation with a reasonable chance of ending up with a rope in the propeller and a drifting boat, that may or may not anchored.
You can’t know if there’s enough rope to reach the shore and tie up. And discovering now that there isn’t enough rope will be very frustrating and will probably lead to redoing the whole process while preparing a long enough rope.
Preparing the rope on the shore is the first action done before starting to cast the anchor. This is the first step after choosing the anchor launch point – getting closer to the shore and sending the shore team with the dinghy and lines. The yacht heads to the evaluation point, preferably with the stern facing the wind, or alternatively performs a small maneuver to wait nearby. Then, the shore crew can easily and calmly find good mooring spots and secure the first line, upwind (This is crucial here because the boat might tip over…) After securing the line, ensure that all remaining line is neatly coiled in the dinghy, ready to be pulled, and proceed to hoist the dinghy. Release the line with control and check that it doesn’t tangle in the dinghy’s thrust (if you are under engine power). Wait for the yacht to arrive after the anchoring maneuver is completed.
Only after the first line is securely tied and the shore crew signals the yacht to begin the approach, the yacht performs an anchoring maneuver as required (as detailed in the marina anchoring instructions) and approach to receive the line from the shore crew. After completing the anchoring and releasing of the chain, as the yacht is positioned where you want it to stand, swiftly retrieve the line from the dinghy crew, tension it on a cleat or winch as necessary, and promptly secure it. In this way, the boat will not be prone to significantly tip over from the wind. The danger of the line getting tangled in the thrust decreases considerably (though caution is still necessary), and you can ensure beforehand that there is enough line to reach from the shore to your desired spot. (If it is found that the rope is too short, an additional rope should be attached to it before the yacht sets sail for the anchoring maneuver.)
Now, as the stern line – upwind is well secured, an initial assessment is conducted to determine if the anchor has engaged. Stretching the chain in a controlled manner and checking that the anchor is secured (a thorough test with a strong force on the chain will be done only after tying a second stern line). As mentioned, if the anchor is not secured, release and start everything anew. (Only when the shore rope is ready) If you’ve decided that the anchor has caught, proceed in the same manner to pass two stern lines from the shore. After securely tying both stern lines, let’s proceed to a final check that the anchor is well secured. This time, stretch the chain strongly to ensure it is firmly held in place! Don’t hesitate to stretch tight; It’s better to encounter failure now than to find yourselves on the rocks in the middle of the night.
Now you can finally crack open the beer.
Leave the dinghy on the stern, safely attached to the boat, and it will serve you for shore access whenever needed.
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