By Kevin

We arrived at Rose Island around 4:30 PM. There were two catamarans and a sailboat already sitting in the small, protected cove, so we wove our way around until we found a good, sandy spot for our anchor.

We backed down on the anchor to get it buried deep into the sand and then we established a range on shore to check our position periodically. After monitoring the range for 15 minutes, we headed down below to prepare dinner and relax.

About 8:30, with our bellies full of grilled hamburgers, we heard someone in the cove blowing their emergency air horn! We rushed into the cockpit to see who was in trouble. Would we need to render assistance?

Then we noticed that we were very close to the large rocks at the edge of the cove. The rocks with the waves crashing against them. We were much closer than when we had dropped the anchor a few hours before.

Looking at our range, it clearly showed that we had dragged our anchor. We dragged it for at least a hundred feet across the sandy bottom. The boat next to us had noticed that we were drifting ever closer to the dangerous lee shore and its rocks and had blown their air horn to alert us. (Thanks, Steve!)

This was our first anchor dragging experience and now we know that even a 60 pound Manson Supreme will drag when not properly set. And, we realized just how difficult it is to feel an anchor dragging across a sandy bottom. So, monitoring those ranges is important. Better, once we anchor, we’ll be putting on a snorkel and mask and diving overboard to check the anchor (well, sometimes).