Preparation for Anchoring — Command Perspective
An examiner will probe whether you understand the difference between selecting an anchorage and preparing to anchor — these are distinct acts, and confusing them costs marks.
Selecting vs Preparing
Selecting an anchorage is the planning decision: chart study, holding ground, shelter, swinging room, traffic, depth, underwater cables/pipelines, proximity to prohibited areas, emergency escape route.
Preparing to anchor is the execution phase that begins once the vessel is committed to the selected position. This is where oral questions focus at command level.
The Anchor Party vs the Bridge Team
The examiner wants to see you distinguish your role from the fo'c'sle team's role. As Master:
- You con the vessel, control approach speed and heading, and give the order to let go.
- The officer or bosun at the anchor controls the gear; they confirm readiness to you — not the other way round.
- Communications must be established and tested before the approach commences: radio or portable VHF to fo'c'sle, agreed hand signals as backup if the environment is noisy.
Immediate Pre-Anchor Checks
- Anchors: walk out to the waterline (or a controlled short scope), pin or brake released to running-free, clear of any stoppers; confirm which anchor in use.
- Depth and scope calculation: minimum scope to lay out — use the depth at high water in the anchorage, not your arrival depth; add cable to the hawse pipe. Rule-of-thumb scope at least 3–5× depth in calm conditions, 6–7× in any sea; confirm suitable cable length is available.
- Windlass / capstan: tested and confirmed operational; crew briefed on laying out and snubbing.
- Approach: reduce to minimum steerage way, approach into the wind or current (whichever dominates); marking the letting-go position on the ECDIS or chart plotter with a wheel-over point.
- Transits/bearings: identify at least two clearing or position bearings to confirm the vessel is stopped over the chosen spot before letting go.
- Swinging room: re-confirm on the chart at the planned scope against all dangers; consider other vessels already anchored and their likely scope.
- Anchor Watch brief: prior to letting go, the officer who will keep the watch must be briefed on drag bearings, alarm radii on the ECDIS, anchor ball/light, reporting thresholds, and when to call you.
Key Distinction the Examiner Tests
Scope vs Cable Laid Out: scope is the ratio of cable to depth; cable laid out is the physical length. You may have five shackles of cable on deck but if the depth is 40 m you have inadequate scope. State both in your answer.
Letting go vs Bringing up: letting go is releasing the anchor and cable; bringing up is the moment the cable straightens under load and the vessel is actually held. The vessel should be making slight sternway or be stopped when the anchor is let go — if you let go with headway, the cable piles on top of the anchor.