Sometimes there is a surprise when the anchor comes up. Usually you find that the bottom was sandy (clean or grassy) or muddy (unclean). If it’s rocks or coral, then you probably knew that already because holding would have been poor to nil.
A recent overnight stay rest break took place off the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) outside buoy marker 23. The anchorage has easy access but frequently shares parking with tugs and barges. For this stopover there was plenty of sea-room and I snuggled in. Raising anchor the next morning seemed routine until the last bit and this is what I saw:
My plow anchor had dredged up what looked like cable and I was aghast thinking it was critical telecommunication infrastructure or electrical utility for the island adjacent. But my chart provided no notes of caution had that been a concern. Sometimes when an anchor fouls it remains planted to the seabed where you can’t see the cause; not without a swim and a free dive for inspection. I’m lucky that the anchor windlass on deck had the muscle power to lift the cable from the bottom of its 10′ depth. No SCUBA needed.
A close look revealed this cable to be a crusty steel hawser that had gotten away from a work vessel. Where a recreational boater might use a 1/2″ or less light size/weight rope for securing his craft, this one was industrial gauge; at least an inch or so in diameter and very heavy duty. In fact, due to the angle of the anchor plow, the beast was well caught up. I tried backing down to see if it would just flip off but I couldn’t shake it. I thought maybe a neighboring work crew that was busy getting a barge ready might have tools, skills, or desire to take claim. I decided to solve this one on my own.
If I had a do-over, I would have tied a length of rope to the cable and the bitter end to my bowsprit platform. Simply lowering the anchor chain at that point would have freed my anchor. What I ended up doing was raising the anchor until the plow edge went horizontal. With a flat surface I figured I could just slide the cable off. But bare hands still couldn’t budge. I went aft to find my boat hook pole to gain leverage. With not too much heave-ho the cable slid aft toward the anchor tip. The distance to freedom wasn’t far but each inch required some grunt on my part. As the bulky cable was finessed off it immediately plunged back down to the dark depths. Unfortunately, and I realized in an instant too late what was to happen next and what the outcome would be, because — the boat hook was still hooked! The heavy cable was about to claim it and my arm too had I not made the correct choice and released my grip.
King Neptune has his cable back — and my boat hook as well.
