Playing with sea anchors - Part 1

I have recently been reading a lot of books about sailing in rough seas, particulalry ones around the UK and Iceland. This has also lead me into the debates over sea anchors so I decided what b etter way to decide for myslef than to test one on the Black Pig. So, I got a sea anchor and this video shows me testing it out to see if it will really stop me drifting like it should do. The test was largely successful, but I learnt a few things. Firstly you need to size an anchor to your boat, secondly you need wind to to get the full effectiveness of the anchor. I also test the new jib weight and the extension cable for my outboard battery. This means I can now tuck the battery away in the stowage area of the dinghy. We'll of course be keeping an eye on how well the battery performs today to. It always surprises me just how much power you need to eek out those final tenths of a knot!! 00:00 Intro to the day 01:15 Fitting the Jib weight 03:15 In my bag today 04:32 Outboard extension cable 05:05 Working out the sea anchor 06:40 Of we go! 08:38 Finding a good place to test 09:20 A quick speed test! 10:12 Test 1 - Lying-a-hull drift 11:22 Time for a coffee - waiting for better conditions 12:45 Leaving the mooring 13:10 Testing re-commences - Test 1 lying-a-hull 14:43 Test 2 - Anchor astern - shallow depth 16:42 Test 3 - Anchor astern - medium depth 17:57 Test 4 - Anchor astern - Deepest setting 18:53 Test 5 - Lying-a-hull again due to increasing wind conditions 18:45 Test 6 - Anchor of the bow 20:49 Sea anchor jolting effect in waves 22:08 Conclusions