Save the coral - Learn how we float our anchor chain

Anchoring can be a skill that you need to work on over time. There are so many factors that can influence where you choose to anchor. Once we have decided on a location, we always lift the anchor and try again if we find we are not happy with where Mokara ends up in relation to other yachts, the shore or coral bommies. In this episode we show you how we float our anchor chain so that it doesn’t snag on coral bommies. Not only does this cause damage to coral and marine life, but can also damage or snap your chain or damage your deck gear. Imagine that there is no wind. Your anchor is down and you haven’t floated it. The chain decends directly down from the bow to the ocean bed where it snags under a rock then goes off in a 90 degree direction to where the anchor is. The wind picks up and so do the waves. Your yacht wants to move backwards due to the wind but cannot as the chain is trapped under a coral bommie. The waves lift and drop the bow of the yacht with the chain tensioning up under the bommie with a shock load. Something is going to break. We need to avoid this from happening and to do this we float the chain. To do this you will need a number of floats, rope of about 1 meter in length and a clip. With the rope attached between the fender and the clip, attach the clip to the chain at intervals. How many floats depends on the length and thickness of the chain as well as the amount of chain being deployed. Too few floats and the chain will sink to the bottom. Please float your chain and protect the marine environment that you are a guest in.