John and Chorlette Copolla were making good time on their offshore run south last fall on Greyback, their Kadey-Krogen 55. The counter current near shore was stronger than expected, and the seas less than forecasted. In these ideal conditions, they decided to continue overnight to Charleston, S.C., where they would arrive the next morning. The only drawback with the revised plan is that they would arrive a day before their reservation at the marina. John figured they would just anchor upon arrival and take their slip at the marina the next day.
The popular anchorage in the Ashley River in front of Charleston’s marinas is well known to have debris on the bottom, so John attached a trip line to the anchor’s crown. It would allow him to pull up the anchor with the fluke or plow pointing downward, thereby reversing its typical setting direction and releasing itself from any potential snags. At the end of the trip line, John attached a plastic gallon jug to act as a float, so he could easily retrieve the line should he need to.
No one knows why issues on a boat happen more often at 2 a.m., but that’s about the time an unusual onboard motion caused John to do an anchor check. Once out on deck, John realized the boat was facing the opposite direction of all the other boats at anchor—stern to both the wind and the Ashley River’s swift current. Uncertain how this could be, he looked in the dark for the direction of the anchor chain and his trip-line float.
The anchor chain was straight down and slack, and the jug float was nowhere to be seen. It appeared that when the current shifted in the night, the boat’s stern swung over the jug float, fouling the trip line in a propeller or a rudder. They were effectively anchored from the stern on 40 feet of trip line.
Chorlette was awake by now. The two contemplated how to release the trip line from the stern. They tried to catch it with a boathook, but it was of no use as the swift current immediately pulled the hook away. Starting an engine wasn’t a good idea, as they weren’t completely sure where the trip line was, and diving under the boat in this current and darkness was certainly not an option. They had no choice but to stay awake and monitor their position until daylight gave them a clearer perspective of the situation.
As unbelievable as it seemed, they realized they were held in place by a half-inch nylon line tied to the handle of a plastic jug on about a 1-to-1 scope to the crown of their anchor. As daylight broke and the current reversed its direction, the boat slowly pivoted around, and they observed the jug float to the surface from under their stern. It had miraculously freed itself just as easily as it had become caught.
They were now once again secured on the 5-to-1 scope of their anchor chain. Upon retrieval, the gallon jug and nylon line had blue bottom paint on it, evidence of it being wedged under the boat.
Trip lines are a good idea; I can relay numerous accounts of friends having anchors fouled on bottom debris. I’ve observed cruising buddies pull up sections of old sailboat masts, uncharted cables, pieces of chain-link fence and more. Without a trip line to pull the anchor up essentially upside down, the plow of most anchors when raised by the shank will only hold an obstruction tighter.
As seemingly random as John and Chorlette’s problem was, it’s happened to more than one boater, where theirs or another boat becomes fouled in an anchor trip line. The solution is to insert a weak link a few feet down the line from the float. A lightweight wire tie or string, connecting the trip line together, would allow it to break easily if enough force (like the weight of a boat) were to pull on it. You may lose the float, but that’s better than catching the float in running gear or fouling the entire trip line.
Having problems getting free of an anchor are also not unheard of. I know of several occasions when an anchor was fouled without a trip line, and the boater needed to leave the anchor and chain behind on a float so it could be retrieved by a diver or towboat company at a later time.
In rare instances, it may be necessary to free yourself from an anchor quickly. To accommodate this scenario, secure the anchor chain inside the anchor locker with a length of three-strand nylon line long enough for the line to come out onto the deck when all of the chain is played out. This would allow you to release all of the anchor chain and cut the line quickly.
To accommodate an emergency with a disabled windlass, I know of one yacht manufacturer that equips its boats with bolt cutters intended to cut the chain and free the boat from its anchor.
If you cruise and anchor enough, it is likely you will eventually foul your anchor on something. The important lesson here is to plan ahead and know how you would handle this situation. It will potentially be in the dark of night, and in less-than-ideal
conditions. Working through your options ahead of time may allow calm implementation of a solution to what could otherwise be a stressful situation.
This article was originally published in the March 2023 issue.
